Pelicans have some big options when Zion Williamson returns

The New Orleans Pelicans have been without Zion Williamson all season, but are playing competitively with several players stepping up in his absence. (NOTE: THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE CJ MCCOLLUM TRADE)

We’ve not gotten an update on Zion’s health in over a month now, when it was announced that he’d be rehabbing away from the team.

I can’t imagine the silence is good news, so I don’t expect to see Zion Williamson anytime soon and it’s definitely possible we may not see him at all this season.

The only good thing about the Pelicans’ star being out is that guys like Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Jonas Valanciunas and Herb Jones have stepped up in his absence, and when they are finally at full strength again, appear to have the right kinds of players around their stars.

Jaxson Hayes has played well of late as well, at times playing power forward with either Jonas or Willy Hernangomez. Hayes is still a work in progress, but if he can evolve into more of a power forward, it gives the Pelicans some interesting lineup options.

The Pelicans can go big with Zion Williamson and Jaxson Hayes

The Pelicans have played most of this season without a traditional point guard, as they did last year when Zion did most of the initiating on offense.

Both Hayes and Valanciunas have shown the ability to shoot from the outside, which gives Willie Green a lot of options to go big when Zion finally does return.

This is a group I would love to see in the future:

• Herb Jones
• Brandon Ingram
• Zion Williamson
• Jaxson Hayes
• Jonas Valanciunas

Who needs a guards when you have versatile players? Both Brandon Ingram and Herb Jones have run point forward this season, and Zion already showed how effective he can be, so I’d love to see the Pels go big at times and create mismatches with their versatility.

They would have a size advantage everywhere, with tons of length and guys who can affect shots and get into passing lanes.

Jones and Hayes have both been effective cutting or rolling to the hoop so the Pels could try to use lineups like this to dunk the other team to death using Zion and BI as the primary playmakers.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, as Zion Williamson is still hurt and Hayes’ development is far from a given, but there are some exciting possibilities brewing in New Orleans.