Welcome to the Pelicans, Jordan Hawkins!

[ragincaucasian]

[Impose]

I actually see a bit of CJ in him. Could be a good guy for CJ to take under his wing.

[hornetsrebirth]

3 point shooting is what I wanted most for the team to add. People say he is the best perimeter shooter in the draft, if that is true then sounds like the perfect pick

[Pelicanidae]

Watching the presser - Griffin has indeed mentioned the ''quality of human'' Hawkins is so, rest assured that whatever else has changed in the FO, Griff's rhetoric hasn't.

[Pelicanidae]

Griff touting Hawkins' ability to win ''without a traditional point guard'' as a reason he fits with our team. Presumably because we also do not have a point guard.

[Pelicanidae]

Trajan Langdon saying ''we're happy with our roster the way that it's set''.

Griff adds ''we came into the offseason looking for rim protection and shooting and we've certainly addressed at least part of that tonight, and if we can address the other portion of that I think we would''.

[msusousaphone]

That's not surprising. They've made it pretty clear that they want to run a system that doesn't have a traditional PG. It's not so much that we don't have one and more that the current system doesn't call for one so we won't even look for one.

[luckyman]

Well it'll be interesting how they address the rim protection issue.

Makes me wonder if they would have taken Lively if he was still there.

[hornetsrebirth]

Griff touting Hawkins' ability to win ''without a traditional point guard'' as a reason he fits with our team. Presumably because we also do not have a point guard.

With point Zion initiating the offense and collapsing defenses a perimeter shooter is perfect. Even as a certified CJ defender I dont like him running the offense because he doesnt have the mindset of creating for other players.

[hornetsrebirth]

That's not surprising. They've made it pretty clear that they want to run a system that doesn't have a traditional PG. It's not so much that we don't have one and more that the current system doesn't call for one so we won't even look for one.

Yeah Zion initiating the offense is one of the best attacks in the NBA. I dont think we need to take the ball out of his hands and give it to a traditional point guard. But when he is out (and BI as well), that is when we miss the traditional point guard.

[Pelicanidae]

Yeah Zion initiating the offense is one of the best attacks in the NBA. I dont think we need to take the ball out of his hands and give it to a traditional point guard. But when he is out (and BI as well), that is when we miss the traditional point guard.

Yeah, it's a problematic system in some ways because when it works it clearly works - point Zion produces excellent offense, that's just something evident at this point. And when he's not on ball (because you don't want to run the exact same thing all the time, and he will be on the bench at times) Ingram is very capable of running offense too.

But if they're both missing games at the same time - something that is a very real possibility - you have to be prepared for the fact that you now have a guy whose entire draft fit was ''he's the perfect guy to have around Zion and BI'', without Zion and BI. How well does the fit work then?

[fullcourtpress]

Even when Zion does play, Id hope his minutes initiating the offense will be kept as low as possible throughout the season for the sake of his load management. If ever a player warranted it it's him.
BI runs it great too. And due to the fact that BI is also injury prone, it is safe to say yes we need someone else we like playing pg.

Enter: Jose Albarado - his absence throughout the seasons' end is vastly underrated.
Dyson Daniels- im gonna cross my fingers and hop he finds a groove

[Blattman]

I like this pick. Not the flashiest pick but he's a proven winner and dead eye shooter.

Few years down the road he could even be the steal of the draft since I see a mix if Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton as his ceiling.

[hornetsrebirth]

Even when Zion does play, Id hope his minutes initiating the offense will be kept as low as possible throughout the season for the sake of his load management. If ever a player warranted it it's him.
BI runs it great too. And due to the fact that BI is also injury prone, it is safe to say yes we need someone else we like playing pg.

Enter: Jose Albarado - his absence throughout the seasons' end is vastly underrated.
Dyson Daniels- im gonna cross my fingers and hop he finds a groove

For load management I would prefer Zion to play 20 minutes a game and be used most effectively than to see him play more minutes and have his on ball role reduced. I love Jose as the spark off the bench for 16 min a game but he plays so fast and hard that when he gets extended minutes it seems like his impact and energy is not the same. DD has the court vision to be a good PG he just needs more confidence in his shot making, when defenders dont honor him as a scoring threat it makes orchestrating the offense much harder for him.

[Pelicanidae]

For load management I would prefer Zion to play 20 minutes a game and be used most effectively than to see him play more minutes and have his on ball role reduced. I love Jose as the spark off the bench for 16 min a game but he plays so fast and hard that when he gets extended minutes it seems like his impact and energy is not the same. DD has the court vision to be a good PG he just needs more confidence in his shot making, when defenders dont honor him as a scoring threat it makes orchestrating the offense much harder for him.

If that's happening as a rule, we're losing a lot of games that should be won.

I'd much rather limit games played than minutes - I feel like the team should be aiming for 60 games for him, using the Kawhi Leonard style method of load management. No second game of a back to backs, skip a game if there's a road trip of longer than 3 games, etc. Most stars don't play more than about 65 games a year at this point anyway.

[ml wave]

If that's happening as a rule, we're losing a lot of games that should be won.

I'd much rather limit games played than minutes - I feel like the team should be aiming for 60 games for him, using the Kawhi Leonard style method of load management. No second game of a back to backs, skip a game if there's a road trip of longer than 3 games, etc. Most stars don't play more than about 65 games a year at this point anyway.

A hamstring pull can be a fatigue injury, so I understand the thinking, but I think I'm more in the school of SVG/Coach K...get him out there on the court. If he's not playing, he's gaining weight. 20 mpg is extreme to the point of being almost counterproductive but 30-32 should be manageable.

[djrnno]

Yeah, it's a problematic system in some ways because when it works it clearly works - point Zion produces excellent offense, that's just something evident at this point. And when he's not on ball (because you don't want to run the exact same thing all the time, and he will be on the bench at times) Ingram is very capable of running offense too.

But if they're both missing games at the same time - something that is a very real possibility - you have to be prepared for the fact that you now have a guy whose entire draft fit was ''he's the perfect guy to have around Zion and BI'', without Zion and BI. How well does the fit work then?

Don't you think that if you take the two best players off of any team at the same time the results would not be good?

[hornetsrebirth]

A hamstring pull can be a fatigue injury, so I understand the thinking, but I think I'm more in the school of SVG/Coach K...get him out there on the court. If he's not playing, he's gaining weight. 20 mpg is extreme to the point of being almost counterproductive but 30-32 should be manageable.

20 mpg was an exaggeration but 30mpg limit with no back to backs is realistic. I do think we need to be extremely conservative with Z, obviously his injuries have just been ridiculous. But when he is on the court he should be used to his full potential. I dont see the point in playing him in a less effective role.

[luckyman]

That effortless wrist flick takes a ****load ton of practice and repetition from that distance.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JUkB036vD00

[JJackisangry]

The goal should be to surround Zion with enough scoring so he isn’t getting his arse beat all game. We really need this guy to come alive a little early and I could see that happening. So we have an improved Trey, hopefully a Herb that can shoot, CJ hopefully finding a bit more chemistry with this group and an engaged Jonas in addition to Mr. Hawkins. This could be a scary team and I haven’t even mentioned BI.