Don’t let the paltry record fool you, the New Orleans Pelicans had every hope of making the post-season and positioned themselves, via trades, to accomplish specifically that.
But life happens.
With the Pelicans sitting at .500 halfway through the season, both Anthony Davis and Dwayne Wade went down with season-ending injuries. The in-season trade that brought Wade to New Orleans, it was hoped, would ease the scoring load on Davis. With both injured, there was absolutely no one that could score.
Point Guard – Bryce Cotton
Cotton has the starting slot all to himself. As he begins to grow into his role as the Pelican’s floor general, one thing does get called into question – how much more will Bryce improve? Already 22, most rookie-scale players seem to peak at around 24 years of age. Though he has shown flashes of potential – will that potential be realized?
Shooting Guard - ???We have worked extensively with Bryce on his game. John Stockton was in here over the summer, working with Bryce on various aspects of his floor generalship. John, too, was drafted at the age of 22 and we’re hoping that Bryce’s development follows a similar path. Obviously, older guards are perhaps the least valued asset, draft wise, amongst a position flooded with talent, but Bryce has our confidence heading into the season.
With the injury to Dwayne Wade, the New Orleans front office had to do something they hadn’t allocated the appropriate resources for – replacing their All-Star shooting guard with a promising rookie – Jordan McRae. However promising though, McRae lacked Wade’s scoring instinct and – more importantly – his scoring efficiency. Though Wade isn’t a prolific jump shooter, he does generate a ton of points per shot as a result of his interior game and ability to draw fouls. With Wade down, McRae (at 13.6 ppg) became the Pelican’s leading scorer. But the front office isn’t convinced that a defensive specialist should be expected to carry that load – hence the acquisition of Glen Robinson III.
Small Forward – Okaro WhiteThere were four players that we coveted in the 2014 draft. We were able to select two and have been working on acquiring the other two. Robinson III has been a target of ours for a while.
The defensive hopeful doesn’t come without his weaknesses. Word has it that, though they love White’s personality, work ethic and defensive potential, the New Orleans front office is worried about its lack of three point shooters given the slower pace of the league and its current dependence on zone defensive strategies to limit interior players – namely Anthony Davis. Still, players with White’s skillset are rare and he and Davis have bonded, apparently, over their mutual love of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Davis nicknamed White “The O-Train” – it’s unlikely that New Orleans would do anything to upset their franchise power forward.
Power Forward – Anthony DavisObviously we have been encouraging Okaro to limit his three point attempts. I think a parallel can be drawn to Josh Smith from the standpoint of, at least in my opinion, offense. We want Okaro to focus on shutting down some of the more prolific wings in this league, from LeBron to Melo to Kevin and Paul.
It’s hard to say that Davis had a quiet season, but it sure felt like he did. Despite the injury, Davis still posted 22 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per 35 minutes in 51 games this past season. New Orleans’ ability to control Davis’ contractual situation over the next several years bodes well for the franchise, yet GM Sun Scorched is outwardly frustrated with his team’s underperformance. Regardless, expect Davis to climb into the scoring leader category this next season in addition to holding court in the top ten from a rebounding and block perspective.
Center - ???Anthony is a spectacular young man. I take personal responsibility for putting the right players around Anthony, players that will maximize our ability as a team and Anthony’s ability as our franchise player. The trade market has been dry and this year’s draft class is devoid of talent – especially scoring and shooting. It has limited us, to an extent, but we will continue to look for ways around those challenges. Our most recent trade brought us Glen Robinson III – we feel his shooting and all-around game, in addition to his stellar intangibles, is a step in the right direction.
Rumors swirl around the role of starting center for this young New Orleans squad. With enough room for two max contracts this offseason, insiders expect the Pelicans to make some noise. Some even argue that the moves being contemplated will earn the ire of various teams with restricted free agents, though nothing is set in stone. What is certain is that New Orleans’ front office anticipates adding a starting center this offseason via free agency.
Adding a starting center is our first priority. We’re going to be very active and we have one target that will receive maximum interest from us, day one.
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