Spacing has become one of the pet issues of New Orleans Pelicans fans since the team drafted Zion Williamson with the number one pick.
Williamson is the NBA’s best post player, a guy who lives in the paint and has a wide body that needs space to operate.
That is why the trade for Steven Adams never really made sense, as he is a guy who also needs to be in the lane to be effective. Couple that with the Pelicans’ lack of shooting and the result was a predictable offense that wasn’t very dynamic and relied too heavily on Williamson’s physical dominance in the half court.
The Pels have since traded Steven Adams for Jonas Valanciunas in the hope that Valanciunas’ shooting will be a better fit and provide the space Zion needs.
But are we sure that is true?
New Orleans Pelicans: Jonas Valanciunas lives in the post too
Valanciunas is certainly a more gifted offensive player than Steven Adams, who can’t shoot at all and really only provided screens and offensive rebounding, areas in which Valanciunas also excels.
Jonas can hit a jumper, as he shot 66% on shots 15-19 feet, 40% on shots 20-24 feet and 35% on shots from 25-29 feet.
The problem is that he didn’t shoot very many from that range. Valanciunas only took .9 attempts per game from 3-point range last season and 6.9 of his 12 field goal attempts per game came within five feet of the rim.
In fact, Valanciunas was 11th in the NBA in post-ups per game, just ahead of Zion at 12th, so this is another guy who likes to earn his paycheck in the paint.
For Valanciunas to really make a difference, he is going to have to become more like Brook Lopez, a guy who will attempt 4-5 from long range per game and be a threat to knock them down.
If he doesn’t, I can’t see Valanciunas being part of the long-term plans, as he has some of the same issues that Adams had even though he is ultimately a much-better player.