A Preview of the 2022-23 New Orleans Pelicans

September 13^th, 2022

Pelicans’ star forward, Zion Williamson and head coach Willie Green will team up to try to get the New Orleans Pelicans to the playoffs in 2023, but they’ll face stiff competition out in the West in their bid to try to do so.
(Photo: Max Becherer/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP, via WEHT)

The Pelicans will be looking to build from their last year’s playoff bid for the upcoming season. Last year, the Pelicans were able to turn their season around after getting off to a very slow start. They had strong rookie seasons from Herbert Jones and Jose Alvarado, Jonas Valanciunas added a reliable three-point to his arsenal, and they swung a big trade to get C.J. McCollum around the trade deadline, which helped get them a string of victories.

"You've got to FIGHT!"

This speech from Willie Green changed everything for the Pelicans 😤 pic.twitter.com/2NpwlF0ann
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 16, 2022

New Orleans Pelicans’ head coach, Willie Green’s memorable, inspirational speech helped motivate his team to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2022 Play-In Tournament to help lift the Pelicans to get into the 2022 NBA Playoffs.
(Source: Twitter/@BleacherReport)

They later had a tremendous play-in tournament that enabled them to get to the 2022 playoffs due to the strong play of Brandon Ingram, C.J. McCollum, and coaching from new head coach Willie Green, and they were able to defeat the Clippers to get into the postseason. They also were able to take the first-seeded Phoenix Suns to 6 games before losing to them in the first round.

This year, they’ll get a fully healthy Zion Williamson to add to their team, and the Pelicans could be poised to win even more games this year. They’ll face stiff competition out in the West now that the Clippers and Lakers will also be healthy, but there is plenty of optimism in New Orleans for the upcoming season.

Star Players:

F Zion Williamson, F Brandon Ingram, G C.J. McCollum, and C Jonas Valančiūnas

Zion Williamson is a tremendously athletic forward that really excels at taking the ball to the rim to score, and he is also a rangy defender that can make a slew of plays to help his team in games. He’s a terrific player when healthy, and has made 1 NBA All-Star team. He’ll need to improve his jump shot and stay healthy, but he could make the Pelicans an even better and more dynamic team this season.

Brandon Ingram is a tall, athletic and skilled forward that can shoot and score the basketball, and he was instrumental in helping to lead the Pelicans to a crucial play-in tournament win over the Clippers to get his team to the 2022 playoffs. He’s been streaky with his jump shot at times, but he is a very talented player that can take over games.

C.J. McCollum is an agile, skilled veteran combo guard that can shoot and score the basketball, and he was vital to help get the Pelicans to the playoffs. He is also a very good playmaker that can play either backcourt position. On the other hand, opposing teams can target their team defensively as his lack of size makes it difficult for him and his team to guard taller players, but McCollum’s strong offensive skills instantly makes the Pelicans a playoff contender once again this season.

Jonas Valanciunas is a tall, skilled center whose versatile scoring skills have significantly aided New Orleans. He is a skilled low post scorer that also can score on hustle plays, is a good passing big man, and he also added a very good three-point shot to his arsenal, all of which makes him a very good offensive player in this league. He’s also a very good rebounder. While his athletic limitations may make it difficult for him to guard quicker players defensively, his strong offensive and rebounding skills make him a valuable complementary player in this league.

Additions:

G-F Dyson Daniels

Dyson Daniels is an athletic, skilled point forward that can play multiple positions, and his versatility could help the Pelicans both this year and in the future. He will need to improve his jump shot, but his court vision and solid defensive skills should enable him to be a solid role player in the NBA.

Subtractions:

G-F Tony Snell

Snell is a low volume sharpshooter that played a 3 and D role, but while he was let go, the Pelicans have a slew of talented players off the bench that can step up to provide solid minutes for their team this year.

Rookies:

G-F Dyson Daniels, G-F Dereon Seabron

There may not be a whole lot of minutes for Daniels or Seabron in the early going, but if Daniels plays well enough, he could force his way into the rotation or prompt management to trade someone else such as Graham later on. Daniels is a talented point forward that could definitely work his way into the rotation. Seabron isn’t likely to get many minutes this year, but he is a very athletic point forward whose ability to score, rebound, and make plays could enable him to get minutes late in the season.

As for their other rookies that they drafted or played for their summer league team this year, Karlo Matkovic will be staying overseas this year, and he is an athletic big man that can score in the post and pass the basketball. E.J. Liddell went down to an unfortunate knee injury, so he has been unsigned and will miss the entire season this year. John Butler was said to be on a two-way contract by a Sports Illustrated article that was written by Chris Dodson, but I couldn’t find another source that confirmed this. Regardless, he’s probably going to spend most or all of his time in the NBA G-League for the upcoming season, as he’s a very tall, but very skinny big man that can shoot and defend, but people will want to know how well he holds up at higher levels. They also recently signed Daeqwon Plowden to an Exhibit 10, and he is an athletic swingman that could project into a 3 and D role off the bench.

Expected Rotation: