Naz Reid and DaRon Holmes II are PERFECT to pair with Zion Williamson on New Orleans Pelicans

Naz Reid and DaRon Holmes II are PERFECT to pair with Zion Williamson on New Orleans Pelicans

the ideal big man to pair with Zion Williamson is Nas Reed of the Minnesota Timberwolves I’ll tell you if the Pelicans could get him in a trade and if not don’t worry just draft the younger version of Reed in Dayton’s donon Holmes II it’s a Thursday episode of Locked on Pelicans let’s go you are locked on Pelicans your daily New Orleans Pelicans podcast part of the lock on podcast Network your team every day welcome to another edition of locked on Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans at NBA part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube I’m your host Pelicans Insider credential member of the media Jake Madison at NOA Jake on Twitter here with y’all on this Thursday it’s a trade Target Thursday but we’re also going to look at a little bit of draft cover yeah trades and draft in the same episode of Locked on pelicans and of course thank you for making locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we are here the number one Pelicans podcast every single day covering everything you want to know about this team we will also look at associate head coach James bgo interviewing with the Lakers and the Cavaliers not really worried about that and I’ll tell you why we’ll start with nas Reed could the Pelicans get him why he’s a perfect fit with Zion willamson and if not you can draft the next Naz this is a guy I’m starting to get very very high on in this draft and that’s Don Holmes the second of Dayton so of course thank you for making locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com lockon to get started so let’s get into it Nas Reed if you you know if you’re an LSU fan you know who this is if you’re just an NBA fan you likely know who he is too this is the current the reigning new six-man of the year on the Minnesota Timberwolves who are in the Conference Finals who did just manage to win a game and extend their series but he’s not just a six-man for them this is a guy who has closed games too Carl Anthony towns was benched in game two and Nas Reed was the one that closed that game out now towns to his credit handled that very very well and Naz Reed got him close but not over the hump with everything but he is also an ideal big man to put next to Zion this is a rim running stretch big sorry Rim protecting stretch big who can also attack the basket off the dribble in a sense he is a unicorn this year in about 24 minutes per game 81 games 14 starts so Off the Bench Sixth Man of the Year 13 and a half points 5.2 rebounds almost a block and a steal per game and then he also shot 41.4% from three on over on five attempts per game he’s a career 37% shooter from three so he gives you Rim protection and stretches the court and can score and attack in other ways too there’s a reason he is the sixthman of the year he’s just really good he’s also on a pretty team-friendly deal next season he’s going to make $14 million the year after that he’s a player option for 15 that he will almost certainly Decline and get a massive payday and that’s probably why the Minnesota Timberwolves would look to trade him because he is such a unique player so good and young he’s just 24 years old you don’t just give up on those guys it’ll be 25 next season but because the Timberwolves are pushing the second apron and when you get into the second apron you’re deep into the luxury tax and it limits what you can do if this team loses in five games to the Dallas Mavericks and doesn’t truly look close in this series though it’s it’s a closer four game so far than you might realize does that mean they want to move him and kind of cheap out their ownership situation is a little unsettled as well that’s not a great position to be in and he could be moved from that I will say though it’s pretty tough to try and figure out a deal that makes sense you could easily do Brandon Ingram for Carl Anthony towns knowing that the Pelicans would then need to really really pet into the luxury tax that would lessen the burden on the Minnesota Timberwolves but Brandon Ingram for Nas Reed that doesn’t really work salaries don’t work there that makes the Timberwolves even more expensive and they’re certainly not going to do that but it also then you know just doesn’t feel like the right amount maybe you need a little bit more coming back for New Orleans but maybe not six man of the year is good I also do have concerns about nazre and they concerns I don’t know if these would come to fruition or not I do have some concerns about NZ playing more than the 24 minutes this was by far the most minutes he’s played ever per game in his career so one of the things you like to do with guys is look at their per 36 minute numbers and the reason we pick per 36 minutes is that’s kind of the average what a starter plays a starter in the NBA plays about 36 minutes or so so that’s a good way to kind of equate things when guys aren’t playing the same amount of minutes it’s worth noting that his per 36 minute numbers this year were down from last year last year he averaged 22 and 1 12 points per game per 36 minutes this year just 20 now he took one fewer shot attempts so that maybe explains it a little bit per game but his field goal percentage went down the three-point percentage went up and per 36 minutes he took 7 and a half threes at 41.4% that is over three threes made per game that’s an excellent number but his rebounding went down too from 9.6 to 7.8 and actually his blocks and steals were lower the blocks were the lowest of his career per 36 minutes so while he does give you Rim protection how much can he do that over the course of the game that’s essentially what it comes down to with nas Reed now he’s young there’s a lot of room for improvement with him more on that in a second here because when you look at him you know some guys look there there’s sometimes just an ideal amount of minutes for certain players Drew holiday actually had this in New Orleans they realized that if you played him more than 8 minutes time the production like dropped if you go back and look at Drew’s time here in New Orleans played 8 minutes and they would pull him because the production went down so some guys just can’t do that is n Nas Reed one of those guys I’m not entirely sure but some of the numbers some of the eye test with that kind of says that too that’s worth keeping in mind when it comes to a trade with him that said this was a guy that was undrafted because he wasn’t in shape and there were concerns about his athleticism and kind of commitment work ethic and those sorts of things right and he worked on all of that and now look at him so if there are concerns about him playing more minutes this is the type of guy that I think could get himself in good enough shape and work through all of that that that doesn’t become a concern and you love that kind of attitude right from undrafted to Sixth Man of the Year is an incredible story because he did he put in the work right so I do think he’s a guy that you would start I think you need another center with him but this is a guy that I think could start and really feels like it would unlock things for Zion these players rarely exist in the NBA and here is a young one right now on a good contract that also means I don’t know if Minnesota’s going to trade him I’d I jump on it I would give up a lot for him I just don’t think Minnesota’s going to do it in any capacity I can’t really even give you at least a two- team deal with the Pelicans and timberl of a trade that makes a ton of sense so then what if you can’t get him and you need someone like him what do you do good news there’s a guy in the draft who looks like the next coming of Nas Reed in my opinion that’s donon Holmes II let’s dive into a scouting report on him coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans because I do think the Pelicans are going to take a long long look at drafting donon Holmes and this is a name that you need to know that’s coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by FanDuel America’s number one sports book it’s winner take all time in the NBA and NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks to bet on spreads money LS player prompts and more Pelicans aren’t in the Conference Finals you want to make it a little bit more interesting go pick the Dallas Mavericks the Minnesota Timberwolves you’ve got someone to root for now you want to get in on the action for where Brandon Ingram will end up do you think it’s the Orlando Magic because they are the favorite right now you can do that with the player Futures over at fuel so visit fanduel.com lockon and make every playoff shot count FanDuel America’s number one sports book and again that’s 150 bucks in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet FanDuel the official sports book of locked on and thank you for making lockdown Pelicans your first listen today and every we are here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team Please Subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well we’re having a lot of fun giving you the offseason content you want who might the team trade for who might they draft we’ve gone deep into some of these names we will continue to do so here and every Thursday we’re doing big time trade Target Thursday Nas Reed but I also see the next coming of Nas Reed in donon Holmes II out of date we’re going to talk about him now for your second listen Ross Jackson locked on Saints otaa is going on right now Derek Carr looking good is that gonna mean he’s going to be good next season Ross Jackson is going to break everything black and gold down over at the lock on Saints podcast so let’s switch to draft coverage I I I don’t think NZ Reed’s going to get traded to me he’s like the dream I think probably to you he’s the dream is he is he your ideal trade Target in terms of a big man to pair next to Zion Williamson let me know in the comments Down Below on you YouTube is there someone else Jared Allen do you like him better is there another Center we’re not thinking about here that’s attainable also worth putting that out there but you can draft someone and I think Duron Holmes II looks like an NBA ready at least in limited minutes big man Center that you could put next to Zion Williamson this dude played exceptionally well for Dayton last year he’s a junior with really good size 6’10 with a 7-1 wingspan and in at the combine all of the drills he did were really good like really good the agility drill was good the shuttle drill was good the 3/4 Sprint was good he’s got a 9- foot standing reach a 34 in vertical which is totally fine for a dude of his size and he put up numbers last year 20.4 points per game 8.5 rebounds 2.6 assists 2.1 blocks one steel per per game by the way he shot 38.6% from three I’m not huge Volume 2 and a half attempts per game but I don’t know 38 39% is pretty good 54% from the field overall when you look at this guy he kind of does a little bit of everything and with that athleticism with the shot blocking with the three-point shooting he reminds you a little bit of Nas Reed light there’s some differences there don’t get me wrong but this dude is athletic has a good motor has some UPS can shoot the measurables are good oh by the way he gets to the line a ton 8.8 almost nine times per game last season there’s a lot to like with him there’s a lot to like with donon Holmes now I don’t think you can start him necessarily or even have him play like 30 minutes per game you would need another more traditional Center alongside him I think there’s going to definitely be an adjustment period for homes the second here so you need someone else that’s going to probably take the minutes early as you bring homes along you also need your head coach to be willing to play him that’s going to be an important thing as well which with Willie Green more on Willie Green in the next segment here and James Bargo it remains to be seen so this is a guy though that I do think would fit really well and he should be available around the Pelicans range of 17 or 21 we’ll talk more about that 17th pick in tomorrow’s show because the decision that the pel have to make on that is on Saturday or Sunday I believe on Saturday so more on that in tomorrow show Friday show so you could get this guy and I think that would be a very smart move for the Pelicans to do and I think this is someone they will take a really really long look at three-point shooting and rim protection as well as a rim running big you know he’s very good in the pick and roll as the ball handler he does well in crowded space which when you’re playing with Zion and you’re near the basket’s going to be crowded he does well kind of like snaking between just little Windows there to find ways to get to the rim and he’s got good UPS where he can be a bit of a lob threat for you you know there’s some downsides though there is long-term concern about the three-point shooting is it real that three-point shooting his junior year 86% was really good but the previous two years it was not so is that the outlier or is it real one of the things you look at is free fre throw percentage that’s a better indicator of can you shoot in the NBA than College three-point percentage is his free throw percentage basically stayed the same and didn’t really improve or change much in his three years in college and he shot it last season at 71.3% it’s not horrible for a big man but like that’s not good right so will that shot translate to the NBA you know you also look at him and he didn’t play against top level competition playing for Dayton there’s going to definitely be an adjustment period because you’re not playing against some of those same schools that he was playing you got some good schools in there don’t get me wrong and he did well against Arizona 23 points on a to 17 shooting two4 from the line five of seven from the free throw line 11 points right three assists three Steals and a block in that game but overall the body of work was against lesser competition does that change your opinion of it potenti ially right and then there’s the turnovers on offense dude turns it over in just like every way possible where you look at him and when I was watching film of him prepping for this show you just are like it’s not one thing to focus on when it comes to the turnovers it’s literally everything bad passes right just fumbling the ball not having a good handle those kind of things you know lack of awareness on him that he’s going to receive the ball those are a lot of the turnovers that he has that’s not a great position to be in if you’re the Pelicans but here’s the thing I’m I’m less worried about that you just kind of need to turn him into a finisher and since he’s good in the pick and roll since he can be a spot up shooter potentially for you you’re less worried about that just catch the ball in launch a three you don’t really turn the ball over in those situations unless your hands are bad and His Hands aren’t that bad so I think that while he’s very turnover prone if you’re not running your offense fully through him and using him more as a finisher an end guy that Pelicans can be really okay with this you know the the big question I have is will he actually do well defensively the shot blocking is there the shop blocking there but it was there because Dayton primarily used him in drop coverage you’re going to see a lot of people talk about him as like a switchable big on the perimeter maybe maybe he didn’t play a ton of that in college watch his games the athleticism says he can be the lateral movement says he can be the size says he can be right the speed says he can be he didn’t do a ton of it it was mainly drop coverage it was mainly drop coverage in collagen you know the Pelicans like to switch on the perimeter unless that’s going to change next season and maybe it does if you have a rim protector you know which which valent chunis isn’t they want to switch and just deny you getting to the paint getting to the rim anyway if you have a rim protector there maybe you can do less of that right but I don’t know if holes II is going to be that guy just yet he maybe block some shots he has good instincts good timing on that but he’s allowed to do that cuz he can roam a little bit and that’s not what the Pelican defense is so I think there’s a little bit of questioning the fit the concern there with him but honestly drafting him at 21 I would love it you know if you draft him and trade for Wendell Carter Jr from the Orlando Magic who seems to be on his way out that’s a good Center position to to have I think different players that you know one’s a little bit bigger Bruiser in Wendell Carter Jr and then ones are kind of like athletic Nas Reed bring him bring Holmes the second off the bench and see what he’s capable of doing pair him with Zion when you need that sort of thing when you want to go a little bit smaller play faster both of them can shoot a little bit one rebounds better than the other and Holmes isn’t great at offensive boards the the defensive rebounding is okay but I don’t think he’ll be a lead at that but I think with everything else he gives you that can be okay so so if you can’t get Nas Reed and we’re not expecting them to be able to get Nas Reed get the younger version of him he’s 21 he’s not that much younger but he’s still young and his player cop to me is absolutely Naz Reed that is the first thing I saw when watching him and that’s what kind of determined this show right I was watching him like yeah you see NZ Reed there let’s talk about them both because I think they’re really similar players it’s how shows get planned out here on lock on Pelicans so I would love him on this team I think he would be great next to Z and I think no matter what they do in the trade market bringing in a new center this is a guy that you should really Target I haven’t kind of determined who I want the Pelicans to take at 21 I just did a mock draft where I had Philip palsky go to the Pelicans um with somebody and now I’m kind of thinking back on that and I hadn’t done a ton of study on holes II here but that’s who I think I would take right now but I think this is kind of be if you’re a long time listening you know I tend to get like fixated on one player that you’re like oh that guy that guy is the one I want then I kind of stick with him the way through right now holes II is kind of the leader when it comes to that we’ll do a locked on like NBA Mock Draft where we all make our picks and trust me like there’s a very good chance homes the holes the second is who I’m going to draft if he’s available there but Kell Weare is going to be available filipowski should be there Missy should be there you know Hol should be there one of those four is going to be there that puts the Pelicans in a good position and right now I love what I’m seeing from homes after seeing how Nas Reed succeeded this past year of those four guys Kell wear EES Missy Kyle filipowski Don Holmes thei who do you want the Pelicans to take who’s your favorite give me the order rank them for me 1 through four let me know in the comments down below so coming up next don’t worry about James bergo leaving I said the Pelin should want to keep him yes I did a show on this the other day if they can but if he leaves I’ll tell you why I’m not concerned about that that’s coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans and thank you for making lock on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well locked on Saints should be your second listen but also during the day you watching Fox sports ESPN another place that’s just not talking basketball Sports football whatever you want do you have to turn down the volume because there’s just too much yelling shouting non seits things like that make the switch to lockon sports today free 247 sports streaming Channel program for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the yelling locked on sports day brings you C Miss analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so let’s switch gears we just went over a trade Target we just went over a draft prospect well more of the those in the future and more shows based around that too we’ll talk a little bit of the draft in tomorrow’s show one of the things I want to look at is James bargo’s name has come up in news a lot and every time I get someone tweeting at tweeting at me and and I don’t like doing segments like this where I’m kind of like responding to the louder folks on Twitter right on X whatever you want to call it you know I think there’re that’s always kind of the like vocal minority so I don’t like doing this but one of the things I’ve definitely thought about this is it’s okay if James bgo leaves and I literally just did a show last week the week before talking about don’t let him go here’s the thing if he leaves to go take a promotion a head coaching job and he interviewed with the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly yesterday he’s going to interview in person with the Cleveland Cavaliers soon if he’s going for a promotion that’s okay same thing with Tran langon right the won 49 games last year they have a bunch of draft picks and they’re poised to try and aggressively make their team better this is despite how the season ended still not a bad position to be in and not a bad team and there’s very many head coaches who would love this job I think with Zion Williamson especially with the professionalism and health that he showed you this past year there’s something here you don’t get to 49 wins by accident even if the season ended in very very disappointing fashion and it did so this isn’t him jumping ship and being like oh this place sucks right ownership is spending like $20 million upgrading the practice facility that was built relatively recently right they’re spending some money here we think we hope that they’re going to pay the luxury tax this year they kind of have to they don’t then then we’ll kind of really go in on ownership a little bit but if they pay the luxury tax or if they’re in position to and they could make a move and they don’t cut cost it’s one thing to trade away Kyro Lewis Jr it’s another thing not to make a bigger move or to trade away a good player which I don’t think they’re going to end up doing they’re they’re spending a little bit here they’re trying to improve it’s a good position to be in but if you go and take a head coaching job like it’s an upgrade it’s a promotion it’s it’s not a sign of negative things here in New Orleans you know Tran langon taking the Pistons job even if the Pistons are a bit of a disaster that’s that’s a promotion and a raise you that’s good for you even if that position’s bad right it’s not the same as you looking around you know your job market and be like well I could go to that company for a little bit more money and a slightly higher title but that company is a disaster and maybe they’ll go bankrupt there’s 30 of these jobs and that’s it in the world you jump on one if you can get it you don’t often just wait for a better one to come along because it might not you never know how that’s going to work so when someone offers you something you take it hence why you see Tran Langdon who thought of very highly around the league going to a team that had a 28 game losing streak is that what it was that’s why you know the Lakers it’s a head coaching job you take it even if that job’s hard same thing for the Cleveland Cavaliers you take even if they trade Donovan Mitchell you you take that job you don’t know when you’re going to get another opportunity for that you know bargo’s been a head coach twice how many more opportunities you have clearly at least one more it sounds like the way I would be slightly concerned and even then not so much is if he were to go and take you know an equivalent a lateral position with another team would he be an associate head coach on the Lakers it sounds like the front runner is JJ reck and it sounds like no one else is particularly close for that job even if they are interviewing James bgo it sounds like it’s going to be JJ reic getting that job if bgo then joins his staff as the associate head coach leaves New Orleans for that that makes me go wait what but even then they might just pay him more and if they’re going to offer you half a million dollars more I think the Pelican should try and match that but if they don’t then you can’t really fault it again it doesn’t mean that he’s jumping ship or leaving like a sinking ship or a bad position here it’s just man they offered him more money what’s he going to say no not necessarily right like I’d take more money right so would you in most of your jobs so I don’t view this as like this sky falling oh my God what’s going on thing here right you know same with Tran Landon leaving I’m happy for him that’s that you know hurts New Orleans but I don’t think it’s the end of the world World Bryson Graham has done a lot of the work he’s thought up very highly and you retained him he wanted to stay here he could have left him potentially join Tran langon but he’s not and I think that really says something about how NBA people view this franchise and this organization and that’s a good thing so I don’t overall worry about this maybe if he goes and takes you know an assistant coaching job with another team that’s one thing but I don’t know if that’s going to be the case and even if it is I don’t think that’s end of the world I think right now the offseason is going how it kind of normally goes and we’re just waiting for the timing for bigger moves nothing is going to get done right now you know nothing is like the Pelicans aren’t losing ground right now they’re not missing out on anything like nothing gets done during this period once the finals end once you get a little bit closer to the draft that’s when things start to get done but even then that might not be when you see a trade because I believe Donovan Mitchell was traded after the draft to the Cleveland Cavaliers so that’s the type of thing that you look at let me see when that was because now I’m kind of curious right keep in mind kind of historic Trends in the NBA yes we’d like to see a deal get done today but that’s just in general not how it goes and that doesn’t mean the Pelicans aren’t doing the work or doing bad things it’s just no no one does things right now because they don’t have to and that’s part of it let’s see when he was traded from where is his transactions traded by the Utah Jazz to the Cleveland caval years on September 3rd well after the draft well after free agency and that’s the type of thing that you got to kind of keep in mind when it comes to that Trad on September 3rd so not anytime soon that’s months from now that’s after Labor Day so we’ll see if something gets done in the leadup to the draft but there’s also plenty of room for things to get done significantly later too and it doesn’t mean things are kind of falling apart for the Pelicans so I think this offseason fine going as it should right now maybe not exciting certainly but I think we’re going to see some some bigger things down the line and of course we’ll cover it here on the lock on Pelicans podcast part of the lock on podcast Network your team every day and that’s going to do it for this episode of lockdown Pelicans might do a live show Thursday as the Friday show and then kind of do a bonus segment and answer your questions after so I’ll consider that if you want to see that let me know in the comments down below um and we can get that scheduled for tomorrow so I appreciate you all listening as always I’m your host Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter this is the lockon Pelicans podcast part of the lockon podcast Network your team every day and I’ll see y’all tomorrow

The New Orleans Pelicans need a new starting center to pair with Zion Williamson. Jake Madison says the Pels should trade for Naz Reid from the Minnesota Timberwolves or take DaRon Holmes II out of Dayton in the NBA Draft. Plus, should we worry if James Borrego takes leaves to become the head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers or Cleveland Cavaliers?

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