The New Orleans Pelicans traded away three of their five starters from last season, so we are going to be seeing some new faces in the starting lineup.
Lonzo Ball, Eric Bledsoe and Steven Adams are all gone with Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte’ Graham as the likely replacements so far.
If I had to guess at the Pelicans’ starting lineup right now it would probably look like this:
- PG: Devonte’ Graham
- SG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
These are probably their best five players, so it makes the most sense, though there could still be additions to the roster that might change that.
This starting five is certainly not etched in stone and new head coach Willie Green is going to have a lot of options as the season progresses.
Here are three guys who we might see break into the starting five this season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Kira Lewis Jr. looks ready for an expanded role
I’ve written about some of the options the Pelicans have at starting point guard and Kira Lewis Jr. is certainly one of them.
I like his on-the-ball defense and ability to push the pace, but there are questions about how he fits off the ball with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram doing a lot of the ball handling.
Kira Lewis Jr. might be better suited running a bench unit where he can handle the ball a bit more and do what he’s good at, which is breaking defenders down off the dribble and in the pick-and-roll and using his speed to push in transition.
The X-factor would be his 3-point shooting. If he can improve from long range, a pick-and-roll with Kira Lewis Jr. and Zion could be very effective and Kira could eventually earn that starting role, but I don’t think he’s there just yet.
New Orleans Pelicans: Trey Murphy III in the starting lineup
I don’t want to overreact to two Summer League games, but it looks like the Pelicans may have done well in the draft to get Trey Murphy III with the 17th pick.
Murphy III looks like an NBA player already, has great size and length and can knock down shots. He also looks like he’s going to be a plus defender who will give effort on that end, which is exactly what the Pelicans need.
Call me crazy, but this is a Pelicans’ starting lineup I want to see:
- PG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker
- SG: Trey Murphy III
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
3M3 can cover some of Ingram’s deficiencies on defense while also putting another shooter around Zion Williamson.
I am sure we will see some of this group together at some point and I really love the fact that they could create mismatches all over the place offensively and be very switchable on defense.
But there is one more guy I think has a chance to play that role.
New Orleans Pelicans starting lineup with Naji Marshall
On paper Naji Marshall doesn’t look like a fit into the starting lineup, as he is a forward and the team already has two pretty good ones in the starting five in Zion and B.I.
But today’s NBA is more or less positionless, so if the Pelicans wanted to go big and bring in a guy who can defend the wing around Zion and Ingram, then Marshall could be an interesting option.
- PG: Devonte’ Graham/NAW
- F: Naji Marshall
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
It doesn’t really matter what you call them, but this starting five has some interesting possibilities. Marshall would be the 3-and-D guy who takes on tough defensive assignments and makes a few 3-point shots.
Marshall is a versatile player who can fit into a lot of lineups, so we may see some less traditional rotations from Willie Green.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot more options than they did last season when the starting five got really stale and had no chemistry. Let’s hope Willie Green can find the right combination of guys to turn things around.