The New Orleans Pelicans need to have a big offseason to put the right team around Zion Williamson.
With rumors that Damian Lillard might be available, the Pels immediately became a hypothetical destination, as they are one of the few teams in the NBA with the right combination of young talent and future draft assets to make a trade for Lillard.
I have serious doubts that Lillard is actually available and I’d be shocked if the Trail Blazers traded their franchise icon, but if they do, the Pelicans make a lot of sense.
Some Pels’ fans are adamantly against this idea, as they think Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have a chance to be the best duo in the NBA, and they might be right.
But what I know for certain is that Lillard and Williamson WOULD be one of the best duos in the NBA right away and would raise the ceiling of what the New Orleans Pelicans can be.
In my opinion, the only reason to hoard all of these draft picks is so you can make a play for a superstar, and while Ingram is a very good player, he is not a superstar yet and the Pelicans need to win if they want to keep Zion Williamson around for the long term.
Lillard is not only a better player now, but the fit with Zion is pretty much perfect.
Pelicans: Zion Williamson and Damian Lillard would be unstoppable on offense
Zion and Ingram were one of the top scoring duos in the NBA last season, so it’s not like the pairing was a problem on offense, but Lillard could take them to another level.
I don’t believe Zion and Ingram are a bad fit per se, but they are both guys who like to to the majority of their scoring from similar spots on the floor. Ingram prefers the mid-range and Zion Williamson generally initiates the offense from the top of the key or free-throw line area, which can cause some spacing issues.
I am not a “spacing Truther” but it’s pretty clear that Lillard would provide more of it than Ingram. Teams pretty much have to guard Lillard the second he crosses half court, and he often draws double teams on the perimeter.
This would open up so much space for Zion to do his thing and defenses would have to choose their poison: Get killed by Dame or get killed by Zion. They would have a chance to be the top scoring duo in the league and run an offense that was virtually unstoppable.
Pelicans: Damian Lillard can be the vocal team leader
One of the glaring problems the Pelicans had last season is that they didn’t really have a team leader.
Their best three players, Zion Williamson, Ingram and Lonzo Ball are all soft-spoken guys and not necessarily the types to assume a vocal leadership role.
They let their play do the talking, which is fine, but it also good to have a veteran who can call the young guys out and has the ear of players in a way that a coach never will.
Lillard has been that guy for Portland and would be the perfect complement to Zion in that regard, as Williamson just wants to do his thing without being the one who has to bark at the refs or pull a teammate aside to tell him what he did wrong or give him a boost of confidence.
The Pelicans have a very young team that lacks leadership, similar to the Suns before they got Chris Paul. The Suns are now one game away from the Finals and guys like Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton give the credit to the leadership and mentoring of Chris Paul.
The Pelicans could make a similar leap with a vocal leader like Lillard, who is better than Paul and could take the Pels to the next level as a franchise.
Pelicans: Damian Lillard will help bring the veteran free agents
One of the hallmarks of LeBron James’ career is his ability to recruit veterans to play for less money in order to chase a ring.
It hasn’t always worked out, but LeBron’s teams have been in almost constant contention for titles and every year he manages to get a free agent or two who take less to come and play with one of the league’s all-time greats.
Having two superstars would make New Orleans a premier free agent destination as long as Lillard was there, and by the way, his contract runs for four more years, so it is not like he is a rental.
He would bring some legitimacy to a team that has had very little playoff success and he and Zion Williamson would be the best recruiting tools the Pelicans could hope for, as veterans would be lined up to come and try to win titles with two superstars.
Brandon Ingram is a great player, but he doesn’t have that type of pull, so getting Lillard would not only make the Pelicans better now, but would give them the chance at sustained success while raising the chances of a title.
In the end, I have my doubts that Lillard will be moved, but the New Orleans Pelicans are one of the few teams who could and should go after him if he is.