Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and forward/center Larry Nance Jr. won’t be able to participate in training camp next week, the team announced in a press release on Thursday.
According to the team, Alvarado is expected to resume basketball activities in approximately two or three weeks after spraining his right ankle during an offseason workout. Alvarado’s ankle injury was reported earlier this month.
As for Nance, he received a biologic injection to stimulate the healing process in his left ankle, according to the Pelicans. Nance, who missed the final game of New Orleans’ 2022/23 season (a play-in loss to the Thunder), is expected to make a full recovery before the ’23/24 season begins, per the team, and should also return to basketball activities in two or three weeks.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Andrew Lopez of ESPN.com explores what the Pelicans should expect from Zion Williamson in 2023/24, citing multiple sources who say the former No. 1 overall pick was playing pickup games with teammates earlier this month and that he has been working with trainers this summer to get his lower body ready for the 82-game season.
- Lopez also writes that some people around the Pelicans organization are hoping that the embarrassment from being at the center of some off-court drama this summer will provide extra motivation for Williamson to have a big year on the court.
- Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and CJ McCollum have only been on the court for 172 minutes together as Pelicans. William Guillory of The Athletic considers what the club should expect from its big three, assuming they stay healthy.
- The odds of Giannis Antetokounmpo remaining with the Bucks beyond his current contract look better following the club’s trade for Damian Lillard. However, if things go south in Milwaukee, the Pelicans stand to benefit, notes Christian Clark of NOLA.com. As a result of 2020’s Jrue Holiday trade, the Bucks still owe the Pelicans first-round pick swaps in 2024 and 2026, along with an unprotected first-rounder in 2027. New Orleans would also get Milwaukee’s 2025 first-rounder if it lands in the top four, which is a long shot.
Big 3?
Maybe big 3 in fashionable street clothes…
Kind of like the Clippers big 3. A great marketing scam that exists only on paper and people’s minds.
Bucks not worried. They are looking at rings in the near future.
Zion is as big as other Big2. He will never last playing heavy. Needs to stay under 250lbs. He should have personal chef. He should’ve been on a better diet. Basketball is physically tough on those thick, big guys. Their joints take a pounding. With all the running you do. You need good joints lols.
Can’t wait to see where Jrue winds up. I think he’s going to be ok. I see him on a team making a difference. Imagine Sixers, Heat, even TWolves with him running point.
I’d love to see him back in New Orleans. I think he still has a home there. Him and his wife did a lot for the city of New Orleans and both are loved down here.
I could see Holiday being traded for either KAT or Gobert. Probably KAT because the combo of Ayton and Gobert would put too much pressure on Scoot and company to shoot well. That and Holiday, Edward’s and Gobert with Naz Reid would be a lethal defensive group. It could be a free for all in both conferences.
If Zion could lend Ingram 50 lbs, then they might work as a big 3. Very good complementary talent behind them too. But the team can’t begin to seek its destiny until Zion can stay on the court enough for his teammates to settle into roles around him.