Pelicans' New Top Priority Centers Around Jeremiah Fears

The New Orleans Pelicans have spent seven years trying to figure out how to build around Zion Williamson. The franchise's best season still belongs to a team that knew exactly who should have the ball.

Chris Paul ran the offense. Byron Scott trusted him to lead his team on both ends of the floor. The Hornets built around Paul's ability to make teammates better and his insistence that they compete on every possession. In 2008, New Orleans won 56 games and came within one victory of the Western Conference finals.

Nearly two decades later, that remains the standard.

Jamahl Mosley and Jeremiah Fears give the Pelicans a chance to establish a new direction. Fears has shown an appetite for responsibility. Mosley has praised his toughness and work ethic. Now comes the decision that would give those words meaning.

Make Fears the starting point guard.

He has plenty to learn before anyone can reasonably call him a franchise player. Still, give him the ball, demand that he earn the trust that comes with it, and let Mosley help him grow into the responsibility.

The lesson from Paul and Scott

When the Hornets selected Paul fourth overall in 2005, they were coming off an 18-64 season that followed consecutive first-round playoff exits.

Scott put his rookie in charge. Paul started all 78 games he played, and the Hornets improved to 38 wins.

Paul showed immediately that he belonged in front. Fears hasn't demonstrated that same command of an offense, but the lesson extends beyond Paul's exceptional abilities. Scott developed his young point guard while the franchise assembled players whose strengths complemented his.

Paul brought those pieces together: David West's scoring, Tyson Chandler's finishing and rim protection, and Peja Stojakovic's shooting. His playmaking gave the offense structure. His competitiveness set the tone.

After Hurricane Katrina displaced the franchise for most of Paul's first two seasons, the Hornets returned to New Orleans full-time in 2007-08. Their breakthrough helped strengthen the connection between the team and its city.

Scott was Coach of the Year. Paul finished second in MVP voting. New Orleans had a team worth believing in and a clear understanding of who made it work.

The case for a different foundation

Anthony Davis became an elite successor to Paul and led New Orleans to its only other playoff series victory. His teams never surpassed the Hornets' peak.

Williamson arrived with the talent to take the franchise even further. Seven seasons later, he still hasn't played in a playoff game.

There have been moments. The Pelicans won 49 games in 2023-24, when Williamson played 70. His hamstring injury in the Play-In Tournament helped derail that postseason.

But those promising stretches haven't become sustained success. New Orleans keeps returning to the same questions about availability and fit.

Williamson's interior scoring and playmaking demand spacing. But he doesn't provide dependable perimeter shooting or consistent rim protection. Pair him with a nonshooting center and another defender can crowd his driving lanes. Play smaller and rim protection and rebounding become greater concerns.

Those tensions are manageable with the right personnel. They also narrow the options, and the Pelicans haven't consistently found the answers.

Fears offers a potentially more adaptable starting point.

He can attack in the pick-and-roll, push the pace, and create opportunities for wings when help defenders step toward his drives. A rolling center, a perimeter shooter, and a cutter can all benefit from the same advantages he creates.

His scoring is expanding beyond the rim, with pull-ups and three-poointers giving him more ways to challenge a defense.

He still has to prove those options are dependable. Fears shot 33% from three as a rookie but has been scorching the nets during the preseason (6-of-11, 54.5%). He has room to grow with his reads, shooting consistency, and defense, but the effort and commitment are there.

His potential to make different teammates fit together gives the Pelicans a reason to invest.

Dumars knows what a guard can mean

Joe Dumars has seen a point guard help transform a franchise. He joined a Detroit team already revived by Isiah Thomas, then played beside him on a pair of championship teams.

After the 2025 draft, Dumars praised Fears' talent and makeup and made clear that youth alone wouldn't determine his role.

"If he's ready to go, let's go with him," Dumars said.

He later told Andscape he wanted Fears and Derik Queen to develop without having to prove their greatness immediately.

Starting Fears can honor both ideas. Give him responsibility while building the support that makes success possible. Dumars knows Thomas needed complementary talent, defensive toughness, and strong coaching.

Fears has made clear that he wants to pursue that kind of greatness. Asked during the 2025 Summer League what his ideal career would look like, he answered: "I would definitely say top-two point guard of all time."

That ambition guarantees nothing, but it suggests he welcomes the expectations that come with leading a franchise. Dumars should give Mosley the backing to help him meet them.

Make the responsibility meaningful

Mosley gives the Pelicans a credible teacher. His Orlando teams finished third in defensive rating in 2023-24 and second the following season. In New Orleans, he must turn Fears' competitiveness into dependable defensive habits, demanding better decisions and accountability.

Fears needs enough responsibility for those lessons to matter.

Dejounte Murray's experience is the strongest argument for patience. A veteran organizer can help teammates function and keep a young guard from being overwhelmed.

Fears, though, already started 49 games as a rookie. The next step is to build on that experience.

Murray can still play an important role. Fears should still have to earn closing possessions and answer for his mistakes. It should ensure regular opportunities to direct the offense alongside the players he has to learn to elevate.

A starting job won't make him a franchise player. It will give New Orleans a better chance to evaluate whether he can become one.

Paul and Scott showed what a shared direction could produce. Fears and Mosley deserve the opportunity to establish their own.

New Orleans has spent enough time waiting for its centerpiece to deliver. It should start preparing the player who could become its next one.