demps and monty huge mistake

[jgman]

what the....how did we get from "he was played too much his rookie year" - what we have been saying the last 2 years, to this?

He lost confidence his rookie season because he HAD to play once cornerstone gordon went down. He was garbage and not ready, his rookie year was atrocious. If he had gotten less minutes, been given a smaller role, his confidence would have grown over time, and he would have developed better. Lucky for us the kid didn't lose his confidence after being called the worst rookie in nba history by the national media and came back stronger and better last year, but he still isn't there yet, he isn't that good. Better? yea.

This thread is just wrong

[ramsters60]

let me start by saying how much I would have preferred the 10th pick in this past draft, but I think there would be an extremely long double line of us who feel that way..... with that said and reality rejoined, Rivers was the obvious choice for me, although I was not particularly thrilled about it..... unfortunately, his game was nowhere near NBA ready and I think its silly for anyone to think it was even close..... he is a very, very bright and confident person and his game appears to be on the right track now..... I look forward to watching him grow even more and it will be interesting to see how both he and Jimmer are utilized this coming year.....

[Caffeinedisastr]

Kid should change his number back to #0. (Aminu gone)

Dad's # is cursed apparently. Be your own man.

Hate it that his confidence didn't carry over but he was given TOO BIG of a role during his rookie year. He was a big fish in a little pond, then Nemo got lost in the big 'ol ocean.

Glad he didn't let himself become sushi.

[Caffeinedisastr]

let me start by saying how much I would have preferred the 10th pick in this past draft

Wouldn't we all?
I would have accepted the Pistons not picking Drummond at #9. (even if he shoots FTs like he's legally blind)

[Pelifan]

I'ma break this down for y'all real simple, Rivers just isn't explosive. I don't know if it's a mindset thing or what, but even though he's athletic he doesn't play that way. He's not crafty enough to get by on quickness alone. He never will be. Give up on Rivers. I'd love to be wrong but he won't ever be more than maybe an 8th man off the bench. And that's IF his 3 point shot and defense continue to improve.

Should have taken Lamb, and that's not a hindsight thing

[HoustonPelicans]

Kid should change his number back to #0. (Aminu gone)

Dad's # is cursed apparently. Be your own man.

Hate it that his confidence didn't carry over but he was given TOO BIG of a role during his rookie year. He was a big fish in a little pond, then Nemo got lost in the big 'ol ocean.

Glad he didn't let himself become sushi.

That would be cool if he went back to #0. Bring back the sub zero nickname

[AD23nEG10]

Kid should change his number back to #0. (Aminu gone)

Dad's # is cursed apparently. Be your own man.

Hate it that his confidence didn't carry over but he was given TOO BIG of a role during his rookie year. He was a big fish in a little pond, then Nemo got lost in the big 'ol ocean.

Glad he didn't let himself become sushi.

would love to see him go back to 0

[Caffeinedisastr]

I'ma break this down for y'all real simple, Rivers just isn't explosive. I don't know if it's a mindset thing or what, but even though he's athletic he doesn't play that way. He's not crafty enough to get by on quickness alone. He never will be. Give up on Rivers. I'd love to be wrong but he won't ever be more than maybe an 8th man off the bench. And that's IF his 3 point shot and defense continue to improve.

Should have taken Lamb, and that's not a hindsight thing

Yeah, cause Lamb is a lot better.

Rivers IS explosive. His first season he didn't even have a dunk though. Probably from getting thrown to the ground every time he got into the paint in his rookie summer league. Last year he appeared more explosive, so I think it's got to be a mental thing carried over from his crappy rookie season.

He'll get there.

[NOLa.]

In his rookie year he was given a lot more minutes than he should have gotten because of injuries to other guards. It was a learning experience for him but he was not ready for that and his "historically bad" rookie year kind of showed that he wasn't ready for the NBA then. However he showed signs of improvement and looked more comfortable on offense, plus we saw he could play defense contrary to what most draft pundits said he could never do.

I like his progression an hope he keeps it up just like the other Pels players, but I think Rivers has a lot of room to grow.

[Mythrol]

I'ma break this down for y'all real simple, Rivers just isn't explosive. I don't know if it's a mindset thing or what, but even though he's athletic he doesn't play that way. He's not crafty enough to get by on quickness alone. He never will be. Give up on Rivers. I'd love to be wrong but he won't ever be more than maybe an 8th man off the bench. And that's IF his 3 point shot and defense continue to improve.

Should have taken Lamb, and that's not a hindsight thing

Not true. Outside of Evans, Rivers has the best handles of anyone on the team. He has shown he can get by anyone. The problem is finishing at he rim because of his lack of weight to go through contract.

Has he puts on weight and strength he will continue to get better at this.

[Kibner]

I can see Rivers becoming one of the better bench guards at some point in his career. He's a mediocre one right now. I'd be happy if he panned out like that.

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[rames2great]

I've always thought Rivers got too much PT to start after Gordon went down but that wasn't Monty's fault or anything. And no, we don't need a homerun player. Our core just needs to develop together.

With this core where the kevin garnett timberwolves
But i guess we have different goals

[Kibner]

With this core where the kevin garnett timberwolves
But i guess we have different goals

That one team they had was pretty damn good, but they couldn't stick together for whatever reason.

[rames2great]

what the....how did we get from "he was played too much his rookie year" - what we have been saying the last 2 years, to this?

He lost confidence his rookie season because he HAD to play once cornerstone gordon went down. He was garbage and not ready, his rookie year was atrocious. If he had gotten less minutes, been given a smaller role, his confidence would have grown over time, and he would have developed better. Lucky for us the kid didn't lose his confidence after being called the worst rookie in nba history by the national media and came back stronger and better last year, but he still isn't there yet, he isn't that good. Better? yea.

This thread is just wrong

Nba stars know there not coming out the game for most mistakes which allows them to attempt tougher shots and take more risk
You cant have a player with star potential thinking that if he makes a mistake Brian Roberts is coming in for him u start to play cautiously and look ineffective he lost confidence because his minutes where never consistent

[rames2great]

That one team they had was pretty damn good, but they couldn't stick together for whatever reason.

Overpaid for players dealt draft picks in a effort to keep star wasnt able to land right free agents couldnt find player to help garnett win consistently in playoffs and it end with garnett leaving and the wolves sucking

[1ShotSniper]

Everything will be clearer on Rivers this season. He won't be battling for minutes with Roberts anymore. I think we put Jimmer in a SG position more than a PG position. Russ will not get more minutes than Rivers. So Rivers will have consistent minutes after being in the NBA a few years. Why don't we just see what he does with them instead of writing him off. In that draft there was really no one else in the SF,SG, or PG positions that would have been a better pick. Could we have traded the pick? Sure but who would want it in that draft and what would we have gotten in return. Not a mistake on Dell's end. We got the best player available in a position that we needed a backup.

[Kibner]

Overpaid for players dealt draft picks in a effort to keep star wasnt able to land right free agents couldnt find player to help garnett win consistently in playoffs and it end with garnett leaving and the wolves sucking

Wasn't there also a thing where Marbury thought he was as good or better than Garnett and took off to make his own way?

[rames2great]

Rivers came into the league as a project pick, Gordon went down and he was forced to play wayyy too many minutes due to our lack of depth. He was awful as a product. Last year, especially at the end of it, Rivers was looking like a player that could help us win. Hopefully he carries that over into this upcoming year, because he's our only real guard depth.

The idea that he needed MORE minutes his rookie year is silly.

Towards the end of rookie year he was playin better then the next year where playing brian roberts more now brian is gone and we dont know what we have in rivers if where planning for future rivers should of played more

[pelicanchamp]

Everything will be clearer on Rivers this season. He won't be battling for minutes with Roberts anymore. I think we put Jimmer in a SG position more than a PG position. Russ will not get more minutes than Rivers. So Rivers will have consistent minutes after being in the NBA a few years. Why don't we just see what he does with them instead of writing him off. In that draft there was really no one else in the SF,SG, or PG positions that would have been a better pick. Could we have traded the pick? Sure but who would want it in that draft and what would we have gotten in return. Not a mistake on Dell's end. We got the best player available in a position that we needed a backup.

Well said. But this is Rivers last chance to prove he's legit and a good fit for this team. He was very hyped up and I honestly think he needed two more years in college to mature. If he could improve his free throw shooting significantly then I think he'd score 12 ppg. He knows how to draw fouls. He was always used to being The Guy on previous teams so he's not used to playing team ball. That is a big problem. Gordon is similar but not as bad IMO. If Rivers just improves shooting just a little AND significant improves FT shooting he will be a much bigger help to this team. He is capable of being an impact. I really believe this. I'd love for him to replace Gordon but he has a lot to improve on. He has recently gotten a lot stronger and put on muscle. I bet he'll silence critics.


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[Pelifan]

Yeah, cause Lamb is a lot better.

Rivers IS explosive. His first season he didn't even have a dunk though. Probably from getting thrown to the ground every time he got into the paint in his rookie summer league. Last year he appeared more explosive, so I think it's got to be a mental thing carried over from his crappy rookie season.

He'll get there.

I'm not talking about dunking, it's about exploding to the rim, maybe it's speed IDK all I know is some guards have it others don't. Quickness doesn't work that close to the basket against bigs who have the length to recover. I mean Dragic is a similar player to Rivers in a vacuum, but he's a much better player because he has IT. I really don't think it's something Rivers can develop. Lamb ends up the better player... I mean TJones should have been the pick in hindsight. The idea that Rivers just needs something to click to unlock this "potential" is something people need to get over. If he were a 2nd round pick, he probably would have been cut already. I see signs of improvement, but I see nothing that says upside.

[Pelifan]

Still I hope he proves me wrong just never saw what the hype was about. His game was good for the college level where all you have to do is beat the first defender, but not for the NBA level. He has some years to maybe figure it out but I doubt it happens. I'm sticking with my Jared Bayless comparison

[Kibner]

Where/when would TJones have played? He can't play center and is laughable as a SF. In my mind, it was between Rivers, Meyers Leonard, and Lamb. Leonard is possibly worse than Rivers and Lamb hasn't shown anything in the NBA.

Maybe a dark-horse in Henson, but he doesn't look like much of a C, either.

[rames2great]

Austin was well hyped pre-draft. drafting him was not a mistake. it wasn't like we were the only team seeing value in him. history shows picks 8-14 are normally average at best. The only bust are peoples expectations. we got Anthony Davis that year, but that isn't good enough, we need to get two homerun players in one draft? dell has made plenty of moves people have not seen coming, I don't think davis could turn around and criticize him for not bringing in talent (with resources available) to play with him in his massive two seasons here.

considering the history of this franchise, what part of this sentence is a failure? to be 6-8 seed in such an extremely strong conference is a good effort. I don't think anyone expects us to win the big one this year. and it is way too early to know what will take place in the coming years.

Im just not ok with being average my goal is to win a championship our guys aren't. On rookie contracts reke,gordan,jrue,ryan,next year omar are gettig paid how do we take a 7 8 seed and turn into a contender .when i use homerun term it represents a player who with the right situation can be an allstar or an backup player guys like Anthony Davis,tim duncun,durant, where for the most part sure things. Tony parker westbrook leanord lillard george the greek freak where players when drafted with question marks about game but those franchises stuck with them developed them and allowed those players to make mistakes small market teams must find players like that and when we do play them. Rivers might not have worked out but now i feel i will never know.

[Kibner]

I think you are worrying a little too much. All our core players are young, still improving, and on tradeable contracts, with the glaring exception of Gordon.

[RekeHavoc]

The pelicans havent made any huge mistakes but this one

Not playing AUSTIN RIVERS huge minutes early in his career.the pick for me was an homerun pick after the cornerstone pick of davis. Austin could have been the next tony parker/westbrook pick that small market teams need to be competitive. Now his confidence is low and i feel his goal is to just get playing time and not dominate opponents or games.

Now where stuck in that not good enough to be elite and good enough to not suck.

We need an homerun player it wont come in draft so mr. Demps the clock is ticking or we risk losing anthony davis

First...Martching Eric Gordon was a huge mistake and how they've handled Rivers is not one. Next, Austin Rivers got way too many minutes in his rookie season. He was not ready for the minutes at all, but you definitely can't say he hasn't gotten enough. Also, if he was going to be any of those players you named, he's already had more than enough chance to develop into one of those players in the future. I really don't think his confidence is low at all, I actually feel the exact opposite. A lot of times he tries to do too much because he thinks he's better than he is at this point.

Also... It's not where it's we're*... How do you know where we are yet? We weren't healthy at all this past year and out core is very young. You have no idea where our ceiling is and I like our chances with AD.

If Anthony Davis becomes a top 1-3 player in the league the talent we have right now will be more than enough. We aren't losing AD, not for a long time anyway. He'll no doubt accept his extension and if you read MM's article, will have a chance to get new players to surround AD if that doesn't work out. BTW if you think Austin Rivers is so good, then he'll show it and whatever you think the organization has done to him, won't matter if he's that type of player.