Zach Lowe Pels Article

[WhoDatPelican]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18496598

It has been four years since the Pelicans rushed a prefab identity around Anthony Davis by dealing for Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans -- the last two "young veterans" in a Finishing Five that would barely play together before disbanding.

Injuries torpedoed any chance for New Orleans to figure out what kind of team it wanted to be. Suddenly, Holiday and Evans are set to enter free agency a year after Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon bolted for Houston.

"It came so fast," Holiday told ESPN.com last week in New York. "When you're injured, it seems like it's taking forever. But then you look back and it's like, 'Damn. So much happened.'"

[Eman5805]

Erman: Pressure Schroeder at halfcourt.

Jrue: But he's too fast.

Erman: Jrue, you're fast too.

Jrue: Oh yeah.



Edit: Alternatively...

Erman: Pressure that Schrodinger cat at halfcourt.

Jrue: I'm not sure if I can or can't.

Erman: Stop being so uncertain.

[Topdawg26]

Get rid of Dell and bring in somebody who knows how to actually build a team!

[Lelicans]

The Pelicans discussed throwing all their money at Harrison Barnes before splitting it among Moore, Hill, and others, sources say. Barnes told ESPN.com this week he would have considered the Pelicans had they contacted him.

[Eman5805]

Get rid of Dell and bring in somebody who knows how to actually build a team!

Another nugget Lowe has in there is it won't be Danny Ferry if we do shake things up.

[Caleb462]

I don't think we would have been any better with Barnes than we are with Moore/Hill/etc

[AD23forMVP]

That was kind of depressing

[Lelicans]

I don't think we would have been any better with Barnes than we are with Moore/Hill/etc

Moore's minutes would have gone to Buddy and Hill's to Barnes

Instant improvement

[Champ]

A whole lot of "woof" in the Zach Lowe piece. Not much room for substantial hope.

— David Fisher (@DavidFisherTBW) January 18, 2017

[PelsFan2313]

A whole lot of "woof" in the Zach Lowe piece. Not much room for substantial hope.

— David Fisher (@DavidFisherTBW) January 18, 2017

He's not really wrong. Other than 2-3 nuggets, there's nothing in there that we don't already know.

[Kumar]

@DavidFisherTBW I didn't think it was so bad. It's just hard to see a great team anytime soon, but that's the case for almost every team.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) January 18, 2017

[Eman5805]

@DavidFisherTBW I didn't think it was so bad. It's just hard to see a great team anytime soon, but that's the case for almost every team.

— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) January 18, 2017

Glad for different perspectives. Ain't the social media age a grand olde tyme?

[IamQuailman]

Glad for different perspectives. Ain't the social media age a grand olde tyme?

Honestly, no. LOL

[504ByrdGang]

It seems they have a price point on which they are willing to pay Jrue but doubt they stick to it.

[Big Fan]

I agree with the Lowe article 97%. Two nit picky things though: (1) Solomon Hill is not better at the 4 spot. He doesn't rebound AT ALL and doesn't play physical D inside. He's a 3 that helps the team D a bunch and does pretty much nothing else; and (2) Lowe really doesn't examine the role that the GM played in this fiasco by hiring Gentry and bringing in the "free flowing" offense that works great and I like to watch -- but not when attempted by the Pelican's current squad. I was not a Monty fan, but I was torn about him getting fired. I often look at the current team with all the good defenders and think they would do better with a more methodical offense.

[luckyman]

Yet another article about a "win now mandate" that never existed.

[TPDG22]

The issue I have with Jrue is not his ability. I have an issue with his shot selection. I don't him pulling up off fast breaks for three's and contested long two's. I want him probing the defense, getting into the paint and attacking from mid-range. Jrue needs to develop a floater to his repertoire too (i.e. Derrick Rose).

[luckyman]

I personally don't think he's healthy. I thought he might be out a few weeks with that turf toe. I surely do remember him getting much more elevation on his mid range. Even when he drives to the rim he's far below it to the point he's been getting blocked. I'm not fooled by that one poster dunk he had. That hasn't been the norm.

Regardless, in years with extremely weak drafts, signing Tyreke and trading for Jrue were not "win now" moves. It may nnot have been the 10 year process extreme of the 76ers, but those signings surely did not guarantee this franchise the playoffs when they were made. I do recall Monty, Dell, and even those with amnesia on here clearly expressing the team would still need a few more years to grow that core.

Injuries derailed it and still is.

[billfromfinance]

The issue I have with Jrue is not his ability. I have an issue with his shot selection. I don't him pulling up off fast breaks for three's and contested long two's. I want him probing the defense, getting into the paint and attacking from mid-range. Jrue needs to develop a floater to his repertoire too (i.e. Derrick Rose).

I thought Lowe's article highlighted that even if Jrue does probe, its extremely difficult as there is no space. defenders just sag right into the lane, leaving little room for him and AD. nothing we didn't already know though, the sagging off Dante and Solomon (and Asik when he is in) has been highlighted countless times by people here, articles, twitter. I imagine that when we go through dry spells, it aligns with a defense tightening up on this, and a lack of movement from our guys.

I'd be curious to know who the different advocates are for players within the coaching group (i.e. who is pushing for dMo next to AD in starting). Purely on an understanding of which coaches think certain ways.

I liked the Jrue/Erman exchange. Shows there is still a lot of space for growth in Jrue from a self belief and confidence stand point. He has missed a lot of basketball over the past few years.

Here is a question for any of the writers lurking who have insight into the organization, do the Pelicans have a Peak Performance coach and/or consultant? If so, who is it? If not, is it something not viewed as needed, or rather something individuals should find themselves?

[N.O.Bronco]

Comments are surprisingly not awful, not nearly as derogatory as I expected, but of course the big question came up:

I'm sure this is sacrilege to a Pelicans fan but why not call Boston and see what they would give for Davis?

Brown, Smart, Olynyk, Brooklyn's 2 picks and Amir Johnson and Tyler Zellers expiring contracts for Davis and Hill's bad contract would be a good starting place.

Pelicans get two young valuable pieces in Brown and Smart plus they'd have 2 high picks in this year's loaded draft(currently those picks would be 1st and 8th or something like Fultz and Tatum) and they'd have 2 high picks in next year's draft. Fultz, Smart, Tatum, Brown and signing a guy like Noel would give New Orleans a clear direction with a young core. Plus they'd have 45 million in cap space(assuming Noel cost like 15 million a year) and 2 more picks in the next draft that would likely be top 10.

For kicks I played it out. Just to once again bring up what none of us want to....That maybe we screwed up too much, and too much bad luck happened to realistically get out of this hole

It's that hard choice I am sure no one is even thinking about in the FO except maybe when alone and depressed at our situation. Before slapping themselves for thinking such nonsense.

But against my own preferences(I want to make it work, because there is no guarantee of finding another Davis) taking the cold, calculating approach, dis-regarding ownership mandates and the financial hit(though the Sixers promising young talent has actually drove up attendance despite still sucking, which is an interesting counter to the common inferred NOLA F.O. narrative that winning is the only way to grow attendance).

Objectively its probably the perfect storm to do this crazy idea if you played through all the scenarios and hope seemed fleeting if you were the FO.

Deep draft. Likely access to the #1 pick, a top 5 pick if you traded Davis, and then some future first rounder like the Nets unprotected 2018 pick(they will still probably be trash). Move Jrue and Evans for some assets, maybe late first rounders. Attach bad contracts to positive asset players(or maybe just eat em).

Markelle Fultz
Buddy Hield
Josh Jackson or Jonathan Isaac
Diallo
Olynyk

Have Smart and Brown and then likely 2-3 more top 15 players the next two seasons.

You would be in a Sixers situation like now. Young(hopefully exciting prospects) but still losing games for a couple seasons, but hoping that buzz can keep the finances afloat enough for support to not crater.


Hate Away now haha.....For the record, I don't think I could do this. Not even sure Hinkie would

[Lelicans]

Edit: Alternatively...

Erman: Pressure that Schrodinger cat at halfcourt.

Jrue: I'm not sure if I can or can't.

Erman: Stop being so uncertain.

Nice one Heisenberg

We could have had

Jrue/Frazier
Reke/Buddy
Barnes/DC/QPon
AD/Jones/Diallo
DMo/Asik/Ajinca

[Tin_Food]

Erman: Pressure Schroeder at halfcourt.

Jrue: But he's too fast.

Erman: Jrue, you're fast too.

Jrue: Oh yeah.



Edit: Alternatively...

Erman: Pressure that Schrodinger cat at halfcourt.

Jrue: I'm not sure if I can or can't.

Erman: Stop being so uncertain.

I'm not sure about what you're saying, but I like it

[Lelicans]

I'm not sure about what you're saying, but I like it

Quantum mechanics and all that

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger's_cat

[Tin_Food]

Quantum mechanics and all that

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger's_cat

Haha, nice. I don't quite understand the theory behind that, but its a decent reference.