Who should become the first person to be drafted to the pelicans?

[nolaslim213]

Appresh the scouting btw

No problem man. I enjoy it, but I don't have time during the school week. Mardi Gras break is AWESOME, and it gives me time to do stuff like this.

So here's a question. With it being stated that this guy of gets his points in transition, coupled with the fact that we are one of the slowest paced teams; why is this a good fit? Development to the half court game expectations ?

This isn't popular because of the Vasquez fanboys, but if we get a PG who can actually push the pace, we'd be one of the best fast break teams in the league. Rivers, Gordon, Aminu, Oladipo (if we draft him), Davis, Anderson, Lopez, JSmith... They all get out and run, but Vasquez is just TOO SLOW to do what we need him to do.

[Snarly]

The Hornets didn't "push the pace" with Jack who thrives in transition, So they won't push the pace with Olapido a guy similar to Shannon Brown. But you can keep dreaming.

[nolaslim213]

The Hornets didn't "push the pace" with Jack who thrives in transition, So they won't push the pace with Olapido a guy similar to Shannon Brown.

Well, Monty seems to disagree with you. He keeps screaming to push, and we aren't. Also, with Jack, we didn't have Rivers or Gordon or Davis or Anderson or Lopez, so your angle is really not a good one. No offense.

But you can keep dreaming.

I don't know why you are being so passive aggressive. I'm just posting about a guy I'd like us to consider. No need to get so upset man.

[Purple Haze]

The Hornets didn't "push the pace" with Jack who thrives in transition, So they won't push the pace with Olapido a guy similar to Shannon Brown. But you can keep dreaming.

I don't feel like your posts today have been very constructive, no need to be so pissy at someone who did his research. Especially when your Jack angle makes no sense.

[Snarly]

Well, Monty seems to disagree with you. He keeps screaming to push, and we aren't. Also, with Jack, we didn't have Rivers or Gordon or Davis or Anderson or Lopez, so your angle is really not a good one. No offense.

And I don't know why you are being so passive aggressive. I'm just posting about a guy I'd like us to consider. No need to get so upset man.

That team was made for running that season. Jack, Belinelli, Ariza/Aminu, Landry/Ayon, Kaman/Okafor. We didn't push the pace because Williams doesn't like it when his team take shots early on in the shotclock.

[Snarly]

I don't feel like your posts today have been very constructive, no need to be so pissy at someone who did his research. Especially when your Jack angle makes no sense.

What doesn't make sense regarding Jack?

[nolaslim213]

That team was made for running that season. Jack, Belinelli, Ariza/Aminu, Landry/Ayon, Kaman/Okafor. We didn't push the pace because Williams doesn't like it when his team take shots early on in the shotclock.

Pushing the pace absolutely does not = taking shots early in the shot clock. If anything, it means you are setting your offense up early, so you have more time on the clock. Monty has said many times this year that he wants to get out and run.

We'll just agree to disagree.

[Snarly]

Pushing the pace absolutely does not = taking shots early in the shot clock. If anything, it means you are setting your offense up early, so you have more time on the clock. Monty has said many times this year that he wants to get out and run.

We'll just agree to disagree.

He says it every single year since he's been here and the pace is ALWAYS the same. His defensive philosophies does not allow his team to play uptempo. He wants to limit possessions and push the pace at the same time. It 's contradictory. He only wants to push the pace in transition when the opportunities arise rather than playing an uptempo style. At the end of the day, he's pretty much has a half-court philosophy. He's had enough sample size to know what type of offense he prefers to play.

[nolaslim213]

He says it every single year since he's been here and the pace is ALWAYS the same. His defensive philosophies does not allow his team to play uptempo. He wants to limit possessions and push the pace at the same time. It 's contradictory. He only wants to push the pace in transition when the opportunities arise rather than playing an uptempo style. At the end of the day, he's pretty much has a half-court philosophy. He's had enough sample size to know what type of offense he prefers to play.

I'm not trying to demean you or anything, but I think the problem is that you don't understand the philosophy behind pushing the pace. That's different than having an uptempo offense where you jack up a lot of shots. I'll break it down.

Pushing the pace - This is when you get a defensive rebound and outlet to the PG. The PG advances the ball up the court as fast as possible in an attempt to catch the other team off guard. If you are able to catch the opposing team off guard, then it should equate into an easy layup or a great look at a "transition 3." Both are great, high % looks, and that is the whole goal of pushing the pace, and running the fast break.

Now, let's say you get the rebound, outlet to the PG, and run the break, but the opposing team recognizes it and gets back in time to stop your run. That doesn't mean that you should just jack up a shot since you are already down there (which is what you are suggesting). Instead, you pull the ball out to mid court, and you set up your half court offense. This is where Monty's philosophy that you are speaking of comes in. Monty is a half-court guy. He wants to get high quality looks and limit the possessions of the other team. He doesn't want us jacking up shots with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. The whole point of his system is to slow the pace down in the half court, get a good look, and get back on defense.

Fast paced offense - This is what you are thinking of, and this is NOT what we run. A fast paced offense tries to get as many possessions as possible, and they want their games to turn into a "shoot out." Teams like Denver and Houston run this sort of an offense, which is whey their players numbers are inflated.

So, just because you want to push the pace does NOT mean that you have to run a fast paced offense. Pushing the pace is more like probing the opposing team and trying to get a few quick, easy, cheap buckets. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is that you push the pace, nothing is there, you back it out, and you set up your offense a few seconds earlier than you would have had you not pushed the pace because your whole team is already in the half court already because you just ran the break.

I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense. I tried to section it off to make it more readable, but that is basically the gist of what Monty wants us to do.

[Snarly]

I'm not trying to demean you or anything, but I think the problem is that you don't understand the philosophy behind pushing the pace. That's different than having an uptempo offense where you jack up a lot of shots. I'll break it down.

Pushing the pace - This is when you get a defensive rebound and outlet to the PG. The PG advances the ball up the court as fast as possible in an attempt to catch the other team off guard. If you are able to catch the opposing team off guard, then it should equate into an easy layup or a great look at a "transition 3." Both are great, high % looks, and that is the whole goal of pushing the pace, and running the fast break.

Now, let's say you get the rebound, outlet to the PG, and run the break, but the opposing team recognizes it and gets back in time to stop your run. That doesn't mean that you should just jack up a shot since you are already down there (which is what you are suggesting). Instead, you pull the ball out to mid court, and you set up your half court offense. This is where Monty's philosophy that you are speaking of comes in. Monty is a half-court guy. He wants to get high quality looks and limit the possessions of the other team. He doesn't want us jacking up shots with 15 seconds left on the shot clock. The whole point of his system is to slow the pace down in the half court, get a good look, and get back on defense.

Fast paced offense - This is what you are thinking of, and this is NOT what we run. A fast paced offense tries to get as many possessions as possible, and they want their games to turn into a "shoot out." Teams like Denver and Houston run this sort of an offense, which is whey their players numbers are inflated.

So, just because you want to push the pace does NOT mean that you have to run a fast paced offense. Pushing the pace is more like probing the opposing team and trying to get a few quick, easy, cheap buckets. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is that you push the pace, nothing is there, you back it out, and you set up your offense a few seconds earlier than you would have had you not pushed the pace because your whole team is already in the half court already because you just ran the break.

I'm sorry if this doesn't make any sense. I tried to section it off to make it more readable, but that is basically the gist of what Monty wants us to do.

Pushing the pace with a team like the Hornets only accounts for a really small % of their offense. It generally most prevalent on uptempo teams like the Rockets, OKC, NYK, and GSW. I don't believe the team will ever push the pace anymore than any other slower paced teams. You'd need an elite PG to do it effectively on a slow paced team.

[nolaslim213]

Pushing the pace with a team like the Hornets only accounts for a really small % of their offense. It generally most prevalent on uptempo teams like the Rockets, OKC, NYK, and GSW. I don't believe the team will ever push the pace anymore than any other slower paced teams. You'd need an elite PG to do it effectively on a slow paced team.

I think, aside from Vasquez, we are built to run the break and push the tempo. We aren't build for a fast paced offense, though. I think if we had a more athletic PG who can get up and down in transition, this team would look totally different running the break. Vasquez is extremely limited in this way, and that is one of the biggest reasons I want to trade him, along with his poor shot selection, poor defense, and hero-ball antics. That said, there is a lot of good to Vasquez, which is why I think we should trade him to a slow paced, half-court team like Boston. I'd love to have their 1st round pick for Vasquez straight up.

Burke and Oladipo would be a dream come true for me if we are picking in the 10-16 range with both picks.

[donato]

That said, there is a lot of good to Vasquez, which is why I think we should trade him to a slow paced, half-court team like Boston. I'd love to have their 1st round pick for Vasquez straight up.

Burke and Oladipo would be a dream come true for me if we are picking in the 10-16 range with both picks.

That would be pretty interesting. To take it a step further, we could go super small and super fast with great defense:

Burke PG
Gordon SG
Oladipo SF
Aminu PF
Davis C

Or maybe you move Gordon and get Oladipo to play SG.

[hornets504]

That would be pretty interesting. To take it a step further, we could go super small and super fast with great defense:

Burke PG
Gordon SG
Oladipo SF
Aminu PF
Davis C

Or maybe you move Gordon and get Oladipo to play SG.

That would be a tiny team. I like Otto Porter out of Georgetown a lot

[BallSoHard]

That would be a tiny team. I like Otto Porter out of Georgetown a lot

Good point. I dont think you can have Burke and Oladipo.

Burke 6' (Maybe)
Gordon 6'3"
Oladipo 6'5"

No way imo.

[hornets504]

Good point. I dont think you can have Burke and Oladipo.

Burke 6' (Maybe)
Gordon 6'3"
Oladipo 6'5"

No way imo.

I like Burke and Oladipo a lot but only way that works is we Gordon isn't here any more.

[da ThRONe]

I like Burke and Oladipo a lot but only way that works is we Gordon isn't here any more.

I'm prefectly ok with an Oladipo/Burke back court.

I've been against retaining Gordon since he couldn't play last year.

[da ThRONe]

That would be pretty interesting. To take it a step further, we could go super small and super fast with great defense:

Burke PG
Gordon SG
Oladipo SF
Aminu PF
Davis C

Or maybe you move Gordon and get Oladipo to play SG.

This is a tiny team. Not only lacking height, but strength and bulk. We'd get bullied every game.

[Biasvasospasm]

DX Scouting Report for Marcus Smart. I think it does a good job breaking down his offensive strengths and weaknesses at this point, but if you want to see how impactful he is as an on-ball defender, watch a game. He was absolutely amazing in he OK/OSU game on both ends, especially the block/held ball on OK's last possession to end the game.



Like I've said in the past, would love to have him but I'll be pretty surprised if he isn't widely considered a top 3 pick by March.

[Purple Haze]

Yeah it seems that Smart is rising on everyone's boards very fast. Almost as fast as McLemore.

[xulapaul]

My oh my would Smart fit the philosophy this team is building! If we do end up trading Gordon, I hope we get another pick in the deal, so as to have some flexibility for the draft.

[BallSoHard]

If we draft Smart, i'm pretty sure i see a Gordon trade demand happening.

[ramsters60]

If we draft Smart, i'm pretty sure i see a Gordon trade demand happening.

I have come to the opinion that Gordon just doesn't fit here and its simply a matter of when, where, and how he moves on.....

[Inner_GI]

I don't see any possibility Gordon finishes his contract with the Pelicans. I'm not even 100% sure he wears a pelican jersey.

I do think Gordon's trade(if and when) needs to net us a pick in this years draft(if he is traded this week or offseason). If we some how grab a pick in the 13-18 range from Gordon, we have the flexibility to draft Smart/Burke/Porter with our pick and maybe pickup a Oladipo/Robinson III in the late 1st.

[Kurgan]

Don't know about oladipo lasting to a late 1st..

[donato]

Don't know about oladipo lasting to a late 1st..

I agree. McNamara already has him going 5th overall. While that may or may not be a stretch, I wouldn't call it an impossibility.

http://www.hornets247.com/2013/02/16...on-mock-draft/