New Orleans Pelicans: Should Brandon Ingram play at shooting guard?

New Orleans Pelicans: Other 3-and-D options

There are a few cheaper options who wouldn’t snag a starting spot once their flight touched down in New Orleans but could be key players off the bench.

First up is Torrey Craig. The former Nugget hasn’t gotten much run with the Bucks this season, but that could be to the Pelicans’ advantage. At 6-foot-7 and 221 pounds, Craig would fit in nicely between Zion and Ingram. During his time with the Nuggets, he proved himself more than capable of matching up with the wings of the west. He started an 11 of possible 14 games in the 2018-19 playoffs because the Nuggets needed a defensive presence.

Craig has improved as a shooter in Milwaukee. The space afforded by playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo means that Craig is shooting 38 percent from deep. He would get similar amounts of space next to Zion.

Another option is Sterling Brown. He is someone in the Josh Hart mold and would improve the depth issues plaguing the Pels this season. Brown signed a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets this offseason and has progressively earned more playing time over the course of the year.

Brown is an above-average defender who has improved his outside shot nearly every season. He is bombing away from deep this year, hitting 40 percent of his threes and taking four per game. That would rank first in percentage for New Orleans and sixth in attempts. Brown could be the perfect role player.

The front office has a war chest of future draft picks and some young players on the roster to go after a whale if they wanted to do so. But it would be hard to see someone that would cost that much be willing to take a back seat to two players under 25 in Zion and Ingram. That’s why I would look to add around the edges while keeping that treasure trove intact.

If a trade were completed that would move Ingram to the shooting guard spot, New Orleans would be able to keep their offense at top of the league levels while improving their bottom-of-the-league defense.

Improving the defense from among the worst in the league to even league average would have such a large impact that New Orleans would almost immediately vault into the home-seed playoff conversation.