New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans are a team to watch out for heading into the 2022-23 season. They finished last season on a high note, qualifying for the postseason after defeating the San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
The acquisition of CJ McCollum was a big boost, as having him for an entire offseason can only help. The biggest addition they will be making is Zion Williamson, who missed the entire campaign with a foot injury.
Getting him back in the mix will help take the New Orleans Pelicans to another level. However, they should be keeping an eye on the Ben Simmons situation as well, as his playmaking and defense could be the missing piece to bring it all together.
A lineup of Simmons, McCollum, Brandon Ingram, Herb Jones, and Williamson would be a scary thing for opponents to deal with. The spacing could be an issue, but McCollum and Ingram can create enough on their own before even accounting for how good Simmons is at running an offense.
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Defensively, Simmons would provide the team with another ace to go along with Jones. Both are extremely versatile and can defend virtually any position on the floor. Having two interchangeable players of that level will help compensate for their teammates.
With a boatload of draft picks from the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday trades, the New Orleans Pelicans can spare a pick or two to land Simmons. His injury history is concerning, given they are already dealing with that when it comes to Williamson, but it would be worth the risk to potentially jump into the next tier of Western Conference teams.
