The Pelicans need to find defenders to put around Zion Williamson
One of the glaring holes the Pelicans need to fix this offseason is to find some defenders to put around Zion Williamson.
If you are going to have a superstar who isn’t a great defender, you need other guys to pick up the slack. The Pelicans thought they might have gotten two in Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams last offseason but Bledsoe regressed and Adams is really only good on the interior.
The Hawks, on the other hand, have some very good defenders in Clint Cappela, De’Andre Hunter and even Cam Reddish has improved on that end and been pretty good.
The Pelicans don’t really have any elite defenders at all, and the only perimeter defenders who are even good are Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and Naji Marshall. Hart and Ball might not even be on the team next season and Marshall is still an unproven rookie who will be headed into his second season.
The Hawks have shown that you don’t need a team full of All-Defensive players to be good, but you do need willing defenders who are committed on that end and don’t necessarily care about their offensive stats.
The Pelicans need to get tougher and better on defense, that much is obvious.