NBA Power Rankings: Overwhelming Boston Celtics look to repeat as training camps open

13. New Orleans Pelicans

With clear need to catch up with the rest of the Western Conference, it was clear that the New Orleans Pelicans made it a priority to tangibly improve their roster this offseason. That's exactly what they managed to pull off by acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks. Even though there remain many questions about the future of Brandon Ingram, this is a team that certainly has the talent to compete with some of the other strong contenders in the Western Conference. I'm not sure how far a core four of Murray, C.J. McCollum, Ingram, and Zion Williamson can take the Pelicans, but it is an intriguing roster.

The big questions for the Pelicans heading into the start of the season is whether they can survive the dark cloud that is Ingram's uncertain future with the team and whether they can remain healthy - specifically Zion.

If they can navigate through those two big concerns this season, there's reason to believe that the Pelicans could be an increasingly interesting team to keep a close eye on this season.