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Former Pelicans center fires back at Herb Jones’ disrespectful NBA ranking

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints
By Jackson Stone | Last updated 10/15/24

Zion Williamson has looked dominant so far to open up the New Orleans Pelicans’ preseason slate as head coach Willie Green works to integrate some new pieces offensively. The Pelicans enter this season in the thick of about 13 teams in the Western Conference who feel they have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs this season.

One of New Orleans’ unsung heroes over the last few years has been defensive wing standout Herb Jones, who has cemented himself as one of the most lockdown perimeter defenders in the NBA and had a career year from beyond the arc last season ago.

However, all of that evidently wasn’t enough to impress the good folks over at ESPN, who recently listed the forward at number 97 in their annual NBA preseason player rankings.

One person who was outraged to see that was none other than Jones’ former teammate Larry Nance, now a member of the Atlanta Hawks due to the Dejounte Murray trade this summer.

Nance recently took to his account on X, formerly Twitter, with a simple message for the publication, quote tweeting a post from Brett Usher mocking the ranking.

“These people have no idea what they’re doing #Justice4Herb,” wrote Nance.

Nance was a serviceable center for the Pelicans last year before he and young wing prospect Dyson Daniels were sent to Atlanta to acquire Murray.

What is the Pelicans’ ceiling?

New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Herb Jones (2), guard/forward Trey Murphy III (25), forward Brandon Ingram (14) and forward Zion Williamson (1) take part in Pelicans Media Day at the Smoothie King Center. Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

On paper, there is a lot to like about this Pelicans team. Jones and Trey Murphy are both elite perimeter defenders who can space the floor on offense, and Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum are both capable of creating their own shot consistently.

Murray figures to provide a stabilizing presence to a Pelicans offense that was in desperate need of some organization during their playoff sweep at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder last year.

And then of course there is Williamson, who remains one of the elite forces in the NBA when healthy but has yet to put together a full season and playoff run where he can stay on the floor.

All the latest indications are that Williamson is entering this season in the best shape of his career and is looking to put that reputation for being unavailable behind him, but Pelicans fans probably won’t be convinced of that until it actually takes place.

In any case, New Orleans is slated to open up its season on October 23 at home vs the Chicago Bulls.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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