4 bold predictions for the New Orleans Pelicans next season
By Cal Durrett
The New Orleans Pelicans will enter next season much improved after a solid offseason, particularly with the return of all-star Zion Williamson. Williamson is set to join a team that snuck into the playoffs and won two games against a 64-win team, providing them with added confidence.
He’ll also be paired with Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum, who was a late-season addition that should be even better next season. With McCollum in the mix, the New Orleans Pelicans could have one of the best offensive trios in the NBA, and that should help the team compete in a fairly wide-open Western Conference. With this in mind, let’s look at four bold predictions for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Prediction #1: Dyson Daniels will be named to the All-Rookie First Team.
Dyson Daniels was selected eighth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, and while he won’t start for the New Orleans Pelicans, he’ll still make an impact. Daniels is known as a well-rounded player, but he particularly excels on defense. He, alone, won’t prop up a 21st-ranked defense, but adding a defender of his caliber to the rotation should help raise their floor.
With more time to gel, the Pelicans could be around average on that end of the floor, allowing them to stop teams just enough for their potentially explosive offense to blow opponents’ doors off. Daniels isn’t a good shooter, so he might not help as much in the scoring department, but he is a talented passer and a creative finisher.
Both are useful skills, especially for a rookie, but it would be unfair to place high expectations on a teenager. Additionally, next season should be more about getting him acclimated to the team and the NBA.
Still, I expect him to make enough of an impact on a good team that he’ll warrant consideration for first-team all-rookie. I’ll be the first to admit that that’s ambitious, but this is all about bold predictions after all.