Heading into next season, it feels like a few things are concrete for the New Orleans Pelicans. Firstly, we know that Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Trey Murphy, and Herb Jones will be starting, and Kevon Looney will likely be rounding out the starting five. We also know that to start next season, both Dejounte Murray and Derik Queen likely won't be available.
Well, we do roughly know what the Pelicans' second unit is going to look like. We don't have a clear picture of who will lead that group to start next season. Obviously, the goal when healthy should be to have Poole as the sixth man, as that's a role he's excelled in during his career. However, that doesn't help at the start of the upcoming campaign, as New Orleans doesn't really have a proper spark plug off the bench.
This is somewhat problematic as it's unclear if the Pelicans have someone they can go to if a starter is struggling. Every team needs that guy off the bench who can help close out games and make an impact on winning. Some of the potential candidates for this role are Jordan Hawkins, Jose Alvarado, Saddiq Bey, and Jeremiah Fears. Before I continue to clear something up, the only reason Yves Missi isn't mentioned is because it's expected that he and Looney will split starting minutes.
Who is going to take that step
Out of all the candidates to break out, two stand tall above the rest: Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins. That's no shade to Bey or Fears, but I don't expect Bey to have the ball in his hands enough to be that big of a difference maker. And for Fears, we've seen Willie Green be reluctant to play young guys before so that that trend might continue.
I feel like out of the entire Pelicans bench, Hawkins and Alvarado have the most to prove. The Pelicans drafted a guard this summer and traded for one in back-to-back years. This has put a ton of pressure on Jose to build off of his career year last season, as it is clear that Joe Dumars is ready to look in other directions at point guard.
Hawkins is entering his third season, and although we've seen flashes, there's nothing outside of his college numbers to prove that he can be a knockdown shooter at the NBA level. This lack of a breakout puts him on thin ice heading into this season.
Both of these guys also possess the ball-handling skills to be offensive initiators and can run an offense. Hawkins' three-point shooting ability and size coming off the bench could be plugged into any lineup and would make the Pelicans dangerous. However, I feel like it's way more likely that Alvarado takes the sixth-man role than Hawkins, as I haven't seen enough to expect a breakout year.
Whether it's one of these two or someone else, the Pelicans need a consistent option off the bench if they are going to be successful this upcoming season.