The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA last season.
This is one of the glaring holes they had coming into the offseason, as they were 25th in the league in 3-point percentage, 25th in attempts and 27th in 3-point shots made per game.
David Griffin has completely rebuilt the roster around Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, and the Pels are now much younger, faster and hopefully better at shooting the 3-point shot.
But when you take a look at each position, it’s still not clear if the Pelicans have done enough. Here’s a breakdown of each position and whether the Pelicans got worse, stayed the same or improved their shooting.
New Orleans Pelicans: Point guards
The Pelicans will probably use a lot of guys at “point guard” this season but the truth is Zion Williamson is going to be handling the ball a lot.
This means all of the guards need to be able to play off the ball and knock down shots. The Pelicans have swapped out Lonzo Ball for Devonte’ Graham and Kira Lewis Jr. will likely back him up, though I could see the Pelicans going with a lot of 3-wing lineups this season.
Lonzo and Graham are more or less the same guy when it comes to 3-point shooting, as both shot a high volume last season and hit around 38 percent.
Kira Lewis Jr. has not yet shown that he can hit the 3-point shot consistently, so the jury is still out whether he’ll improve from his 33 percent next season. I’d say it’s a wash.
Verdict: Same
New Orleans Pelicans: Shooting Guards
The Pelicans have mercifully jettisoned Eric Bledsoe and J.J Redick, so will have some new faces at shooting guard.
Neither shot the ball particularly well last season, so the Pelicans have a chance to gain some ground here.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker was an inefficient shooter last season and he has to improve in that area if he wants to make a leap as a player. He shot just 34 percent from 3-point range last season, same as Bledsoe.
NAW has always been pretty erratic, so I am not sure we can count on him to suddenly become an efficient shooter.
Trey Murphy III should be an upgrade, though I am sure he will play plenty of time at forward and maybe even some at center in small ball lineups.
He hit more than 40 percent from 3-point range in college and knocked down 6-of-9 in his first Summer League game, so he could potentially be an upgrade as a shooter.
Redick is one of the best 3-point shooters of all time even though he had an off season and was mostly hurt (his mouth still works though!), it is still a loss, even if at this point its a symbolic one.
But if NAW improves, 3M3 should be enough to give them a slight bump at shooting guard.
Verdict: Improved slightly
New Orleans Pelicans: Forwards
Last season the Pelicans had Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Nicolo Melli, James Johnson, Zion, and Naji Marshall as their forward group, hardly an imposing bunch when it comes to long-range shooting but very efficient in the mid-range and near the rim.
This group hasn’t changed a whole lot after the Pelicans re-signed Josh Hart, as they will still have B.I. and Marshall. The difference is that Trey Murphy III will play some at forward, as will Didi Louzada and possibly Herbert Jones if he ends up making the final roster.
Getting rid of Melli is enough to help any team’s shooting, as he was absolutely awful the last two years. James Johnson doesn’t shoot much so the Pels haven’t lost anything.
The Pelicans will instead look for internal improvements from their own guys, as they need Ingram to shoot more 3-pointers, need Hart to make more of the ones he does shoot, and need Marshall to be more than just a defender when he is out there.
Can Naji Marshall be a consistent 3-point shooter? Can Josh Hart find another level? Without one or both of these things happening, I can’t say that the Pels have really improved much here.
Verdict: Same
New Orleans Pelicans: Centers
The Pelicans will roll with two-thirds of their 3-man center group from last season with one notable change: Steven Adams has been replaced by Jonas Valanciunas.
First off, I love Steven Adams and wish his time on the Pelicans could have gone differently. He played through injuries for most of the season, and even though he had some huge games on the boards, he was never a great fit with Zion Williamson on offense.
Valanciunas is a much better offensive player than Adams, and even though he has never been a volume 3-point shooter, he can step away from the hoop and knock down a shot. Adams pretty much doesn’t look at the hoop unless he’s right under it, so having a guy who can spread the floor a little more should benefit Zion.
The question is whether Valanciunas is going to shoot more 3-point shots? He averaged less than one a game last season, so this idea that he is a “Stretch-5” is a little premature.
He has nice form and is a 78 percent free throw shooter for his career, so I could see him going the Brook Lopez route and starting to launch more 3-pointers.
Either way, he is a big improvement from Adams as a shooter and should give the Pelicans a boost at the position.
Also, don’t rule out that Jaxson Hayes starts shooting more from long range as well. He hit a few at the end of last season and looked very comfortable doing it, so I could see him launching more this season himself.
Verdict: Improved
I do think the Pelicans’ shooting will be improved next season, but only marginally, so they may need to add another shooter or make a trade if some of these guys don’t step up.