Grade Pelicans off-season moves

How are we doing?

A big stinky F minus because the board reacts like that when they do anything since it wasn't what they wanted.

can I wait a while before playing?

I: Incomplete.

Off-season not over yet.

Team didn't bog themselves down with bad overinflated contracts. So that's a good thing. Dumped Bledsoe and Adams while getting JV in return is huge. Lost Lonzo, but for his salary it's tough to see it being worth it to keep him at that price, unless you expect a massive leap from him going into year 5. Both first rounders next year probably gone, though that would also mean the Pelicans make the playoffs. Decent, but not great so far. But want to see what else, if anything, they do. I still expect another move or two.

If we can get 1-2 Big. B+.
If we can get another Big and pull off a crazy trade A+


Right now... I don't feel like cleaning up bad mistakes as positive moves. So, just a C+. Still a lottery team in its current build.

I think we have improved our team in spacing the floor and still have cap space to add more. I don?t think we will miss the draft picks that much. I think the cap space is more important. Not a bad offseason if we keep team as is.

If we can get someone like Ingles for three and D and maybe Millsaps at the backup Big then we have good odds to be a second round and out playoff team next year.

If NAW, Lewis, and Hayes exceed expectations and Zion and Ingram develop any defense over the off season? then we might be a real contender IMO.


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Originally Posted by bradael

I: Incomplete.

Off-season not over yet.

Team didn't bog themselves down with bad overinflated contracts. So that's a good thing. Dumped Bledsoe and Adams while getting JV in return is huge. Lost Lonzo, but for his salary it's tough to see it being worth it to keep him at that price, unless you expect a massive leap from him going into year 5. Both first rounders next year probably gone, though that would also mean the Pelicans make the playoffs. Decent, but not great so far. But want to see what else, if anything, they do. I still expect another move or two.

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You got 40 days. Remember ever vote counts.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

You got 40 days. Remember ever vote counts.

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I don't know. Doesn't feel like my vote will make a difference vs the outcome.

Can't vote until at least the 6th

Yeah, not voting until the weekend on this one

I will abstain, as well. And it wouldn't surprise me if "the answer" comes in a trade like a lot are thinking but way further down the line than most of us would like. I have no inside info. That's just me guessing.

If I'm looking at the current roster vs last season, we replaced Adams with JV, I see that as a huge upgrade. We replaced Bledsoe with Graham (I don't care what you say, that's how my mind is coping) and that's a nice upgrade. We're a young team, so BI, Zion, NAW, Hayes, and Kira should all be better just from experience. I love Murphy and like Jones.........Green over SVG. All of that is a HUGE win. A great offseason just stopping there.

Now we don't know what's up with Hart and a lot of us feel a loss from Ball that hasn't been replaced. We could compare these two negatives with the big wins in the first paragraph......but like everyone else has said....it's best to wait to do that.

Bump. Y’all ready to grade now?

D-

how late do the polls stay open?

Waiting until after the Memphis trade gets finalized to vote.

Kushner article

https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans...b8a345d85.html

I?m cool with what has happened so far. Upgraded the 5 and the 1. Improved the bench so far. No albatross contracts on this team. Didn?t overpay for Alonzo. The only question in my mind is if NAW can live up to what I?m expecting from him, or adding another 2 via trade, and this team will be pretty solid IMO.

We keep talking all these signings but the fact is this team will go as far as Zion and BI will take it. The upgrades so far seem to be better complimentary players to our big 2 and I?m cool with that.

Let?s not forget that the Lakers last year when their big 2 were out were horrible.


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Originally Posted by Erose

I?m cool with what has happened so far. Upgraded the 5 and the 1. Improved the bench so far. No albatross contracts on this team. Didn?t overpay for Alonzo. The only question in my mind is if NAW can live up to what I?m expecting from him, or adding another 2 via trade, and this team will be pretty solid IMO.

We keep talking all these signings but the fact is this team will go as far as Zion and BI will take it. The upgrades so far seem to be better complimentary players to our big 2 and I?m cool with that.

Let?s not forget that the Lakers last year when their big 2 were out were horrible.


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Damn you are right... I voted D for disappointment but now I want to change my vote to C. I do think we got better at the 1 and 5. If NAW can have a breakout season, the Pelicans starting line up will be decent. Also the coaching changes count as offseason moves... if that can translate to some improvement on the defensive side of the ball, maybe the playoffs are possible.

B- / C+

Despite all the 'Debbie Downer' comments written on the board, the team has, on paper at least, improved without question. Assuming a line up of Zion, BI, Val, NAW, and Graham. The starters should be greatly improved:

Just Starters

NAW vs Bledsoe? Is there any doubt who the better fit is for this team? Is there any doubt who has more upside? Is there any doubt, who wants to be here? Defense is probably a push? Ceiling? One is a 31 year old; one is a 22 year old. (Major Upgrade)

Graham vs Lonzo? Graham is a slightly better shooter (considerably better at the stripe). Lonzo a much better defender. Lonzo is a better 'point guard' baseline to baseline; Graham is at least as good as Lonzo in playmaking in the half court. Graham is not afraid to take the tough shot; Lonzo disappears. Lonzo has a much greater upside, but Graham is broken through his ceiling. Most importantly, who is the better fit for this team? You make that call. (A Push...At Worst)

Val vs Adams? Spacing (fit)? Val easily. Shooting? Val by a country mile. Rebounding? Probably Val by a hair. Defense? Rim defense is a push...Perimeter defense is Val by a hefty margin. (Greatly Improved) SPECIAL NOTE: I liked Adams and wish him well; he was just a bad fit for our team.

BI vs BI? BI is the model of consistency. Despite the changes in personnel (Jrue to Bledsoe, Favors to Adams and emergence of Zion) BI was BI (and one of the most under-appreciated players ever to wear a New Orleans jersey) I have to believe that, offensively, BI will be able to get better looks in the paint due to improved spacing. The squad overall has improved its shooting (on paper at least) so I think BI will establish himself as an improved playmaker. Defense is the area that BI has to work on to become truly elite. (Slightly improved due to spacing and shooting afforded to him via player upgrades)

Zion vs Zion? Everything I wrote regarding BI applies to Zion. I will say he's got to expand his game both offensively and defensively, but even if he doesn't, he will show improvement based on better team spacing alone. Zion will be as good as Zion wants to be. (Slight Upgrade)

How much longer you last holdouts going to wait?

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

How much longer you last holdouts going to wait?

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If I actually commit to something, I might not be able to roast everyone later.

Im Playing Both Sides Its Always Sunny GIFfrom Im Playing Both Sides GIFs

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

How much longer you last holdouts going to wait?

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I can't vote on how I officially judge our off-season until the off-season moves are done.

Right now there's the Lonzo S&T investigation underway and we still have no idea what's being done with Hart. So I can't give a final verdict.

I give it a B. Got rid of Bledsoe, Adams. Added And elite big man who can score from anywhere and who is fierce. He?s really aggressive and dirty which we actually need. Toughness, meanness, he?s not a nice guy on the court. Look up Jonas angriest moments on YouTube lol..

We added a young guard who shoots a ton of 3s from deep from anywhere on the court. He?s a threat and appears to be clutch at times.

We got a big guard who?s experienced and actually plays pretty good defense. Tomas Satoransky. He?s somewhat athletic and he will be a good fit with the team imo.

Garrett Temple brings experience and he will command respect and that?s important for the locker room and for influencing the younger guys. This stuff is important.

You drafted 2 guys who play defense and Murphy is an elite 3 point shooter and I think he?s gonna be a problem if he can translate his game to the NBA. I really think he?s going to be way better than other rookies.

We added Willie Green and the players respect him and he?s relatable and has had a lot of success in his career. We added Mike Dantoni who is a great offensive minded coach with tons of experience. He will help the coaching staff and probably make our offense killer.

We lost Lonzo? Bled and Adams and SVG. The young guys NAW, Hayes, Naji, Kira are all good players who will probably be a bit better this year. Especially NAW and Kira. I have a feeling Kira will start at some point this year. Kira and NAW!

We will make the playoffs imo. That will boost morale. Y?all, ignore the media, they don?t know what they?re talking about. Look at the whole picture and it is obvious we stayed young in our roster, no old men with bad contracts? we are going to be really good!


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If you wanted to see the team build around Zion and Ingram, they've certainly succeed. The team is now more cohesive and much more complimentary of BI/Zion skillsets. It's still not perfect but it's a good start. The team still have a lot of unknowns with the young players. If they can find the right mix and those young players can contribute regularly, then the offseason would have been a lot better then we initially thought. Time will tell...