New Orleans Pelicans: 3 positional battles to watch in preseason
The New Orleans Pelicans will have media day today and I am sure there will be plenty of questions.
Most of them are going to revolve around Zion Williamson and the recent report that he has had a strained relationship with David Griffin, the Pels VP of Basketball Operations.
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Pelicans dysfunction aside, there are plenty of other questions about the depth chart, starting lineups and minutes, as well as some interesting positional battles.
The Pelicans traded away three of their starters from last season, so will have some new faces in the starting lineup, and a revamped bench with a lot of young faces means nearly everyone is going to be trying to earn minutes in training camp and preseason.
Here are three positional battles that should be fun to watch in preseason and beyond.
New Orleans Pelicans: The battle for backup center
Jaxson Hayes vs. Willy Hernangomez
I think most fans think it is a given that Jaxson Hayes will seize the backup center role this season, and if everything goes right, he will.
Hayes was inconsistent last season but did come on down the stretch and put together a string of big games. He is obviously the more talented player, and if he progresses as we all hope he will, then this is a no-brainer. Hayes can also play some power forward, especially if he shoots well, so there should be plenty of minutes for Hayes one way or another.
But there could be some residual problems from Hayes’ off the court incident and he didn’t do enough last season to just be handed this job, especially when Willy Hernangomez was quietly very solid for the Pelicans.
This is why I liked the Hernangomez signing, as he is an insurance policy but will also press Hayes to be better, as he’ll be there waiting to take his minutes if he isn’t. It’s also possible that the two will play together for spurts with Hayes in the power forward role which they did somewhat successfully in limited action last season.
This is Hayes’ spot to lose but Hernangomez is going to scrap for minutes so Hayes had better be ready.