Talent is not an issue for the New Orleans Pelicans.
By all accounts, this will be the most talented team in franchise history. The roster is loaded with skilled athletes in the prime of their careers.
Nine players have starting experience.
Four have averaged more than 20 points a game in a season.
Three have All-Star experience.
Two are former All-Defensive Team members.
Relatively speaking, the lineup might lack size and strength, but it doesn’t lack ability. The Pels can match any team in the Western Conference in length, athleticism and skill set.
There are many reasons to be excited about the 2024-25 season, but it all starts with the array of athletic talent that will be on display each night at the Smoothie King Center.
“We’ve got more talent than we’ve ever had,” Pelicans director of basketball operations David Griffin said during the team’s media day festivities Monday. “I think everybody in that locker room knows we have an opportunity to do something pretty significant (this season).”
Like any team, the lineup isn’t perfect. The tallest starter likely will be 6-foot-8, so coach Willie Green and staff will need to be creative when defending elite big men such as Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and Anthony Davis. On the flip side, the Pels will cause matchup problems for taller opponents with their quickness and athleticism.
If the Pels can stay healthy and figure out a workable playing rotation, the sky is the limit for this team, making its biggest challenge the intangible rather than the tangible. The trajectory of the season will be determined largely by the Pels’ mental approach.
With a roster dominated by dribble-pass-and-shoot wing players, roles will need to be defined in the days, weeks and months ahead. Up and down the lineup, sacrifices will need to be made for the greater good.
How will certain players adapt to their new roles?
Invariably, some will have fewer minutes. Others will get fewer shots. There will be an adjustment period for everyone.
“It’s going to take time,” Griffin said. “This is a work in progress. It could get hard for a while.”
Egos could be bruised along the way.
Players accustomed to having the ball in their hands will need to learn to play without it more often as Dejounte Murray takes the reins at point guard. How will holdovers Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum adjust to Murray’s playmaking style?
That’s why training camp will be so important for this team. Murray averaged a career-high 18.8 field goal attempts a game last season in Atlanta. He now takes over as the primary facilitator in a lineup dominated by elite-level scorers. How he assimilates into the lineup with the Big Three holdovers will go a long way toward determining the Pels’ trajectory.
With fewer shots to go around, will everyone be happy?
On Monday, everyone was saying the right things. Time will tell whether they walk the walk once the ball goes up.
“I think training camp will be kind of a — I'm not going to say a ‘tell all’ — but (will) kind of let us know where we are as a team,” Williamson said.
You don't have to be a mind reader to know what Williamson is saying.
Camaraderie and chemistry will be critical. Players and coaches will need to nurture each aspect — on and off the court — to maintain the proper culture.
Easier said than done, of course. Things become more complicated when money, personal goals and career aspirations are involved.
Ingram is entering the final year of his contract.
Sixth man Tre Murphy, one of the league's aspiring talents, is in the midst of negotiating a long-term deal.
Both might have to sacrifice their personal ambitions for the good of the team.
“We just got to buy in and sacrifice and have the same goal and that’s to win,” Murray said. “I feel like if we play the right way, everybody should have some success.”
The task of making everything work will fall largely on the shoulders of Green and Murray. As the coach, Green will need to clearly define roles and distribute minutes. As the point guard and designated leader of the group, Murray will be required to get teammates involved and keep everyone happy. It’s a difficult job made even trickier by his newcomer status.
“We can be special if we believe, come together and sacrifice,” Murray said. “If we do those things and just stay together and stay healthy, we can do some special things.”
Big “ifs.”
The kind that will define the Pelicans’ season.