Talented Pelicans enter 2022-23 with heightened expectations

The New Orleans Pelicans’ roster is headlined by a pair of forwards who appeared in one NBA All-Star Game apiece at the start of this decade. They’re now joined in the Crescent City by a guard described by many as the NBA’s best player who’s not yet made an All-Star appearance. That trio is flanked by one of the league’s most productive centers, as well as a 2021-22 All-Rookie second-team selection. For good measure, the Pelicans’ bench was an increasingly effective force last season, featuring two other highly productive first-year pros. It added another lottery pick in June.

Add it up, and New Orleans boasts an enviable collection of firepower and youth with the potential to continue to improve. Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin – who built Cleveland’s 2016 title team – recently described his level of enthusiasm for the group.

“What’s going to be really exciting for us is we have an incredible amount of talent,” Griffin said. “We have more talent than I’ve had almost anywhere I’ve been, including a team that won a championship.”

As Griffin pointed out, the respect people around the NBA have for New Orleans’ roster naturally will lead to higher expectations. Virtually every prognosticator this fall is projecting the Pelicans to make the playoffs and finish in the top eight of the Western Conference regular season standings. Unlike in past years, New Orleans won’t be able to sneak up on anyone.

“This talent has never had to win a game when they were supposed to win a game,” Griffin said of the change in perspective. “That’s really the next step in our evolution. Last year we got to win games at the end of the season when nobody thought we were any good. It’s a whole lot easier to be the hunter than the hunted. We were good last year. We get the opportunity now to prove that we’re actually a good team. That’s a super exciting thing in the growth and evolution of a franchise.”

Brandon Ingram (All-Star in 2020), Zion Williamson (All-Star in 2021) and CJ McCollum have not played together yet, but could form one of the NBA’s most dangerous offensive trios, combining to average over 60 points in their pro careers. Starting center Jonas Valanciunas finished third in the NBA with 50 double-doubles in ’21-22, while wing Herb Jones emerged as a premier rookie, despite not being drafted until the No. 35 overall pick last summer. Off the bench, fellow rookies Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III filled critical roles in the playoffs vs. Phoenix, as did in-season trade pickup Larry Nance Jr. and young starter Jaxson Hayes.

Another man who turned in a smashing debut, first-year head coach Willie Green, helped the Pelicans shake off a rough 1-12 start and make an improbable run to the West playoffs by going 2-0 in the play-in tournament, creating notably positive vibes along the way. New Orleans now has a chance to build upon what it established last spring, this time having shed any underdog or sleeper status.

“Our future is we’re going to be damn good for a long time, if we make the right things out of our current opportunity,” Griffin said. “Because we have Coach Green and his staff, I believe very powerfully they can do that.”

Because we have players who are working harder than I’ve ever seen a group of young players work, they’re taking care of their part of this. They’re working together every day. They understand that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. They think of themselves as brothers.”