2020-21: The Core Was Already Taking Shape
For a brief period, the New Orleans Pelicans had one of the most interesting young cores in basketball. Zion Williamson was only 20 years old in 2020-21 when he averaged 27.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 61.1 percent from the field. Brandon Ingram was already an All-Star caliber scorer, averaging 23.8 points with the ability to create his own shot from nearly anywhere inside the three-point line. Lonzo Ball had begun turning himself into a legitimate outside shooter, averaging 14.6 points and 5.7 assists while making 37.8 percent of his threes. Josh Hart averaged 8.0 rebounds per game despite standing 6-foot-5. The fit was imperfect, but the possibilities were obvious. Ball wanted to run. Hart wanted to run. Ingram could score when the game slowed down. Zion could overpower defenders, rise above them or simply go through them. When New Orleans played fast, defenses regularly found themselves trying to stop Williamson before they had all five defenders positioned. Then the group separated. Ball went to Chicago during the 2021 offseason. Hart eventually became part of the trade that brought CJ McCollum to New Orleans. Williamson lost enormous stretches of his early career to injuries. Ingram dealt with his own physical problems. The complete version of the group never really existed. So in this timeline, New Orleans makes one major organizational decision during the summer of 2021. It stops trying to reconstruct the roster and gives the young core time to develop. The Pelicans keep Lonzo Ball. Josh Hart stays. Williamson and Ingram remain healthy enough to play normal NBA schedules rather than losing entire seasons or extended portions of them. Nobody becomes indestructible. Players still miss games. Ankles get sore. Backs tighten. Someone sits out a week in January. What disappears are the injuries that alter careers. That is enough to change almost everything.
Summer 2021: New Orleans Pays Lonzo
Lonzo Ball never reaches Chicago. New Orleans gives him a four-year contract worth roughly the same $85 million Chicago offered in reality. Hart also returns. The Pelicans still make the Memphis trade that brings Jonas Valančiūnas to New Orleans, and they still draft Trey Murphy III. Herb Jones still comes in the second round, and Jose Alvarado still joins the organization as an undrafted free agent. There is no reason to pursue Devonte' Graham, because Ball is still the starting point guard. Willie Green begins his first season with a rotation built around Ball, Hart, Ingram, Williamson and Valančiūnas, with Murphy, Jones, Alvarado and other young players developing behind them. Ball's importance becomes clear quickly. He is not simply a passer. At 6-foot-6 with quick hands, good anticipation and enough size to switch onto wings, Ball becomes one of the better defensive guards in the conference. He can pressure a point guard on one possession and defend a shooting guard on the next. When Herb Jones enters the game, Green suddenly has two perimeter defenders capable of taking difficult assignments without requiring much offensive attention. Ball is also no longer the unreliable shooter he was early in Los Angeles. Teams cannot leave him alone. He does not become Stephen Curry, and nobody confuses the two. Ball simply becomes a player who makes enough threes at enough volume that ignoring him creates a problem. That distinction becomes important for Zion.
2021-22: Must-See Basketball Arrives EarlyPREMIUM
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View Membership2022 NBA Draft: Jalen Duren and Andrew NembhardPREMIUM
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2022-23: New Orleans Takes Another StepPREMIUM
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2023 Draft: Brice Sensabaugh Joins the BenchPREMIUM
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2023-24: Lonzo's Game ExpandsPREMIUM
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2024 NBA Draft: Kyle Filipowski Adds Another OptionPREMIUM
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2024-25: The Pelicans Return DifferentPREMIUM
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Winning Changes How the League Views New OrleansPREMIUM
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2025-26: The West Keeps Getting BetterPREMIUM
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2026 Draft: Isaiah EvansPREMIUM
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2026-27: The Original Rotation Begins ChangingPREMIUM
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2027-28: Ingram Gets His MomentPREMIUM
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2028: Nembhard Earns His Own TeamPREMIUM
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2028-29: The Core Ages Without Falling ApartPREMIUM
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2029-30: A Different Version of the PelicansPREMIUM
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Nine Seasons of New Orleans BasketballPREMIUM
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The Drafting Extends the RunPREMIUM
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Josh Hart Is the One Who Eventually LeavesPREMIUM
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Zion Williamson Becomes the Greatest PelicanPREMIUM
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Brandon Ingram Builds a Hall of Fame RésuméPREMIUM
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Lonzo Ball's Career Is Completely RewrittenPREMIUM
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The Anthony Davis Trade Looks Different in RetrospectPREMIUM
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New Orleans Becomes a Free-Agent DestinationPREMIUM
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What Healthy Basketball ChangesPREMIUM
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THE DISCUSSION
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