New Orleans Pelicans: How Zion Williamson impacts the Anthony Davis trade

The New Orleans Pelicans front office should focus on obtaining young assets that complement the skill set of Zion Williamson in an Anthony Davis trade instead of trying to acquire the most talent possible 

"I spoke to several people within the Pelicans’ organization in the past several months that have a really high opinion of Brandon Ingram, and beyond just Brandon Ingram, have a really high opinion of the trade package that was on the table that was ultimately rejected."

This was said by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin last week in regards to the possibility of the Los Angeles Lakers acquiring Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. However, one can argue that obtaining the first overall pick in the draft should change how New Orleans Pelicans view an Anthony Davis trade.

The Pelicans are currently expected to draft a player in Zion Williamson who is at his best when he has the basketball. Kevin O’Connor of the Ringer alluded to this late last year when describing a play against the Kentucky Wildcats:

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"Zion skies over a defender for a rebound, takes the ball up the court, then hits Tre Jones with the bounce pass for a layup. It’s not an exaggeration to say the last player to possess this type of skill with similar physical makeup was Charles Barkley. That’s what makes Williamson such a fascinating fit for the NBA. In today’s positionless league, Williamson could serve as the screener or as the ball handler in the pick-and-roll."

Zion’s skill set dictates that he is best suited to be in the LeBron James offense, where he can dribble the ball to the 3-point line and analyze the entire defense. If one of the defenders is sagging off a shooter, he will pass the basketball to the shooter for an open 3-pointer.

On the other hand, if everyone stays home, he will study everything about his defender to determine the next course of action. If the defender decided to sag off of him, Zion would take the open jumper. But, if the defender played him tight, he will attempt to drive towards the basket for a score, to draw a foul or attract a double team.

Distance is not the only aspect of the defense that Zion can analyze as he can pay attention to the size of his defender. If he has a smaller defender, Zion can back him down into the post to score or throw a cross-court pass to a teammate behind the arc.

If the New Orleans Pelicans tailor their offense to the strengths of Zion Williamson, his future teammates will have to spend a substantial amount of time off the ball in the role of bystander or spot up shooter. Unfortunately, the Lakers only have one young asset that is considered to be an above average three-point shooter, Josh Hart.

Josh Hart has a career 3-point shooting percentage of 36.1 percent (making 1.3 3’s in 3.6 attempts per game) in two seasons. Hart’s shooting percentage is 0.3 percent [( 36.1 + 35.5 )/2 = 35.8] better than the league average for the past two seasons.

Therefore, opposing coaches will tell their players to leave every wing player except for Hart wide open to double or triple team Zion to prevent him from getting a clean look at the basket.

Consequently, David Griffin and the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans front office should be talking to teams with multiple above average shooters on the roster to put Zion in the best position to succeed. A prime example of this would be the Denver Nuggets as they have two players who fit the criteria in Gary Harris and Jamal Murray.

Gary Harris has a career 3-point shooting percentage of 36.5 percent ( making 1.5 3’s in 4.1 attempts per game) in five seasons. Gary’s 3-point shooting percentage has been one percent better than league average [(35 + 35.4 +35.8 + 36.1 + 35.5 )/5 = 35.56] during this span.

On the other hand, Jamal Murray is shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc ( making 1.8 3’s in 5 attempts per game) in three seasons. This is 0.4 percent better than league average [(35.8 + 36.1 + 35.5 )/3 = 35.8] for the past three seasons.

Another example of this would be the Chicago Bulls because, like Denver, they also have two players who meet the requirement in Lauri Markkanen and Zach LaVine. Markkanen has been shooting 36.2 percent from behind the arc ( making 2.2 3’s in 6.1 attempts per game) over the past two seasons. This is 0.4 percent better than league average [( 36.1 + 35.5 )/2 = 35.8] in the past two seasons

Conversely, Zach LaVine has a career 3-point shooting percentage of 37.3 percent ( making 1.6 3’s in 4.2 attempts per game) in five seasons. Zach’s 3-point shooting percentage has been 1.8 percent better than league average [(35 + 35.4 +35.8 + 36.1 + 35.5 )/5 = 35.56] during this span.

Both of these duos would play a vital role in forcing opponents to make a decision focus on stopping Zion or stay close to the shooters. If they pack the paint to stop Zion, he will have the opportunity to pass the basketball to the perimeter for an uncontested 3-point attempt. Conversely, if they stay close to the shooters, Zion will have more space to maneuver in the paint, increasing the likelihood of him scoring.

In conclusion, David Griffin and the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans front office should focus on obtaining young assets that complement the skill set of Zion Williamson in an Anthony Davis trade.