New Orleans Pelicans: Types of players to add around Zion Williamson

The New Orleans Pelicans are Zion Williamson‘s team, that much has been made clear.

Though Brandon Ingram already got the big deal and is also a cornerstone, Zion is a budding superstar who may end up being the best player of his generation.

Zion Williamson just passed the 50-game threshold for his career and has already put himself in elite company.

As good as Brandon Ingram has been, he does not have Zion’s ceiling (especially when you factor in defense) so the Pels should be thinking of Zion Williamson when they make future roster moves and draft picks.

So far, David Griffin and Trajan Langdon have done a middling job of this, but it has only been one offseason, so I am not going to act like this is a finished product or that we can judge every move in the most unprecedented offseason in NBA history.

What types of players should they be seeking to build around Zion Williamson? Let’s take a look.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels need athletic, switchable wings around Zion

The first and easiest answer is the the Pels need more size and depth on the wing.

They currently only have Brandon Ingram at small forward and don’t have a backup for Zion Williamson either.

The New Orleans Pelicans should be looking for long, athletic wings who can switch on defense and cover some of the defensive weaknesses of their two stars.

Position-less wings are the present and future of the NBA and the Pels need to get as many as they can find. They should focus on defense first and not worry about offense as much, as Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are going to keep getting nearly 60 points a game between them.

Athletic rim runners who can defend multiple spots are not easy to find these days, but the Pels should be scouring the league for them and taking as many as they can in the draft.

This is why many questioned the Kira Lewis Jr. pick when Saddiq Bey (reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week), a huge 3-and-D wing was available.