The New Orleans Pelican continued to bolster its frontcourt and sent a clear message to Zion Williamson in a rather predictable move.
On Monday, the Pelican and Kevon Rooney of New Orleans agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract. The Pelicans are just the second NBA team that Rooney has ever been suitable as they spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Golden State Warriors.
Rooney averaged 4.5 points and 6.1 rebounds last season for Golden State. He’s not too big from the floor space, and is what the Pelicans need to maximize Zion Williamson, suggesting that this offseason will not be Zion’s all-in.
Between drafting Derrick Queen and signing Rooney, the Pelicans make it clear they are willing to minimize Williamson’s role, building it exactly as the Joe Dumars team did in the past.
Rookie Derik Queen is not a reliable shooter like Rooney and Eve Missi, and two of these three players will always have a hard time sharing the floor with Zion.
However, given Williamson’s history with injuries and off-court problems, it’s wise to expect the Dumars to miss a fair amount of time next season.
New Orleans appears to enter the season with the rotations of DeJoan Murray, Jordan Poole, Trey Murphy II, Herbert Jones and Misi.
All the reasons to celebrate if Williamson plays, Dumars is well-versed enough to know that he can’t count on it. By signing Rooney, the front court gets crowded for Queen and Misi to develop, but Dumars may not draft Missi and be unfascinated with all the rookie centers.
Is Williamson on the trade bloc? Perhaps he is a damaged item at this point in his career, and the Pelican must prepare for the reality that he doesn’t get much for him.
The Pelicans did not link directly to Rooney, but Joe Dumars has a trend of hoarding centres.
During his tenure as general manager for the Detroit Pistons from 2000 to 2014, he used six big men during the prestigious 2004 season, with five on the roster. On top of that, he drafted Greg Monroe and Andre Dramond from the starting caliber centers just two years away.
His tenure, leading the Sacramento Kings, had not accumulated as much height as he did while heading for the Pistons, but despite being a shooting guard, it is important to remember that Dimmer played during an era of big men dominated.
Dumars was well aware of the impact culture had on teams, and the Pelican was an ardder for most of its existence. Adding a skilled champion could help him get off to a good start to his rebuild.