The New Orleans Pelicans are the perfect example of why you need a good plan BEYOND getting a franchise player.
Back in 2011, the New Orleans Hornets, as they were called then, were a team in ruins. The franchise was owned by the NBA after the previous owner was forced to sell the team, they were directionless and their prospects were so bad that their best player, Chris Paul, forced a trade and no one blamed him in the least.
The next year, with their roster decimated by injuries, as well as mediocre players, they won just 21 games and the lottery during a year when there was actually a franchise player available.
Anthony Davis, fresh off leading Kentucky to a National Championship, had every scout drooling with his size, agility, focus and potential on both ends of the court. And New Orleans got him.
It’s what they did afterwards that should have made every NBA fan shake their head.
In every draft, there always seems to be a player that everyone dislikes, but some team stupidly ends up drafting and then regrets it. In 2012, Austin Rivers was that guy. And the Pelicans bypassed a number of much more highly regarded players that have had much better careers to draft Rivers 10th. And just to clarify, this is a guy who had one of the worst shooting rookie seasons of all time, did not have his option picked up by the Pelicans, and then was traded to his father’s team earlier this week. Apparently his father was the only one who wanted him.
Unfortunately, that’s not all the Pelicans did.
After what they considered a disappointing season, the Pelicans decided to try and speed things up by trading their 6th pick (Nerlens Noel) and their 2014 first rounder for a 22 year old All Star point guard. Good, right? Well, Jrue Holiday was coming off an All Star season, but there were many around the NBA who felt he was not much more than an average point guard and his advance stats seemed to back up that argument. Plus, the fact that Philadelphia was so willing to give him up should have been a warning sign.
Even so, it’s a HUGE gamble for a lottery team coming off a 27 win season to give up one definite lottery pick and a possible one the next season (who ended up being Elfrid Payton), for a player who had only made one All Star team.
To make matters worse, they threw all their money at Tyreke Evans, a combo guard who had gotten worse every year since his rookie season, had never displayed an ability to shoot consistently from outside, needed the ball to be effective and wasn’t a good defensive player. And the Pelicans already had Eric Gordon on the roster, which meant they were paying their backcourt $34 million a season.
From the outside, it looked like the Pelicans were simply trying to throw a bunch of decently talented players together without any plan on what to do with them. And had no problem overpaying them at the same time.
They did make some decent moves, but even those were somewhat questionable.
They stole Ryan Anderson from Orlando, and he went on to play better than anyone would have guessed, but they signed him AFTER the drafted Anthony Davis, another power forward.
They also traded for Omer Asik, certainly a position of need, and he has played fairly well as their starting center.
And after all that, the Pelicans are hovering around .500 and are currently a bubble team for the playoffs. They’re not a bad team in the least, but they’re also not a very good one, and that’s especially true when Davis is out of the lineup.
As a basketball fan, it’s difficult to watch such a talented player toil on such a mediocre team. Kevin Garnett can surely sympathize.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
How The Raptors Respond
The Raptors are in a slump. They’ve lost 6 of their last 8 games, their defense has gone for bad to worse and even their offense has looked stale lately. For the first time in more than a year, the fans are grumbling and questioning the team. After the loss to the Hawks, there was a players only meeting, which usually results in a bump in play. If it doesn’t, it could be a sign things are worse than we thought.
Can Valanciunas Have Some Consistency?
After possibly the best game of his career, in a loss against the Piston, Valanciunas has had two rather forgettable games. If he’s going to be the player he wants to be, he needs to be consistent. Having a good game every third or fourth game isn’t going to cut it.
Will Anthony Davis Play?
After sitting out a loss against the lowly 76ers, Davis is questionable for the game today. If he plays, Raptor fans will be treated to one of the best players in the league right now, and he’s only 21 years old. And the Raptors will face a pretty good Pelicans team who are probably anxious to put the embarrassing loss against Philadelphia behind them.
BREAKDOWN
Starters
With a healthy Davis, the Pelicans have a talented starting unit that can score and have two of the league’s best shotblockers. While Ryan Anderson is no slouch, he’s nowhere near the talent Davis is. And Holiday is also questionable for the game.
Edge: Pelicans, if Davis and Holiday are healthy, Raptors, if at least one sits.
Bench
One of the reasons the Pelicans are such a mediocre team is their bench is incredibly weak, and it only gets worse when Anderson starts.
Edge: Raptors
Coaching
Both Monty Williams and Dwane Casey are on the hotseat, but Williams is lucky he’s still got a head coaching gig.
Edge: Raptors
PREDICTION
Expect the Raptors to come out hard and not let up on a team that has talent, but they really should beat.
Score: Raptors 105 – Pelicans 92
