New Orleans Pelicans: How each rookie fits into the rotation

Zion Williamson, No. 1 overall pick (Duke)

After hitting the jackpot in the NBA Draft Lottery, the obvious choice for the New Orleans Pelicans was to grab Duke phenom Zion Williamson.  Teams were knocking at the door the entire season, tanking in hopes to acquire Williamson with the first pick.

The Pelicans, however, were not one of those teams.  Williamson is a franchise-changing player that will make an immediate impact for head coach Alvin Gentry. The Duke product took the basketball world by storm last season, doing things we have not seen a man of his stature do.

He is arguably the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James in 2003.

After losing Julius Randle in free agency, Williamson will look to take on his role as a primary scorer and playmaker.  Expect him to be inserted into the starting lineup immediately and play huge minutes for this team.

The Pelicans will rely on Zion to score and rebound as well as defend multiple positions on the floor.  Williamson’s 46-inch vertical makes him a dangerous rim protector that can cover a lot of ground.

The addition of Lonzo Ball should help Williamson tremendously and get him easy buckets around the rim.

One thing that Williamson needs to improve on is his jump shot.  Despite shooting 68 percent from the field at Duke, most of those made field goals were from inside the paint.  However, this is not a Ben Simmons-type situation for the Pelicans.

Williamson shot 33 percent from the 3-point line in college and has shown enough confidence to put one up when the defense is playing off of him.  Throughout the year, expect him to grow and improve the shooting stroke and be able to score in a variety of ways beyond the paint.