NAW being assigned to G-League

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/new-orl...-erie-bayhawks

The New Orleans Pelicans have assigned rookie guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League.

Selected 17th overall out of Virginia Tech in the 2019 NBA Draft, Alexander-Walker, 6-5, 205, has appeared in 41 games for New Orleans, posting averages of 5.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.2 minutes per contest.

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Originally Posted by ozwego15

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/new-orl...-erie-bayhawks

The New Orleans Pelicans have assigned rookie guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League.

Selected 17th overall out of Virginia Tech in the 2019 NBA Draft, Alexander-Walker, 6-5, 205, has appeared in 41 games for New Orleans, posting averages of 5.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 12.2 minutes per contest.

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Well, for some reason that catches me off guard, but he's clearly not getting minutes right now.

WTF? We tanking now?

Or are we about to sign someone else?

I think this is a good move. This kid needs playing time to work on his game and get his confidence back up.

it's a probably a good move if he's not gonna get playing time this season. we need to maximize the bench as much as possible and maybe signing a vet might help us for the run.

Bruh, NAW has been so bad everytime he stepped onto the court in the past month, he needs to dominate over there for a little bit.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

WTF? We tanking now?

Or are we about to sign someone else?

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Would indicate to me the opposite. If we were tanking, he and Jaxson would be eating up a ton of minutes. To the contrary, he's been stuck on the end of the bench. This is a move to give him playing time while the rest of the team makes the move toward the playoffs.

where he should have been at the start of the season....this is a good move for the kid....

This is the best thing that can happen to the young man. He was getting nada on the big team and in Erie will be playing 30 minutes a night. He is absolutely the last man on the Pelican bench right now. If he puts his ego aside, this month long assignment with benefit him (and the team) immeasurably. JAX?

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Originally Posted by kinglio21093

Bruh, NAW has been so bad everytime he stepped onto the court in the past month, he needs to dominate over there for a little bit.

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I'm amazed how some people don't/refuse to see it.

This is a good way for the kid to get his confidence back up. He wasn't going to see the floor unless it was garbage time.

BuT FrAnK iS tAkInG nAwS mInUtEs

I will miss his air guitar from the sidelines though

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Originally Posted by UNO Gracias

BuT FrAnK iS tAkInG nAwS mInUtEs

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More E'Twaun Moore ! Wooooooooo:hihi:

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Originally Posted by ozwego15

it's a probably a good move if he's not gonna get playing time this season. we need to maximize the bench as much as possible and maybe signing a vet might help us for the run.

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This does not open up a roster spot.

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Originally Posted by PELICANSFAN

This does not open up a roster spot.

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Then why move him? He was not that bad. More Okafor? More Moore?

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Then why move him? He was not that bad. More Okafor? More Moore?

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So he could get experience. He wasn't getting experience by sitting on the bench.

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Originally Posted by DarkHornet

So he could get experience. He wasn't getting experience by sitting on the bench.

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That’s because the HC refused to play him. He did not like Buddy Hield or Christian Wood either. LOL.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

That’s because the HC refused to play him. He did not like Buddy or Christian Wood either. LOL.

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You can't play everyone. There are a few players that are not getting meaningful minutes. Who's minutes would he take?

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

That’s because the HC refused to play him. He did not like Buddy or Christian Wood either. LOL.

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You're talking out both sides of your mouth. On one hand, you are angry with them for the perception of tanking. On the other, you're angry at Gentry for playing the veterans over the young guy who was struggling. Either you're trying to win, or your trying to give the young guys experience. We are in a stretch that we don't have the luxury to do both if you are trying to win games.

It is what it is. We shall see.

Okafor needs G league too

Over the last 15 games only 3 Pelicans have been a net negative:
Jaxson Hayes (-11.5)
NAW (-24.4)
Jahlil Okafor (-46.6!!!!)

For all three, abysmal defensive numbers have been the biggest factor.

They just cannot be on the court except out of absolute necessity.

— David M. Grubb (@DMGrubb) February 26, 2020

Dissapointed with the organization that this wasn’t done earlier. With the amount of depth that we have at guard and the inevitability that he wasn’t going to be logging minutes, this should have been done sooner. Meh. Good luck Nickeil

Jesus Carpenter Jah, yikes ...

If Jaxson is a sieve on help D what is Zion? lol we don’t wanna have that discussion yet...

— Alt Timeline Hank ⌚️ (@hanx3sports) February 26, 2020

I talked about it today. And @Fish_TBW and I discussed it on the last podcast of @TheBirdCallsNO. Unafraid to speak the truth.

— David M. Grubb (@DMGrubb) February 26, 2020

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

Okafor needs G league too

Over the last 15 games only 3 Pelicans have been a net negative:
Jaxson Hayes (-11.5)
NAW (-24.4)
Jahlil Okafor (-46.6!!!!)

For all three, abysmal defensive numbers have been the biggest factor.

They just cannot be on the court except out of absolute necessity.

— David M. Grubb (@DMGrubb) February 26, 2020

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Mr Grubb's got it right.

And, I don't think G League would help Okafor, but I definitely think it would help JAX.

It's one of those things. I don't really like it because in reality a huge part of the reason NAW has been bad is that he's had no real opportunities or consistency or anything else like that. He plays 2 random minutes at some point in the second half of every other game right now and he's usually shoved in with some garbage lineup that makes no sense and should never play (remember Alvin getting heated because we nearly blew a lead, while completely ignoring that he was playing 3 centres for some reason?).

But whatever the reason, the end result is that right now he's not playing any organised basketball, he's getting little to no experience, and he's not getting any reps. So sure, send him to the G League. At least they'll play him.

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Originally Posted by As I See It

Mr Grubb's got it right.

And, I don't think G League would help Okafor, but I definitely think it would help JAX.

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Yeah,

The TBW crew not afraid of the truth!NAW is NOT the worse player on our team.

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Originally Posted by As I See It

Mr Grubb's got it right.

And, I don't think G League would help Okafor, but I definitely think it would help JAX.

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I think the G-League would help Jaxson, for sure. I just don't think we have enough depth at center to take him off the roster.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

It's one of those things. I don't really like it because in reality a huge part of the reason NAW has been bad is that he's had no real opportunities or consistency or anything else like that. He plays 2 random minutes at some point in the second half of every other game right now and he's usually shoved in with some garbage lineup that makes no sense and should never play (remember Alvin getting heated because we nearly blew a lead, while completely ignoring that he was playing 3 centres for some reason?).

But whatever the reason, the end result is that right now he's not playing any organised basketball, he's getting little to no experience, and he's not getting any reps. So sure, send him to the G League. At least they'll play him.

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I’ll be fair to Nickeil in the sense that Gentry has been awful with him. Spot minutes out of the blue and pulling him after any and every mistake just makes it impossible for a player to grow. Just get him away from this coach.

He needs to be ready to play significant bench minutes next season considering Moore and Frank most likely will not be back. Get him as many reps as possible in the G league and build his confidence back up so he's ready to go.

Additionally, getting him some play at PG with Erie will be important if, god forbid, we have injuries to Lonzo and/or Jrue. At that point we would be left with no back up PG, so NAW could still be potentially thrust into that position. I'm assuming Erie plays a similar style of ball.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

It's one of those things. I don't really like it because in reality a huge part of the reason NAW has been bad is that he's had no real opportunities or consistency or anything else like that. He plays 2 random minutes at some point in the second half of every other game right now and he's usually shoved in with some garbage lineup that makes no sense and should never play (remember Alvin getting heated because we nearly blew a lead, while completely ignoring that he was playing 3 centres for some reason?).

But whatever the reason, the end result is that right now he's not playing any organised basketball, he's getting little to no experience, and he's not getting any reps. So sure, send him to the G League. At least they'll play him.

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Have you changed your stance on the G-League?

I recall before the season started, you said that sitting on the bench on the big team was better than playing big, critical minutes in Erie. Specifically, you said merely being around the big team would be more beneficial than playing every night in the minors. Just curious.

BTW: I did tell you that the biggest loser of minutes when Zion got back would be # 10. I'm sure your argument will be that Melli is getting Hayes minutes. Well without Zion, Melli would probably still be an afterthought. (and I'm the biggest Melli fan on the board).

Cheers!!!

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Originally Posted by JJackisangry

I’ll be fair to Nickeil in the sense that Gentry has been awful with him. Spot minutes out of the blue and pulling him after any and every mistake just makes it impossible for a player to grow. Just get him away from this coach.

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For sure. And to make it clear, I'm not trying to say that he's only been bad cause of this stuff; he has made some baffling decisions when he's been on the court and he's shot just awfully.

The issue is that it's a coaches job to put players in the position to succeed, and Gentry hasn't done that for NAW.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

The issue is that it's a coaches job to put players in the position to succeed, and Gentry hasn't done that for NAW.

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But at this point in the season I'm not sure you can necessarily fault Gentry for that. We're just too deep of a team to have a rookie playing significant minutes.

It's not like we have some old dude who's not part of the future stealing his minutes either, which is an issue I've had in the past with Gentry. There's just legitimately no way to get NAW on the floor consistently without losing games.

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Originally Posted by DarkHornet

I think the G-League would help Jaxson, for sure. I just don't think we have enough depth at center to take him off the roster.

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You could get center minutes from Favors, Melli, Zion, and Jah (if necessary). Most teams don't run 10 to 12 man rotations, and we are only talking about a month left to G=League season.

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Originally Posted by pelafanatic

But at this point in the season I'm not sure you can necessarily fault Gentry for that. We're just too deep of a team to have a rookie playing significant minutes.

It's not like we have some old dude who's not part of the future stealing his minutes either, which is an issue I've had in the past with Gentry. There's just legitimately no way to get NAW on the floor consistently without losing games.

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I mean, in the past 5 games we've played E'twaun Moore a total of 58 minutes, which in a perfect world would be all minutes NAW would have taken, because Moore has absolutely no future on this team beyond this year (imo). But it's sort of a catch 22; you can't play NAW now because we're trying to win and he's so stunted in his rookie development, but a huge part of the reason he's stunted is that there's been this refusal to give him much opportunity throughout the year.

I'm not saying that the solution is now, at this point, to just cut all Moore/Jackson minutes and give them all to NAW, because he's not where he should be (obviously). I'm just saying that the reason he's not where he should be is at least partially a result of the choice to not give him those opportunities earlier in the year, and the two issues (team goals V player management) are in conflict as a result of that.

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Originally Posted by As I See It

You could get center minutes from Favors, Melli, Zion, and Jah (if necessary). Most teams don't run 10 to 12 man rotations, and we are only talking about a month left to G=League season.

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Teams factor in experience that players get in practice against other NBA players as well. I do not know their practice schedule but I am sure they are weighing that into a decision as well.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

For sure. And to make it clear, I'm not trying to say that he's only been bad cause of this stuff; he has made some baffling decisions when he's been on the court and he's shot just awfully.

The issue is that it's a coaches job to put players in the position to succeed, and Gentry hasn't done that for NAW.

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He has been kind of poo to be sure. BUT, I think we see a much better Nickeil if he was confident and managed differently. That first game against Toronto pretty much summed it up. I didn’t have a problem with any of the shots he took, but they weren’t falling that night. What does Gentry do? Tells him not to play his game and question and doubt every decision he makes. He’s a cocky guy. Telling him not to be that sparkplug completely hinders his game. He will make mistakes just like every one of our players has with aplomb. Don’t treat him like a villain because he’s a rookie.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

I mean, in the past 5 games we've played E'twaun Moore a total of 58 minutes, which in a perfect world would be all minutes NAW would have taken, because Moore has absolutely no future on this team beyond this year (imo). But it's sort of a catch 22; you can't play NAW now because we're trying to win and he's so stunted in his rookie development, but a huge part of the reason he's stunted is that there's been this refusal to give him much opportunity throughout the year.

I'm not saying that the solution is now, at this point, to just cut all Moore/Jackson minutes and give them all to NAW, because he's not where he should be (obviously). I'm just saying that the reason he's not where he should be is at least partially a result of the choice to not give him those opportunities earlier in the year, and the two issues (team goals V player management) are in conflict as a result of that.

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Come on now. For the season, he's averaged 12.2 minutes (a full quarter) per game played . So it's not like he hasn't gotten minutes, True, since the return of Zion, his minutes have gone down dramatically, but that only increases the number of minutes he played earlier in the season. Had he proven ready, he would still be playing.

Say what you want about Gentry's in game decision making with timeouts, lineups, and schemes. Those are valid. What isn't valid is questioning how he handles rookies. That's the one thing Gentry has done well consistently. Develop young talent.

NAW looked great in preseason, has looked like a rookie ever since. And he is playing more than two spot min. Lol. I still think NAW will be great. But let's not twist facts just so we can try to slam Gentry more. This is a great move. It didn't happen sooner because we weren't fully locked into "win" mode all season. We were in developmental mode. It's why we heard so many different things leading up to the trade deadline. The team wanted to assess Zion before committing on a playoff push. This move signifies that they are all in on the playoff push.....in my view. Everyone will read the tea leaves differently.

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Say what you want about Gentry's in game decision making with timeouts, lineups, and schemes. Those are valid. What isn't valid is questioning how he handles rookies. That's the one thing Gentry has done well consistently. Develop young talent.

NAW looked great in preseason, has looked like a rookie ever since. And he is playing more than two spot min. Lol. I still think NAW will be great. But let's not twist facts just so we can try to slam Gentry more. This is a great move. It didn't happen sooner because we weren't fully locked into "win" mode all season. We were in developmental mode. It's why we heard so many different things leading up to the trade deadline. The team wanted to assess Zion before committing on a playoff push. This move signifies that they are all in on the playoff push.....in my view. Everyone will read the tea leaves differently.

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NAW has played in a total of of 41 games this year, and in 24 of them he has played fewer than 12 minutes. He has played 5 minutes or fewer in 10 games (a quarter of his appearances). He has not hit 6 minutes played in a game since January 20th. He's touched the court in only 3 of our last 10 games, and played a combined 11 minutes in those 3 games.

Regardless of whether you think he got enough minutes early on in the season, which you may well believe (he was getting about 15 minutes per game for the first dozen games or so of the year), you cannot deny that for the last month, 6 weeks-ish, NAW has absolutely been playing irregular, often small minutes with sub-optimal lineups, usually when the game is already absolutely over.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

NAW has played in a total of of 41 games this year, and in 24 of them he has played fewer than 12 minutes. He has played 5 minutes or fewer in 10 games (a quarter of his appearances). He has not hit 6 minutes played in a game since January 20th. He's touched the court in only 3 of our last 10 games, and played a combined 11 minutes in those 3 games.

Regardless of whether you think he got enough minutes early on in the season, which you may well believe (he was getting about 15 minutes per game for the first dozen games or so of the year), you cannot deny that for the last month, 6 weeks-ish, NAW has absolutely been playing irregular, often small minutes with sub-optimal lineups, usually when the game is already absolutely over.

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.....and does this mean he's been mishandled as you suggest? (and it's still an average of 12.2 minutes per game for those 41 games he's played in)

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

Say what you want about Gentry's in game decision making with timeouts, lineups, and schemes. Those are valid. What isn't valid is questioning how he handles rookies. That's the one thing Gentry has done well consistently. Develop young talent.

NAW looked great in preseason, has looked like a rookie ever since. And he is playing more than two spot min. Lol. I still think NAW will be great. But let's not twist facts just so we can try to slam Gentry more. This is a great move. It didn't happen sooner because we weren't fully locked into "win" mode all season. We were in developmental mode. It's why we heard so many different things leading up to the trade deadline. The team wanted to assess Zion before committing on a playoff push. This move signifies that they are all in on the playoff push.....in my view. Everyone will read the tea leaves differently.

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Thanks for that laugh.

I was against this at the beginning of the season, but in his last few cameos it looked like he forgot how to play basketball. I am a big believer in some of the things he showed in summer league and preseason, and I still think he will be a player, but he needs to see the ball go in the basket, have things slow down a little bit, and regain his confidence so he can work toward a rotation spot next year.

It's the best thing for him right now. IF we're going to not play Hayes much either, should send him too.

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Originally Posted by As I See It

Come on now. For the season, he's averaged 12.2 minutes (a full quarter) per game played . So it's not like he hasn't gotten minutes, True, since the return of Zion, his minutes have gone down dramatically, but that only increases the number of minutes he played earlier in the season. Had he proven ready, he would still be playing.

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He has 17 DNPs. So, the 12.2 minutes per game averages out to about 8.5 minutes per game the Pels have played. You can't say he is getting minutes if he has 17 DNPs and is playing sporatically (and does not even know when he will play). He played big minutes in a couple of games early in the season and played well offensively. He just needs to put in the work in the G-League and build his confidence back up.

I suggested they should do this weeks ago. Part of the reason to invest in a G League franchise as the Pels have done is so that your young talent can get game experience instead of just racking up DNPs at the end of the bench. NAW needs to play but he hasn’t been ready for full NBA action. G League is a step up from college and will give him a chance to work on his shot and decision making inside the Pels system. I think he could get a lot out of it.

NAW's G League debut happened tonight.

Eerie Bayhawks beat Long Island Nets, 125-124

NAW had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 9 turnovers on 42.1% shooting, and 37.5% from 3 (3/8)

Zylan Cheatham put up 10 points and 10 rebounds on only 3/10 shooting, a pretty low quality game for him.

Obviously most of us don't pay that much attention to the G League, but Zylan has been quietly putting up big numbers down there. Here's his last 5 games:

Tonight: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 30% shooting.
- 20 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 69.2% shooting
- 17 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 57% shooting
- 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 60% shooting
- 20 points, 21 rebounds, 1 assist, 72.7%FG


Other standout games include 29 points with 18 rebounds, a 23 point/16 rebound outing, and 2 consecutive games of 20 points and 13 boards with 4 assists on 60% shooting. Also worth noting that Zylan has shot 34.5% from 3 on 3.5 per game :hihi: He's having a good time down there

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

NAW's G League debut happened tonight.

Eerie Bayhawks beat Long Island Nets, 125-124

NAW had 23 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 9 turnovers on 42.1% shooting, and 37.5% from 3 (3/8)

Zylan Cheatham put up 10 points and 10 rebounds on only 3/10 shooting, a pretty low quality game for him.

Obviously most of us don't pay that much attention to the G League, but Zylan has been quietly putting up big numbers down there. Here's his last 5 games:

Tonight: 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 30% shooting.
- 20 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 69.2% shooting
- 17 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 57% shooting
- 20 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 60% shooting
- 20 points, 21 rebounds, 1 assist, 72.7%FG


Other standout games include 29 points with 18 rebounds, a 23 point/16 rebound outing, and 2 consecutive games of 20 points and 13 boards with 4 assists on 60% shooting. Also worth noting that Zylan has shot 34.5% from 3 on 3.5 per game :hihi: He's having a good time down there

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Zylan has the right type of body and athleticism to defend forwards. If he can shoot ~35% from 3 and can defend in a team concept he's an NBA player. Rebounding would help too.