1 pick from the past 10 years.įor the Pelicans, winning the draft lottery made all the drama from the past season worth it. Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman looked at the advanced metrics in January and noted he stacked up well against basically every other No. He is the most complete player the draft has seen in some time. His block on Virginia guard De'Andre Hunter in February showed both his incredible leaping ability and closing speed. Over the final three months of the year, he shot 21-of-53 (39.6 percent).Īs much fun as Williamson was to watch on offense, he might be a better defender. Through November and December, Williamson was 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) on three-pointers. He made a concerted effort to expand his shooting range as well. While he won't dominate to the same extent in his first year in the NBA, his inside scoring should translate. He showed solid footwork and a good variety of moves for a true freshman. With his 6'7", 285-pound frame, it was basically like watching LeBron James (6'8", 250 pounds) match up against college players.īut Williamson's post game went beyond sheer strength and force of will. There's no question physical superiority accounted for some of his success. The 18-year-old put those concerns to bed during his only season at Duke. However, it reflected what were fair questions about whether he had a versatile enough offensive game to be a high-volume scorer. In retrospect, his recruit ranking undersold his true talent. Williamson's prodigious dunks brought him viral fame when he was a high schooler. He joined fellow blue-chip recruits RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones in Durham.Īlthough the Blue Devils fell short of winning their sixth national championship-losing to Michigan State in the Elite Eight-the blame for their NCAA tournament exit didn't fall on Williamson's broad shoulders. He had 24 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, capping off a brilliant freshman campaign. The fact that the Pelicans would want to acquire a two-time All-Star after losing a star speaks partially to how much the team expects Williamson to deliver right away.Īs the 2018-19 season unfolded, Williamson distanced himself from the field as the top player available in this year's draft class.Įxpectations were already high for the Spartanburg, South Carolina, native since he was the fifth-best recruit in the 2018 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Monday that New Orleans had Bradley Beal as a potential trade target after it agreed to the Davis deal. Pelicans Active Roster and Average Salary (Expiration Year) The same basic idea works if the Hornets want, say, Immanuel Quickley instead of Toppin and one of the firsts.Check out B/R NBA draft expert Jonathan Wasserman's scouting profile on Williamson. They get a starting center in Mitchell Robinson to mix with Mark Williams, they have starters at the three and four with Obi Toppin and RJ Barrett to mix with PJ Washington, and they get a late-lottery pick this season and two future firsts to further build things out. If so, this deal gives them the opportunity to completely reshape their roster. This situation comes about if they want to keep their timeline slow and aren’t absolutely in love with Brandon Miller, which seems like a reasonable possibility. That’s a formidable group if Williamson stays healthy, and none of it truly matters if he doesn’t.įor the Charlotte Hornets, this is a matter of building a deep roster around LaMelo Ball. This puts together a young core of Henderson, Dyson Daniels, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Zion Williamson, with Jonas Valanciunas, CJ McCollum, and Gordon Hayward as the veterans to help guide them forward. The Pelicans get their pick and the opportunity to draft Scoot Henderson.
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