The New Orleans Pelicans are handing Jamahl Mosley the keys to a franchise desperate for a turnaround, and the new head coach already knows where he wants to start: unlocking Zion Williamson as a complete offensive weapon.
“He hasn’t even scratched the surface of things he can do,” Mosley told reporters. “I really do believe that. And I think being able to open the floor up more for him, attacking, being able to play him in different positions, because he’s an excellent basketball player with a high IQ for playmaking, for making guys around him better, knowing when to make plays and the right passes to make.”
Williamson is coming off a season where he averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and shot 60 percent from the field across 62 games.
But for Mosley, the focus goes beyond scoring numbers. The former Magic coach wants to create more spacing and offensive freedom to fully maximize Williamson’s unique skill set.
“I think just opening the floor up a lot more for him to attack the basket, giving space, being able to live at the free throw line consistently,” Mosley said of Williamson. “Some of the things he’s done here have been obviously spectacular — and so just making sure that we continue that along with us being healthy.”
Health remains the biggest question surrounding the former No. 1 overall pick. Williamson has played 30 games or fewer in three of his seven NBA seasons and missed the entire 2021-22 campaign because of injury issues.
Still, Mosley sees enormous potential in a roster that also features Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Saddiq Bey, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Defense and versatility appear set to become the identity of this new-look Pelicans group.
“We spent hours and hours and hours talking to Jamal,” Pelicans executive vice president Joe Dumars said. “Jamal is the person that aligned with us and our vision more than anybody else. … We feel like we’ve gotten a guy that’s the right fit for us, think alike, we look at the game alike, our approach is going to be the same.”
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