New Orleans Pelicans: David Griffin fired
I am fully serious when I say this. The New Orleans Pelicans need a fully new front office. They are broken, and they will not be fixed until they are under new management. 13-22, 14th in the West.
Another season in the cellar. Blame them for Zion’s injuries or not, they have completely botched how they communicate them. And that does not build good relationships. Even without the pending Zion disaster, the managerial decisions have been terrible.
They wanted to trade Lonzo for a full season before sending him to the Bulls. I am shocked by the decision even now. A defensive-minded playmaker whose timeline fits with your two stars who need the ball?
It’s malpractice! As was trading for and extending Steven Adams. Turning him into Jonas Valanciunas was nice, especially now that he’s hitting 3’s with volume. But you traded the No. 10 pick! And are in the cellar again this season! How could you trade a top 10 pick! Fire David Griffin. It’s too late for a lot, but maybe not too late to keep Zion long-term if you get rid of DG now.
New York Knicks: Stars (their own)
The New York Knicks need stars. Not necessarily a trade for one, although that wouldn’t hurt (if the price was right). More specifically, though, they need their own stars to behave like it. NYK got by a lot last season because Julius Randle was a bonafide star for essentially the whole season. He was All-NBA! RJ Barrett shot great from the field while providing a defensive presence.
But…they have yet to really do that this year. Consistently, at least. Randle has some on games, but far more off games already than he had last season. And RJ just cannot take off. He’ll explode here…and there. But there are gaps in between them. He can’t even hit his corner threes, which SHOULD come around at some point. If the Knicks are going anywhere, it is with star power.
They have it on the roster, you just need to hope for them to show up.