Does this trade make sense for the New Orleans Pelicans?
It’s crucial that perimeter shooting is a priority for the New Orleans Pelicans to surround Zion Williamson with given how unstoppable he has become inside the paint. If teams have to worry about a 7-footer spotting up from deep while having to contain Williamson getting downhill…that’s a nightmare.
There would undoubtedly be concerns about where Markkanen would fit in ideally on this Pelicans team. Williamson is best slotted in at the four spot and Markkanen is too weak and slow-footed to be a true-five, even in an increasingly small ball oriented league.
Williamson has a lot of work to do defensively in his own right. He is far more physically capable of getting the job done than Markkanen but continues to do little things that add up like bite on shot fakes when closing out, ball watch off-the-ball, etc.
Perhaps the best solution for the Pelicans would be to bring Markkanen off-the-bench and slide over to that small-ball five role against bench units. There could be real potential for some overwhelming runs throughout the flow of games if he’s connecting from deep.
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It would certainly be worthwhile for the Pelicans to have a bench frontcourt of Markkanen and Jaxson Hayes with there being a real balance of sharpshooting from Markkanen with athletic play finishing and rim protection coming from Hayes.
