7 Roster & season questions/predictions?

[RekesNotWeak]

1. How far will this team go as currently constructed if no major injuries occur?

I thought this team could make the playoffs last year and who knows what happens if we stay healthy. Two of our core 4 didn't even play half of the season. Our biggest addition, Jrue Holiday, didn't even get a chance to show what he could do with talent he had around him for more than 34 games. Just when everyone finally started to get a little comfortable with one another it all went to hell. We added our biggest need this offseason by getting the best possible center we could hope for without giving up a core piece. We didn't even have to give up Gordon, but maybe we wish we could of! Anthony Davis has shown that he will be a very special player and will only get better IMO.

I say we make the playoffs and depending on the matchup we may even advance. I won't predict that we will win a series, but I believe it can happen if we improve like I believe we will. Hopefully we make a few more improvements to the roster now and throughout the season.

2. Who out of our core players will make the biggest improvement and take that next step in development?

Tyreke Evans: I think Reke will make a considerable jump to All Star status. Now I'm not sure if he will make the team
per se, but he will be in the conversation. I think most "experts" think he has maxed out his potential and won't get any better than he was his rookie season. I think he hasn't even come close to his full potential and will show these "experts" that we do have a legitimate big 3 with him, AD, and Jrue.

3. Which player will surprise with his play and have the best bounce back year out of all the players that didn't have the greatest of years last season?

Eric Gordon: I think he will have his best year in New Orleans. He will stay completely healthy and will show that he can still be a top notch shooting guard in this league. By the end of the year he will have the respect of the refs and will start getting calls. The only problem is the fact that if does have a great season with a run to the playoffs, will he opt out?? Well if he doesn't at least he has shown he is capable of contributing to a successful season. So considering this, we could just keep him one more year or trade him due to his considerable increase in value.

4. Which non-starter will improve the most and become a very important piece to this team?

Austin Rivers: I think he will make a HUGE jump in his play and will be a critical piece on our bench. His play may just end up being the most important to this team making a run at the playoffs. We need someone to be huge off the bench if Gordon & Reke both start and I believe Rivers will show that he was worth that lotto pick!

5. Which new comer will have the best year and who will disappoint?

Omer Asik will have the best year cause he is exactly what we needed. He will have a chip on his shoulder and will want to show the Rockets that they wasted their money on Dwight. Playing next to Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson will be huge for him and will only make him a better player.

Russ Smith will not have as good a season as most may think. I doubt he will really get all that much playing time with Jrue, Reke, Rivers, Jimmer, and Gordon all capable of initiating the offense. He turns it over too much and hasn't played the point guard position long enough to contribute right away in the NBA. He needs to get stronger, but one things for sure he won't lack the confidence to get it done. This is one of the predictions I hope I'm wrong on cause I want this guy to be good straight out the gate.

6. Which player will you miss not seeing in a Pelican uniform next season?

Greg Stiem..no I mean Brian Rob..GAG!!
Tough one cause I liked Morrow, Aminu, and Smith a lot, but I'll have to go with Jason Smith. Probably cause he was the longest tenured Pelican/Hornet, but mainly cause I loved everything he brought to the court and the game of basketball! I hope Patric Young can maybe somewhat fill in those shoes and bring some of what J Smoove brought to the court night in and night out! It's impossible to fill them totally, but just some of that hustle and mentality will go a long way!!

7. Which member of the organization will not be a part of this team by seasons end? Could be traded, released, quit, or fired?

Monty Wil..just kidding! All the other predictions would become null & void if that were the case. I'm not the biggest of fans, but I really want to be and hope he wins me over with a great season leading to a playoff berth!

Jeff Withey: He just doesn't look like a NBA player to me. I had huge hopes for this kid, but I just don't see it happening on this team. He may not even make it through camp, especially if they want to keep someone like DeQuan Jones or Courtney Fells from summer league.

[RaisingTheBar]

1. How far will this team go as currently constructed if no major injuries occur? low seed of playoffs (5-8)

2. Who out of our core players will make the biggest improvement and take that next step in development? AD. He already improved, but I don't think last year he even scratched the surface of his full potential.

3. Which player will surprise with his play and have the best bounce back year out of all the players that didn't have the greatest of years last season?

When healthy I didn't think any of our core players had that bad of a year that they need to bounce back from, so I'd have to go with a bench player. I'll say Rivers.

4. Which non-starter will improve the most and become a very important piece to this team?

Rivers or Jimmer. Don't sleep on Jimmer, if we can use him as a 2 and a spot up shooter or a guy to throw the ball to when we are struggling to score, I think he can light it up off the bench. Would always need to be on the floor with a defensive capable PG.

5. Which new comer will have the best year and who will disappoint?

Asik will have the best year as a new comer. Grabbing boards and what he will do defensively for the team will be huge.

I think Salmons will disappoint. Even though he should only get around 10-15mpg I'm not really sure any other new comer would really be disappointing. Russ and Young are both 2nd rounders and an undrafted guy. No one should have huge expectations of either this year.

6. Which player will you miss not seeing in a Pelican uniform next season?

Anthony Morrow. He was a leader of this team and was only here for 1 season. The skill he brought us is something needed and obviously the coaching staff felt the hit. Look at the players we signed this offseason....Jimmer, Salmons, Miller. All shoot the 3-ball.

7. Which member of the organization will not be a part of this team by seasons end? Could be traded, released, quit, or fired?

I'd have to say a toss up between Gordon or Withey. If we can move him at the deadline it's Gordon, if not I think it's Withey. He just doesn't hasn't displayed the strength needed to be even a backup 5. His rebounding is terrible for a 7 footer and he supposedly added to his offensive game. Saw brief flashes of a short jumper in SL but overall left a lot to be desired. I can see a situation where he's released when there's a month to 2 weeks left of the season and we sign a vet on a Ely type deal.

I don't think anyone will be fired during the season. If Demps or Monty does, it will be after the season is over.

[Caffeinedisastr]

1. How far will this team go as currently constructed if no major injuries occur? Playoffs. Hard to say which seed. The West is tough and we haven't seen the chemistry between The Brow & The Sheik.

2. Who out of our core players will make the biggest improvement and take that next step in development? Anthony Davis. We just got a taste last year. You know he's been working all offseason.

3. Which player will surprise with his play and have the best bounce back year out of all the players that didn't have the greatest of years last season? Eric Gordon. I have a feeling he's mostly over his injury-proneness and he has the option of opting out of his contract. Best believe he will do all he can to attract other teams to his play.

4. Which non-starter will improve the most and become a very important piece to this team? Jimmer. He's a microwave made by a questionable electronics company from China. Sometimes he won't work at all. Sometimes he'll heat up so fast, he'll blow up a potato.

5. Which new comer will have the best year and who will disappoint? Gotta be Asik. Having a real PF playing beside him will help, as having a real C playing next to Brow will help him as well. They'll ease each others' troubles. Being that lots of folks on this board have hyped up Russ, he'll be the one to disappoint. I just don't see much playing time for him with all of these "veteran" guards.

6. Which player will you miss not seeing in a Pelican uniform next season? Jason Smith. We share a last name and he epitomized the attitude/effort I love to see from a player on my team.

7. Which member of the organization will not be a part of this team by seasons end? Could be traded, released, quit, or fired?
Withey. When you are the only 7 footer on the court at Summer League and don't dominate or even play serviceably, you can't let that carry over into the regular season. I hope he doesn't but if it's between him and Young, I choose Young (the next Jason Smith).

[cgrand]

1) anywhere from 7- 12...this team must stay healthy
2) davis
3) evans
4) rivers
5) asik, salmons
6) jason smith is the only answer
7) withey may not make the team

[ItIsRynosTime]

This thread has the longest posts in the history of Western Civilization! Brb, have to grab my reading glasses.

[ItIsRynosTime]

1. How far will this team go? Anywhere from 5th seed to 11th seed. Health is most important thing which can't easily be predicted. I'm saying 51 wins.
2. Which core player will make the biggest improvement and take that next step in development? Anthony Davis.
3. Which player will surprise with his play and have the best bounce back year out of all the players that didn't have the greatest of years last season? Ryan Anderson is the clear choice. He had the worst year of his life. He missed most of the season and had a major surgery to his cervical spine to repair the herniated disc. That was only half of what went wrong for him. Off the court was worse. Ryan Anderson will bounce back in a huge way.
4. Which non-starter will improve the most and become a very important piece to this team? I'll say Russ Smith.
5. Which new comer will have the best year and who will disappoint? Omer Asik will have the best year. Believe Russ Smith will impress. John Salmons and Jimmer Fredette will disappoint.
6. Which player will you miss not seeing in a Pelican uniform next season? Aminu was probably the biggest loss. I'll go Jason Smith.
7. Which member of the organization will not be a part of this team by seasons end? Could be traded, released, quit, or fired?
Gordon, Rivers, and Anderson have best chance of being traded. Fredette, Young, and Salmons are most likely to be released. Monty Williams is most likely to be fired if anyone is fired.

[504ByrdGang]

http://instagram.com/p/q0sPxsPUTL/

[Caffeinedisastr]

http://instagram.com/p/q0sPxsPUTL/

A jumper???!!!

DEAR LORD!!!

[groundpatty]

4. Which non-starter will improve the most and become a very important piece to this team? Jimmer. He's a microwave made by a questionable electronics company from China. Sometimes he won't work at all. Sometimes he'll heat up so fast, he'll blow up a potato.

This is fantastic

[itsADstime]

http://instagram.com/p/q0sPxsPUTL/

While I agree with MM about tyreke developing his post game, if Monty and staff can actually teach him a consistent jumper they will look like geniuses.

[Ludiculous]

http://instagram.com/p/q0sPxsPUTL/

the comments to that video are hilarious