Willie Green gives intriguing quote about Zion Williamson in small-ball lineups

In this upcoming 2024-25 NBA season, Head Coach Willie Green of the New Orleans Pelicans might just have the most difficult job out of all the playcallers out there. Firstly, this is a team with serious title aspirations. With several All-Star caliber players in the midst of their primes on the roster, the Pelicans have more than enough talent to make a deep playoff run, something they haven't done yet in the Zion Williamson era.

Green inherited a young team, and he'll still be depending on many young players to lead next season, including Zion, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III. Despite their relative lack of inexperience, New Orleans is heading into year six with Zion and year four with Coach Green. While there are no substantial indications that Green might be on a hot seat, the franchise's patience can only stretch so long.

This upcoming season, he'll also probably have off-court issues to contend with, depending on if Brandon Ingram and Murphy III get their extensions done before the season's tip-off. He'll be commanding a deep and talented roster, but not one without serious flaws, the most glaring being their severe lack of reliable centers. Due to their roster construction, the Pelicans and Coach Green have accepted that they'll have to rely on small-ball lineups next season, but it might not go down as most fans might expect.

Don't expect to see a lot of center play from Zion Williamson next season

At Pelicans Media Day, the concept of small-ball was brought up multiple times to multiple people, including Coach Green and Vice President David Griffin. Both the coach and the executive conceded that New Orleans will likely have to play a good amount of small-ball next season due to their lack of center depth and their surplus of impactful wings.

For years, there's been a clamoring for Zion Williamson to appear as the only big man on the court for the Pelicans. In theory, it would allow New Orleans to play fast, surround Zion with shooters, and let him cook against a mismatched, slow-footed opposing center. It's estimated that Zion's played nine percent of his total minutes at center so far in the NBA, including 14 percent of his playing time last season where New Orleans was able to find significant success with him as their five.

While Zion might be the lone big man a lot more next season, Head Coach Willie Green doesn't want anyone to confuse Williamson as a center:

"Zion is not a 5. Let's take that out of our terminology. He can definitely become a good screener and catching it in the pocket. But we're still figuring it out."

This may just be a matter of semantics. Green might not want Zion to be called a center or a five, but, when he's the sole big on the court, those responsibilities — paint protection, guarding the opposing center, rebounding, etc. — will fall onto him. But, there may be a more meaningful reason for why Green said what he did. Green also reportedly alluded that in addition to playing small-ball, New Orleans will be looking to deploy more "positionless" lineups as well.

Small-ball and positionless do have a lot of overlap, but there are certain distinctions between them. Small-ball philosophy can still stay true to traditional roles on the court, like having a single primary ball-handler and a designated paint protector. Positionless, though, means that those archaic confinements go out the window. Multiple players can take the ball down and initiate the offense. Players switch everything on defense. Anyone and everyone can set screens and receive them.

Zion will likely be the sole big on the court a lot for the Pelicans next year, but he's way too talented to be restricted to a traditional center role. Even when he's their de facto five man, he'll still be initiating the offense, creating plays, and, overall, being much more than just a center.