The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the strongest starting lineups in the NBA, with two young All-Stars flanked by quality impact veterans and a defensive anchor.
This was evident in the recent top-100 player rankings by ESPN, in which the Pelicans had four players featured so far, the top 25 will be released later today.
Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas were all named in the top-100, but all of them probably should have been a little higher on the list.
Here is where ESPN got it wrong.
New Orleans Pelicans: Where ESPN got it wrong
Herb Jones: Rank N/A
Herbert Jones has not been featured thus far, so unless he is in the top-25, he’s not on the list at all, which seems like a gross oversight. Jones was one of the top wing defenders in the NBA last season, made the All-Rookie team, and quickly gained a reputation around the league as a defender.
There are some good players on this list, but I would have definitely put Herb ahead of guys like Mitchell Robinson (98), Keegan Murray (95 and he’s never played), Brandon Clarke (94) and Caris LeVert (80) among others.
All of these players are better (or close) to Herb on offense, so it’s clear the voters were mostly looking at box scores and not film.
Herb isn’t going to get his due respect until he starts making more impact on offense or until the Pelicans start winning more on the national stage so people can see his value firsthand.
New Orleans Pelicans: Where the ESPN top-100 got it wrong
Jonas Valanciunas- 84
Valanciunas was ranked 84th on the list after one of his best seasons in the NBA and great run in international play.
There are obviously some questions about how his minutes and role will be affected when Zion Williamson comes back, but Valanciunas has been one of the most reliable centers in the league in his career.
Because of that consistency, I would have put him ahead of Aaron Gordon (83), Caris LeVert (80), Clint Capela (79), Lonzo Ball (78) and Spencer Dinwiddie (69).
CJ McCollum- 45
I don’t think McCollum’s 45th-place ranking is too far off at this stage in his career, though he dropped 15 spots from last season, which seems odd considering how good he was last year.
He was bumped in favor of a trio of high-ceiling young players in Scottie Barnes (39), Evan Mobley (36) and Cade Cunningham (35), but I would also probably put McCollum ahead of veteran Marcus Smart (34) as well.
McCollum has been one of the most consistent scorers in the NBA over the last seven seasons, but his accomplishments clearly didn’t mean as much as the potential of recent draft picks. I think this also shows how good that 2021 draft class really is.
New Orleans Pelicans: Where the ESPN top-100 got it wrong
Zion Williamson- 40
Zion dropped out of the top-25 after missing all of last season. I get that injuries matter, but this seems a bit ridiculous given what we’ve already seen Zion do.
Of course we have to see him do it again for full seasons, but if he’s healthy, this ranking isn’t even close to correct and the list of guys he’s ahead of is long.
In addition to all of the guys listed for McCollum, you can add Fred VanVleet (38), Kyrie Irving (33), Andrew Wiggins (32) and Khris Middleton (31). This is not a diss to these guys, as they are all great players who have done more in the league than Zion, but if Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes are being ranked on potential, then Zion should be too.
And when he’s healthy he’s got more than any of those guys, but this shows just how divisive he is, as some clearly don’t have a lot of faith that he can stay on the floor. Until he does, that is going to remain, but if Zion plays a full season you can expect him to be back in the top-25 again and maybe even higher.
Brandon Ingram- 29
Brandon Ingram dropped three spots to 29th, which makes little sense considering he’s coming off arguably his best season in the NBA in which he carried the New Orleans Pelicans to the playoffs. He had an outstanding postseason and grew overall as a leader, playmaker and defender.
The players around him are all All-Stars, so it’s hard to argue against any of them without seeing the rest of the list as guys like DeMar DeRozan (28), Zach LaVine (27) and Jrue Holiday (26) all have their arguments as well.
We can argue over individual rankings, but what’s clear is that the Pels have one of the strongest starting lineups in the league and all five of them should be on this list next season with a few guys moving up considerably.