When Zion Williamson was drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans with the first-overall pick on June 20, 2019, many said the team had the "next LeBron James." Though it was a terrible comparison – because Williamson's game is nothing like that of James in any year, that's how much people expected from 19-year-old Williamson.

Less than a week earlier, the Pelicans had traded their franchise player Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers to join hands with the real James. The two won the NBA Championship in the following season.

Williamson and the Pelicans missed the playoffs in the same season and did it again in the past 2020-21 season. Individually, Williamson made his NBA All-Star debut in 2021. Brandon Ingram, who came to the team as part of the Lakers' package, became an All-Star one earlier and the Mos-Improved Player too.

When you have two promising All-Star talents in your roster, it's only natural to aim for at least playoff qualification, which the Pelicans failed to get.

The team traded Eric Bledsoe, Steven Adams, the No. 10 and No. 40 draft picks for 2021 plus a 2022 first-rounder (from the Lakers, top-10-protected) to the Memphis Grizzlies during the offseason for Jonas Valanciunas, the No. 17 and No. 51 picks for 2021.

Removing Adams and Bledsoe as well as their big contracts gave the Pelicans enough space to chase big-name free agents like Kyle Lowry. However, what the team offered to the 35-year-old veteran (and to the Toronto Raptors) obviously were not attractive enough. Soon the Pelicans had to watch Lowry "take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat," in the words of LeBron James.

That's why the team's decision of not keeping Lonzo Ball was confusing. Ball averaged 14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals last season. He raised his 3-point rate to 37.8 percent and drained 3.1 shots per game from downtown. Moreover, Ball's ability to drive fast break is greatly helpful to Williamson.

Nonetheless, the Pelicans decided to send Ball to the Chicago Bulls via sign-and-trade in exchange for Garrett Temple, Tomas Satoransky, a 2024 second-rounder and cash. Ball's new contract is $85 million for four years and starts at only $18.6 million. By contrast, Lowry signed a three-year, $85-million deal that begins with $27 million.

After that, the Pelicans landed Devonte Graham with a four-year, $47.3-million contract. He and Satoransky should receive the most minutes in the team's point guard position. 29-year-old Tomas Satoransky is a 2.01-meter-tall orchestrator who can switch to cover more positions but he averaged only 7.7 points and 0.7 triples at 35.6 percent last season. Graham could get 14.8 points per game and made 3.3 triples at 37.5 percent. However, he has been a defensive liability since he joined the league.

The arrival of Valanciunas makes good enhancement to the team's interior offensively. He got 17.1 points and 12.5 rebounds (4.1 on the offensive glass, the second-most in the league) per game last season. He and Williamson could dominate most teams' paint and make them think again before sending a small-ball squad.

Nonetheless, it's hard to say how much extra help Valanciunas could offer than Adams. Betting everything on offense seems too risky since the Pelicans are too predictable in this area with their NBA bottom 3-point shooting – they averaged 10.6 triples per game, the fourth-worst in the league, at 34.8 percent, the fifth-worst.

The team's defensive rating, by the way, was 113.8 last season, which ranked 22nd of all teams. It's not anything to be proud of.

Simply speaking, the Pelicans improved on offense, but made no headway, at best, on defense. They won 31 of 72 games and ranked 11th in the Western Conference last season, failing to reach even the play-in tournament.

The good news for them is that most of the team's roster is young enough to make progress and they have the potential to do so. Williamson (21) and Ingram (24) aside, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is 23 and a No. 17 draft selection; Jaxson Hayes is 20 and a No. 8 selection; Kira Lewis Jr. is 20 and a No. 13 selection.

The team also drafted 21-year-old Trey Murphy III with the 17th pick this year and he seems to have what it takes to make a 3D player. Murphy III is 2.03m tall and shot 12.3 triples at 40.1 per 100 possessions during his three years at Rice University and the University of Virginia. Murphy III reached 92.7 percent at the free throw line in his junior year and went 11-25 from the arc in four NBA Summer League games.

Any happy surprises from the aforementioned young blood could benefit the Pelicans generously.

The Pelicans are absolutely talented and relatively young. They also collected quite a number of draft picks in the past two years. However, the team did not show a clear direction of franchise building in the two years since Williamson joined. They can start negotiating contract extension with the 21-year-old monster genius after the 2021-22 season. They'd better give him more reasons to stay.