After re-signing Josh Hart, the New Orleans Pelicans roster is pretty much set barring another trade or free-agent addition.
The Pelicans are already over the limit for players, which means Wenyen Gabriel’s time with the team may be over. The Pels still have a couple of small roster moves to make but what we see now could very well be the team on opening night.
New Orleans has a lot of new faces after trading three of their starters, so Willie Green is going to have a much younger and hopefully faster team that is more suited to play around Zion Williamson.
I think we’ll see a lot of lineup combinations this season, far more than last when Stan Van Gundy went with the same starting five for most of the year.
There are some interesting bench possibilities and I expect the Pels’ bench to be a lot better and a lot more dynamic than they were last season.
Here are some predictions for the starting lineup, backups, sixth man off the bench and most importantly, who will close out games.
New Orleans Pelicans: Starting lineup prediction
If I had to guess, I’d say this will be the first starting lineup we see when the games are real and the guys who will back them up:
- PG: Devonte’ Graham/Kira Lewis Jr.
- SG: Nickeil Alexander-Walker/Trey Murphy III
- SF: Brandon Ingram/Josh Hart
- PF: Zion Williamson/Naji Marshall
- C: Jonas Valanciunas/Jaxson Hayes
The starting five could go a lot of ways as the season progresses, but this group gives the Pelicans four guys who can shoot and create around Zion Williamson, which is a big change from last season with Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe in the starting five.
This bench unit is young, fast and should be able to defend, as Hart, Marshall and Murphy III are all long, versatile defenders who hustle and make plays. They should be able to create turnovers and then get out and run.
Jaxson Hayes’ future is still up in the air, but the Pelicans officially re-signed Willy Hernangomez, who played well last season as a backup.
I know some fans aren’t happy with the Pelicans’ offseason, but this team looks a lot more fun on paper and is the right age to grow and develop with Zion and Ingram.
New Orleans Pelicans: Josh Hart will be the most important bench player
The New Orleans Pelicans finally ended the suspense and re-signed Josh Hart to a three-year deal.
Restricted free agent G Josh Hart is closing in on a three-year, $38 million deal to stay with the New Orleans Pelicans, his agents Aaron Mintz, Steven Heumann and Dave Spahn of @CAA_Basketball tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 16, 2021
I think this is a great contract for both sides, as Josh Hart got a nice payday and the Pelicans got a versatile and popular player on a contract that isn’t going to hurt them.
Hart has already proven that he is a quality defender who can guard up and down a lineup and that he is a very good rebounder for his position.
He also brings hustle and is a well-liked teammate who can fit into just about any lineup. I think he’ll be the Pels’ 6th man off the bench and the guy who gets the most minutes.
But the question is how good can Josh Hart be? The only thing holding him back is his 3-point shooting, as he shot a career worst 32.6 percent last season, which is below average for the position.
If he can shoot closer to 40 percent the Pels will be ecstatic about that contract, as Hart does pretty much everything else well for a bench guy.
If he shoots the ball better this season expect him to be in the running for 6th man of the year.
New Orleans Pelicans: Closing lineup
People get fixated on the starting lineups but the closing lineups are far more important, as this is the group you’ll have out there when the game is on the line.
These are often situational and not necessarily your best guys, especially if some of your players best players can’t shoot free throws, as has been the case with the Pelicans over the last two seasons.
I think you’ll see this group most often:
- PG: Devonte’ Graham
- SG: Josh Hart
- SF: Brandon Ingram
- PF: Zion Williamson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
Devonte’ Graham is good in the clutch, so he is an obvious choice here. I’m sure NAW will see some clutch-time action but he is a poor free throw shooter at just 70 percent for his career and Hart is a better defender.
Zion and B.I. are a given and Valunciunas provides rim protection and is a career 78 percent free-throw shooter, so he won’t kill the Pels if he gets fouled.
Often these decisions are based on who is playing well that particular night, so I am sure different players will get the chance to close games throughout the season.
This Pelicans’ roster is shaping up to be a lot more fun than last season and I look forward to seeing how it all comes together.