Since the Cavaliers won their first NBA title back on June 19, NBA teams have undergone a number of changes over the long summer offseason. NBA.com’s Shaun Powell will evaluate the state of each franchise — from the team with the worst regular-season record in 2015-16 to the team with the best regular-season record — during the month of September as we look at 30 Teams in 30 Days.
Check out the previous team previews here: 76ers | Lakers | Nets | Suns | Timberwolves
Today’s team: New Orleans Pelicans
2015-16 record: 30-52
Who’s gone: F Ryan Anderson, F Luke Babbitt, G Toney Douglas, F James Ennis, G Eric Gordon
Who’s new: PF Cheick Diallo, SG Buddy Hield (via Draft); G Tim Frazier (re-signed), F Alonzo Gee (re-signed), G Langston Galloway, F Solomon Hill, F Terrence Jones, G E’Twaun Moore (via free agency); C/F Jarnell Stokes (via trade)
The lowdown: Still trying to gain traction in New Orleans since the Chris Paul era, the Pelicans have only one winning season since 2009.
Excuse the franchise for feeling a bit woozy. The Pelicans are still trying to understand what just hit them. A year ago this time, they were fresh from the postseason and after refusing to bring back coach Monty Williams, hired Alvin Gentry (who was on the bench for the eventual-champion Golden State Warriors) to take Williams’ place. There was momentum heading into the season and then, pop, right upside the head.
Nobody can still get a grip on what happened to the franchise in 2015-16. Yes, the Pelicans had injuries … but what else is new. Nonetheless, they crashed, taking All-Star Anthony Davis with them (he didn’t register enough honors to trigger the Derrick Rose clause in his contract) and took a step backward.
While Gentry’s job is safe, if only because teams rarely fire coaches after one season, the real surprise was that Pelicans GM Dell Demps survived in the front office. Demps brought in Danny Ferry to help with the personnel chores, but this move was either one friend in need helping another (Ferry was ousted as GM of the Atlanta Hawks after controversial comments about Luol Deng) or Demps being forced to do something.
The Demps-Ferry ticket, first groomed in the San Antonio Spurs organization, tinkered with the roster this summer but resisted making wholesale changes.
There’s no pressure to act hastily, because Davis is locked up for four more seasons. While New Orleans doesn’t have to worry about Davis bolting, it is officially on the clock. Superstars don’t leave until after they score that big contract first, therefore Davis might not be so accommodating when he becomes a free agent and looks for something else besides money.
In the Draft, the Pelicans had a tough decision about which guard to take at No. 6: Oklahoma’s Hield or Kentucky’s Jamal Murray? Both were shooters with range and similar styles, although Murray came with a slightly better off-the-dribble game. New Orleans went with Hield, and in a few years, it could be the first of a handful of decisions that’ll determine if Davis stays or goes.
New Orleans waited for what seems like a zillion years for Gordon’s contract to come off the books. Remember when they matched the outrageous offer sheet given to him by the Phoenix Suns in 2012? In hindsight, that was a poor decision, made only because conventional wisdom says you don’t let players go for nothing. The Pelicans should have let Phoenix have him because not only did Gordon want to leave New Orleans, but he was saddled with injuries during his New Orleans tenure.
To replace Gordon and Anderson, Demps gave big contracts (which were reasonable in this market) to Moore and Hill, a pair of steady-if-average talents. Moore had a few moments with the Chicago Bulls and Hill did likewise for the Indiana Pacers in the 2016 playoffs, but they’re both essentially rotation-fillers. If Gentry is banking heavily on either player next season, New Orleans is in trouble.
Perhaps the biggest blunder by Demps was giving hefty contracts last summer to the two-headed center of Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca. Asik in particular is poor value, a big man with bad body language, stone hands, no vertical leap and unable to run the floor. And his contract has four more years.
If Hield is gunning for Kia Rookie of the Year honors, then the summer will have been a success. In his first Las Vegas Summer League game, he wasn’t shy, hoisting 20 shots (and making only five). However, he must contend with Tyreke Evans for shots.
Evans was hampered once again by injuries last season but when healthy, he is capable of being one of the team’s top scorers. It’ll be interesting to see how Gentry uses both guards, and also how Evans responds to potentially sharing minutes and shots to a rookie in this, a contract year for him.
The Pelicans are anxious to regain whatever momentum they lost last season. They’re one of only a handful of teams blessed with a franchise-type player. Now is the time to start maximizing and stop wasting the multiple talents of Davis.
Coming Next: New York Knicks
