February 12th - New Orleans Pelicans VS Orlando Magic - 25-32

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I think you're right.

AD is getting traded, Solo might be going with him. Moore might too.
Randle isn't picking up his player option.
We might re-sign Diallo, but maybe not.
No reason to resign Frazier at all.
No real reason to resign Clark.
Might bring Elfrid back, but maybe not.
Might bring Miller back, but maybe not.
Not going to bring Stanley back.

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Why wouldn't they bring Stanley or Diallo back.
Nobody will pick up their options.
Both would be nice expiring to bundle with Moore and Hill at next year's deadline.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I think you're right.

AD is getting traded, Solo might be going with him. Moore might too.
Randle isn't picking up his player option.
We might re-sign Diallo, but maybe not.
No reason to resign Frazier at all.
No real reason to resign Clark.
Might bring Elfrid back, but maybe not.
Might bring Miller back, but maybe not.
Not going to bring Stanley back.

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He'll, we could sign Justin Holiday. Nice 3&D.

Check this off the wall trade idea I had earlier

Boston- gets AD.
Pels-Get Tatum,Smart,Zack Levine, Laurie Markannan & Sac 1st Rd
Chicago- Gets Jaylen Brown, Pels 2019 pick,Memphis Pick & Pels 2021 unprotected .

Pels would have Lavine-Jrue-Tatum-Markkanan & Jah starting 5- Frank, Kenny Hustle, Justin Holiday & a serviceable Big as rotational. Hopefully Sac pick can grab us a PG.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Either that or Zion, DSJ, Robinson, Frank, Jah, Kenrich, and whoever we trade Jrue for.*


*Jrue will probably ask to leave if we take the NY trade.

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Man, I get it , but O just can't see NOT having an identity guy here. I think Jrue should stay .

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

Why wouldn't they bring Stanley or Diallo back.
Nobody will pick up their options.
Both would be nice expiring to bundle with Moore and Hill at next year's deadline.

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Because they suck, next question.

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Originally Posted by Tinman

He'll, we could sign Justin Holiday. Nice 3&D.

Check this off the wall trade idea I had earlier

Boston- gets AD.
Pels-Get Tatum,Smart,Zack Levine, Laurie Markannan & Sac 1st Rd
Chicago- Gets Jaylen Brown, Pels 2019 pick,Memphis Pick & Pels 2021 unprotected .

Pels would have Lavine-Jrue-Tatum-Markkanan & Jah starting 5- Frank, Kenny Hustle, Justin Holiday & a serviceable Big as rotational. Hopefully Sac pick can grab us a PG.

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No thank you. Don't like the idea of essentially getting the moving parts of the woeful Bulls team, while simultaneously downgrading our pick and losing out on the picks from Boston.

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Originally Posted by BlackJacket

Isn't that the plan every year?

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To what sign Tatum, Smart & Brown? I don't follow your very ambiguous statement at all!
But I will answer what I think you may have been so inarticulately trying to say.
No, you don't try and rebuild an entire team every year . This is unchartered territory .
A Top 5 player has Spinal tapped our arses in mid contract.
So, quite frankly, I'm not sure how to answer your elastic question.

We have been a Kentucky team since AD got here, when he leaves (and we are left with Ja, Frank, and Tatum) we will be a Duke team. Maybe coming from the Coach K tree and not the Coach Cal tree we will see more loyalty?

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

No thank you. Don't like the idea of essentially getting the moving parts of the woeful Bulls team, while simultaneously downgrading our pick and losing out on the picks from Boston.

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Do you have any idea how good Laurie Markkanan is?

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Because they suck, next question.

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Well put!

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Originally Posted by Tinman

To what sign Tatum, Smart & Brown? I don't follow your very ambiguous statement at all!
But I will answer what I think you may have been so inarticulately trying to say.
No, you don't try and rebuild an entire team every year . This is U chartered territory .
A Top 5 player has Spinal tapped our arses in mid contract.
So, quite frankly, I'm not sure how to answer your elastic question.

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It's ok bro. I understand your frustration. I was actually referring the unprecedented suggestion of "Sign 2 mid level FA & 1 close to max guy." I mistakenly thought that would be understood given that Brown and Tatum have only been in the league since 2016/17 and my inclusion of "every year". My bad, I take full credit for that misunderstanding.

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Originally Posted by Bee-Fense

The point is that he has never shown any patience from the very beginning. If you read the article, it acts as a cautionary tale for the events that eventually happened. Demps has gambled to win now on numerous occasions and the product we see in front of us is an absolute embarrassment and the furthest thing from a team in position to "win now." In the grand scheme of things, the decisions taken that off season are primarily responsible for the failures the franchise has experienced in the Anthony Davis era since it decided we were no longer going to "rebuild" but try to optimistically pick up these 23-25 year old players and hope we can make them work together. We see it again this year with Randle and Payton. The strategy hasn't worked.

Even in the Chris Paul era, he traded his 1st round pick for Jerryd Bayless which then turned into Jarrett Jack.

The Cousins trade gave up the asset we gained for a year's worth of tanking - Buddy Hield. Obviously the Cousins injury is the biggest what if's in the franchises history, but the fact he didn't re-sign Cousins after giving up so much for him has to be seen as a failure. From the get go, it was a gamble and it didn't work.

The Mirotic trade gave up a 1st rounder to make up for a bad contracted signed by Demps and Mirotic was then off loaded for a bundle of second rounders instead.

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From the article you posted.

"And the gamble starts right away, at the behest of owner Tom Benson, who pushed the front office to end the slow game and accelerate the rebuild now, per several sources around the league."

This is why we still see Demps with a job. If the above quote is true it lends credence to the possibility that Dell may have wanted to do a slower rebuild but his hand was forced by Benson. Maybe this time around they will let him do it differently.

At this point I am indifferent to Dell. He's done some good and some bad but is not the worst or the best. He has assembled teams that should have been competitive but were derailed by injury for the most part. So, if he stays maybe he can finally put a team together that can stay healthy. If he goes maybe the next guy can put a team together that can stay healthy.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Because they suck, next question.

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That's short sighted.
This team next season could barely hit the cap floor, especially if Jrue is traded.

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

That's short sighted.
This team next season could barely hit the cap floor, especially if Jrue is traded.

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Jrue won't be traded.

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Originally Posted by Tinman

Jrue won't be traded.

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So your giving up on the Knicks and Zion already?

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

So your giving up on the Knicks and Zion already?

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1) 14% isn't what one would call good odds. If they don't get #1, then for me, I have Zero use for them.
2) I think the Pels will still take Boston's offer if Tatum & the right pieces are involved , even if Knicks win Ping Pong Balls.
3) Trades aren't binary. There are many ways to get player you are targeting by using a third team .
4) I think Jrue is worth keeping over ZION anyway.

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Originally Posted by P_B_&_G

From the article you posted.

"And the gamble starts right away, at the behest of owner Tom Benson, who pushed the front office to end the slow game and accelerate the rebuild now, per several sources around the league."

This is why we still see Demps with a job. If the above quote is true it lends credence to the possibility that Dell may have wanted to do a slower rebuild but his hand was forced by Benson. Maybe this time around they will let him do it differently.

At this point I am indifferent to Dell. He's done some good and some bad but is not the worst or the best. He has assembled teams that should have been competitive but were derailed by injury for the most part. So, if he stays maybe he can finally put a team together that can stay healthy. If he goes maybe the next guy can put a team together that can stay healthy.

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I have mostly taken a similar stance on Dell in the past but tonight kind of put me over the edge. At some point, the results, regardless of owner influence, do matter. If the order was to accelerate the rebuild, where we are at now is not an inevitability. Besides Jrue, nothing on this team resembles a reliable long term piece and there is seemingly no vision for this team. I think Dell has done some good, don't get me wrong. But the team has almost always been in flux in both ownership situations. As I mentioned in my earlier post, Dell's willingness to depart with future assets to "win now" can be seen in the Bayless deal and also in the original LAL - CP3 trade. I simply don't trust him to make the correct and patient decision at this point.

It's hard to ever know how separate Dell and ownership's line of thinking is, but eventually results do matter. Dell seems like a very intelligent and good guy, but I also think there are probably a lot of qualified individuals that could be the next GM that are more deserving of an opportunity than Dell is at this point.

I decided to share the article and go on a Dell rant because this is the first time I've felt he should be fired. What was on the court tonight was absolutely embarrassing.

#TankMode

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Originally Posted by AUSSIE_PELICAN

So your giving up on the Knicks and Zion already?

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If Zion is all he is hyped up to be, we could put a team together by resigning Randle and Elfrid where Jrue may be happy enough to try it out a year or two. He seems like a loyal dude. And Zion is hyped to be good quick.

The odds are way better with the Boston trade. Just saying it's not impossible.

Our Coach (in one of his tantrum’s)don’t want to talk about it anymore. Good luck with that Alvin.

https://www.nola.com/pelicans/2019/0...situation.html

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Originally Posted by Tinman

Do you have any idea how good Laurie Markkanan is?

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Yes.

I don't think he's good enough to forfeit our own pick, plus the 2021 Memphis pick.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

If Zion is all he is hyped up to be, we could put a team together by resigning Randle and Elfrid where Jrue may be happy enough to try it out a year or two. He seems like a loyal dude. And Zion is hyped to be good quick.

The odds are way better with the Boston trade. Just saying it's not impossible.

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I don't really want to do that too much.

For me, if this is anything, it's an opportunity to rebuild the franchise properly from the ground up. We've never been an exceptional team, we've never reached a conference finals, we've never had sustained high level achievement. There are a bunch of reasons why.

But given that this is an opportunity to rebuild, I don't really want to drag in old bits and pieces. I don't want Randle back. He doesn't play defense, he's lazy, his effort is off and on. He isn't a core piece for the future to me, and I wanted him traded before the deadline.

I can see taking Payton back since he's a Louisiana guy and because he's barely had a real chance to play this season, but it depends on his market value. I'm not paying $10m+ for him. It's unlikely anyone will offer him that, but if they do then I'm letting him go.

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Originally Posted by Tinman

He'll, we could sign Justin Holiday. Nice 3&D.

Check this off the wall trade idea I had earlier

Boston- gets AD.
Pels-Get Tatum,Smart,Zack Levine, Laurie Markannan & Sac 1st Rd
Chicago- Gets Jaylen Brown, Pels 2019 pick,Memphis Pick & Pels 2021 unprotected .

Pels would have Lavine-Jrue-Tatum-Markkanan & Jah starting 5- Frank, Kenny Hustle, Justin Holiday & a serviceable Big as rotational. Hopefully Sac pick can grab us a PG.

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IMO that is too much for Lavine and Markannen.