The New Orleans Pelicans roster is absolutely stacked with talent. Between CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Dejounte Murray, who they traded for from the Atlanta Hawks in the summer, they have four different players who can go off for 30+ points on any given night.
With Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Jose Alvarado, New Orleans also has a strong group of complementary role players necessary to lead a championship run. Herb and TMIII also have the potential to grow into All-Star-caliber talents in their own right. But, despite a strong top-seven and an overwhelming amount of collective talent, the Pelicans still have plenty of causes for concern surrounding their roster.
Their top four in CJ, BI, Zion, and DJM have a lot of overlapping strengths and weaknesses. That'll make it difficult for Head Coach Willie Green to find ways to maximize every player and ensure that they're put in positions to best help the team win games. Despite a strong supporting cast, New Orleans doesn't have a single starting-caliber center on the roster. One of Daniel Theis, Yves Missi, or Karlo Matkovic might wind up jumping for the opening tip every night, but it probably won't be because they're one of the five best players on the team.
Expect to see a good amount of small-ball from the Pelicans in the 2024-25 NBA season
There has been a lot of intrigue surrounding the Pelicans starting lineup for next season. Between CJ, BI, Zion, DJM, Herb, and TMIII, New Orleans has six players capable of being starters for a playoff-caliber team. But, none of those six is a true center.
Because of that and the Pelicans' extremely questionable center depth, their starting lineup is a complete mystery. Will Theis, Missi, or Matkovic start at the five? Or, will Coach Green forego a traditional center altogether and lean on talent over conventional positions?
At Media Day, Coach Green revealed that he's still pondering what his starting five will look like, though he did say that he wants to find a group that he can stick with throughout the year in order to build chemistry and consistency. He also stated that he's not against the idea of playing small instead of forcing a traditional lineup with a true center.
Vice President David Griffin said that he believes that this roster is the most talent that the Pelicans have had since his arrival. He also disclosed that their sheer amount of strong wings — Ingram, Murphy III, Jones, etc. — might make it difficult for Green to keep a big on the floor at all times.
New Orleans's most glaring weaknesses are center depth, playmaking, and reliable volume shooting from beyond the arc. Playing small alleviates every single one of those causes for concern and is the simplest, most obvious way to do so. Unless the Pelicans wind up acquiring a true starting-caliber center, expect them to run a lot of small-ball next season.