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The New Orleans Pelicans managed to rebuild within a month

By Austin Payne

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 23: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans sits on the bench with an injury in his finger during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Smoothie King Center on January 23, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 23: Anthony Davis #23 of the New Orleans Pelicans sits on the bench with an injury in his finger during the game against the Detroit Pistons at Smoothie King Center on January 23, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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The New Orleans Pelicans set the NBA blueprint in how to rebuild within a month

The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors are cool and all, but the New Orleans Pelicans just showed the rest of the league how it’s done when it comes to a rebuild.

Remember when the Pelicans drafted Anthony Davis and he was supposed to be the next cornerstone of the franchise? Remember just last year when I predicted they’d beat the Portland Trail Blazers and they proceeded to sweep them? Things were supposed to be on the uptick for New Orleans basketball.

Then, something else happened. Anthony Davis dropped his agent and picked up the well renowned, and also controversial, Rich Paul. Many people will blame Rich, LeBron, and the crew for supposed “tampering” and having a hidden agenda behind all of this, but I really think it’s minuscule. There was a larger problem with the team and it wasn’t with the players but with those running the show.

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Former Pelicans GM Dell Demps not only did a poor job of acquiring a team to put around Anthony Davis but when his own failure resulted in a trade request he yet again chose ego over logic. Dell, look, you dug this hole. So maybe let’s not dig our heels in the dirt and say I’m not budging, huh? AD Walked into the league averaging 20 and 10, at like 20 years old, and what was put around him?

Jrue Holiday, the one good trade, alright great job. You get EG, okay that’s nice. Trade for Tyreke, pick up Ryan Anderson. Moving in the right direction, yeah? Next season we get Jimmer and…Norris Cole…Tim Frazier…Dante Cunninghan…OH DeMarcus Cousins. After five years Dell gets AD another all-star, and…that’s it. They make a nice run, DMC leaves, and we’re back to signing role players.

I understand the team isn’t exactly in a beautiful market, but it could also be much worse too. Constantly drafting players with limited upside, refusing to tank for the sake of playing .400 ball, and bad negotiations have all gotten them to this point. After you lose Rondo and DMC we waited to see if you’d run it back or regress, and they signed two nice players. Elfrid and Randle, really like Julius, but did you really think that roster would get out of the first?

Aside from the mismanagement we’ve still heard murmurings about the state of this teams medical staff. Both Ryan Anderson, DMC, and AD are all injury prone now. Not that this is for certain to blame on the doctors, but you do have to take a glance.

Now…after all that negativity beforehand, we can see the light. Behind all that the last few years I think they have a great coach in Gentry who’s not only charismatic but simply a likable players coach that knows how to adjust. They also went out and hired a proven GM who’s worked with the likes of Lebron James and managed championship team salary tables. He made the deal that Dell wouldn’t, as well as got some help in the draft.

With a little luck and finally some competent decision makers in place, the Pelicans have now pulled off the fastest rebuild in NBA history. First of all, they got Lonzo Ball, who should finally get a chance to see a consistently higher usage rate so we can determine if he’s what we think he is. If Ball pans out the team may have one of the top 15 point guards in the NBA within five years.

You also got BI, who showed flashes of what he could become late last year. There are concerns with his health obviously, but you’re betting on the upside here. Josh Hart shouldn’t go unnoticed here, he’s a versatile guard that can stick 1-3, shoot, and facilitate.

All of that is without mentioning the draft haul. They got three first rounders, one of which was traded, but two for future use. Drafted oh I don’t know, maybe the most coveted prospect since LeBron James? Picked Hayes at No. 8, a stick and play center with slightly better upside than a typical 5, and grabbed a versatile ball handler/defender/shooter in Nickeil Alexander-Walker later.

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The Pelicans now possess um…about nine potential prospects for the future of the team. Lonzo, Ingram, Hart, Zion, Hayes, Nickeil, Okafor, and two more picks. In summary, that’s what you call a haul. There’s plenty of controversy and opinions about these players and just how good any one of them could be, but the point is that they got a lot of them.

Not every guy has to become an all-star or even a starting caliber player, and that’s why you diversify. The future of a New Orleans based team is never as bright as a big name, but I don’t see them leaving any time soon and they’re now set up for long term success in the big easy.

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