The New Orleans Pelicans have had plenty to like in Las Vegas. They’re 2-1 in Summer League, and several players have already made cases for themselves as the franchise sorts through the roster. But the good vibes come with a familiar problem hanging over everything: the middle of the floor still looks thin.
That issue was already a talking point when the offseason began. Center felt like the one spot that clearly needed help, yet Joe Dumars apparently saw it differently.
So far, the Summer League minutes for Hunter Dickinson have only sharpened the concern. He’s getting run, but not giving New Orleans much reason to feel better about the position.
The bigger issue is what his presence says about the roster: the Pelicans don’t have a veteran answer at center, and they also don’t have a blue-chip young one waiting in the wings. If Dickinson were flashing real upside, that would change the conversation.
Instead, the players standing out in Vegas have mostly been guards and forwards - the areas where New Orleans already has plenty of talent.
Yves Missi is still the one name that offers some hope, and there’s no doubt about that. But expecting him to make a leap into full-time starter territory next season feels like a stretch. A steady climb makes more sense than banking on him to solve the problem right away.
Derik Queen doesn’t clear up the picture either. He remains a mystery for now.
Most around the Pelicans believe he projects better as a power forward in the long run, but there’s no real clarity yet because he wasn’t asked to play in Vegas. If he still isn’t ready to handle NBA center duties because of strength and physical development, then New Orleans is looking at a frontcourt group of Dickinson, Missi, Karlo Matkovic, and 37-year-old DeAndre Jordan.
When you compare that to the rest of the league, only the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers might have a worse projected front line.
That’s nasty work.
The rest of the roster, at least on paper, looks much healthier. The Pelicans have a crowded guard group with an ascending Jeremiah Fears, Jordan Poole looking for a bounce back, and a healthy Dejounte Murray.
They also have plenty of bodies on the wing and at forward, with Zion Williamson, Saddiq Bey, Herb Jones, Derik Queen, and Trey Murphy III all expected back. With Summer League trends pointing in that direction, the final two-way spot is likely to go to a wing or guard.
New Orleans could have made the center competition more interesting by bringing in more bigs to push Dickinson. Instead, Nate Mensah was the only other true five in the mix, and he has played fewer than 15 minutes per game while shooting 28.6 percent from the floor.
For a team that has dealt with injuries, center has been the recurring weakness for several seasons now. And once again, the Pelicans look set to enter another year with the same hole still staring them in the face.
In Other News...
Pelicans Just Sent A Clear Message About This Core
The Pelicans spent the offseason making a point of continuity with the roster, but the bigger message came from everything around it. New Orleans kept most of its core intact while reshaping the coaching staff and several support departments, a sign the organization believes the answer to last seasons problems was not a wholesale roster teardown but a better structure for the talent already in place.
The changes are aimed at the same issues that have lingered for a while: defense, player development and a more consistent offense. With the new setup, the Pelicans are betting they can get more out of their existing group, especially the younger players who stand to benefit from a different development environment, while also giving the offense a chance to look less static and more connected. [Read more 🡒]