Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans shoots over Jonas Valanciunas #17 of the Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Allow me to introduce the lumberjack who will be the New Orleans Pelicans new man in the middle after the team traded away Aquaman. A double-double machine, Jonas Valanciunas, is an underrated center who ticks off many of the boxes Pels fans want from a big man in today’s game, which will help unlock another level for Zion Williamson.
A lot of analysis around this trade continues to ignore that Zion Williamson is not a center and therefore the Pelicans still needed someone to defend the paint.