New Orleans Pelicans: 1 question for each player at media day

New Orleans Pelicans: Questions for the starters at media day

Jonas Valanciunas- Will you embrace more of a Brook Lopez role this season and shoot more 3-point shots?

Many people have talked about Valanciunas being an upgrade over Steven Adams, but he still does most of his damage from the interior, so will he really improve the spacing? To do so, he may have to shoot more than .9 shots per game from the 3-point line and I’m curious as to whether he is focusing on that in the offseason.

Devonte’ Graham- Why should fans be excited about you?

Graham is more or less replacing Lonzo Ball, a controversial but popular (too popular for some) player who is perceived as having a higher upside. Time will tell if that is true or just more of the Ball hype machine, but most fans see Graham as a downgrade from Lonzo to varying degrees. So why should we be excited about Devonte’?

Nickeil Alexander-Walker- What specifically have you done to work on your offensive efficiency?

NAW has all of the talent to be a star in the NBA. He has the size, athleticism, is a good defender and has shown high-end offensive ability…. at times.

At others he takes horrible, high difficulty shots that look great when they go in and just look like bad offense when they don’t. I’d like to know what things he’s been working on specifically to make himself a better shooter by getting in better position for good shots.

Brandon Ingram- What specifically have you done to work on your defense?

Brandon Ingram’s defense may be one of the biggest X-factors for the Pelicans, as he has the talent to be good on that end. Has he been working on footwork? Watching film to improve his positioning? Identifying plays when he didn’t commit for the full 24 seconds? We know Ingram is an elite scorer but if he really wants to be one of the NBA’s best forwards he has to defend better.

Zion Williamson- Who have you been working out with this Summer?

Zion is going to get a lot of questions about the piano serenades, his diet, weight and whether he’d like to play for the Pelicans long term. A lot has been made about him not turning up to the mini-camps Ingram held this offseason and basically being a non-presence at the Pels’ training facility. So if he is not training with his teammates or team trainers, who IS he training with and why? I am curious just how much control Zion’s step-dad has over his training and decisions as it seems like a lot of the talk we hear coming out of the Zion camp is coming from people other than Zion.