Who could step up alongside Williamson and Ingram?

Tomas Satoransky, Garrett Temple, Devonte’ Graham, and Jonas Valanciunas are all veteran talents this team added in the offseason and along with Kira Lewis Jr. and rookie Trey Murphy III, third-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker is expected to see a handful of minutes early on in the season. 

Having a nice blend of experienced and youthful talents, there is a lot to like about this New Orleans Pelicans roster heading into the 2021-22 season. However, who will be the third guy to step up on this roster? 

Jonas Valanciunas could certainly make a case for this role, as he was a double-double machine last year in Memphis, and Josh Hart could also step up into a bigger role with the likes of Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe gone, but keep an eye on Nickeil Alexander-Walker this year. 

Drafted 17th overall in 2019, the same year in which the Pelicans took Zion Williamson first overall, New Orleans has been very pleased with the development of Alexander-Walker to this point in his young career and they are expecting big things from him during his third year in the league. 

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After not playing much in his rookie season, the young combo-guard took on a much larger role off the bench last season, averaging 11.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shooting 34.7% from three-point range.

Due to numerous players dealing with injuries, Alexander-Walker got his chance to prove himself early on in the season for New Orleans and he showcased his scoring abilities when he dropped a career-high 37 points on the Los Angeles Clippers, one of the better defensive teams in the league. 

In his final five games last year, Nickeil Alexander-Walker averaged 17.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 42.5% from the floor.