The New Orleans Pelicans will take a point guard by committee approach next season, with several different players who will initiate the offense.
The Pels’ starting five is unique, as there isn’t a true point guard, and both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson will act as point forwards at times.
I doubt coach Willie Green will deploy Zion as a full-time point forward as he was under Stan Van Gundy, as it made the half court offense too easy to predict.
Zion Williamson averaged 3.7 assists even when he always had the ball in his hands, so it’s unlikely he’ll lead the team in dimes in a different role.
There are really only three options when it comes to who will lead the New Orleans Pelicans in assists next season.
New Orleans Pelicans: Top-3 passers next season
Jose Alvarado
Jose Alvarado’s passing was actually underrated last season, as he was one of the best rookies in the NBA at creating opportunities for teammates.
Alvarado will likely get even more opportunities playing with a better bench and also getting some run with Zion on the floor, as he’ll get a lot more opportunities for easy assists on fast breaks and lobs.
Alvarado averaged 2.8 assists last season, which was 4th on the team, but he’ll almost certainly be playing more than 15 minutes a game next season, and could take a lot of the minutes Devonte’ Graham was getting depending on how the Pels use their bench.
Even with increased opportunity and minutes, it’s unlikely Jose will lead the team in assists, though I think we’ll see him closer to 4-5 per game next season.
CJ McCollum
CJ McCollum led the Pelicans in assists last season with 5.8 per game after being traded from the Portland Trail Blazers.
He only played 26 games with New Orleans, but that number was the highest of his career, which makes sense considering he was playing on a team with Damian Lillard.
McCollum showed that he can be the lead guard in Portland when Lillard was hurt, and he did the job last season for the Pels, but with Zion Williamson coming back, he figures to play a little more off the ball next season, which is his more familiar role.
I think we’ll see CJ shooting more 3-point shots next season, closer to the eight per game he was shooting in Portland, and that he’ll get fewer opportunities for assists, possibly dropping back closer to his career average of 3.5 per game.
Brandon Ingram
Brandon Ingram showed he had another level in the playoffs last season when he averaged 27 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Ingram averaged 5.6 assists per game last season, second on the team, but I think that number is going to tick up over six next season with Zion back. Ingram has proven himself to be a deadly scorer from the mid-range and teams have to respect that, even with Zion on the floor.
Ingram has gotten progressively better at passing out of double teams and setting up teammates, and he’ll have one of the best finishers in the league to pass to next season in Zion.
Zion’s gravity will also open up the shooters, which means BI is going to have options when he draws a double team himself or takes advantage of Zion being doubled.
Ingram is going to have the ball in his hands a lot late in shot clocks, a situation in which he shot most of the time last season, but with Zion back, some of those are going to be passes to the big man, which should drive up Ingram’s assist totals somewhat.
The New Orleans Pelicans are going to get playmaking from a lot of places, but when it comes to assists, I think we’ll see Ingram as the team leader next season.