The charismatic Victor "Wemby" Wembanyama has a long way to go before he reaches his potential
The New Orleans Pelicans seem far removed from their championship-winning days back in the early years of the CSL and even seem distant from the Ramcus-led perennial playoff appearances squad. Ironic then, that their former GM departed for the Los Angeles Clippers, only for his old team to, after much dithering and hemming, hire the brief Clippers GM Jestor to take charge in the Big Easy.
And of course, the very first thing he did was execute a controversial trade. But more on that later.
The future of the team is clearly a young man named Wemby, and some within the organization predict he'll get a chance to start at PF in the coming games, with Lauri "Mr. Pelikkan" Markkanen sliding down to a 6th man bench big role as an experiment to try and jump-start New Orleans' moribund early season. But that's if he isn't dealt. Rumors are heavy at least one team is inquiring about the Scandinavian scorer's services, and the new New Orleans organization is investigating the possibility of a deal.
Will babyface Brandon Boston Jr. be long for the team?
Also drawing interest are Brandon Boston Jr and Mohamed Bamba, who both have multiple suitors calling and inquiring about acquiring the young wing and veteran big man respectively. The recent splashy, flashy deal to open the Jestor regime complicates the potentials of their moving, but it's something to keep an eye as we head further down the stretch and see if these Pelicans can finally fly.
The new GM has made it absolutely clear that under no circumstances will Wemby be dealt. "He's the future star of this squad and we're going to do everything we can to help him be cultivated into the type of player that he's capable of. We simply are not going to listen to any offers involving him or our draft picks."
Also clear: the new front office felt there was a desperate need for a natural scorer who could be relied upon to be the green light, night in, night out. There were also concerns about the wings - Nick Weiler-Babb and Anthony Gill are both defensive players who never met a shot they could make and Josh Jackson has never been more than a mid-shooter with good defense.
They answered those concerns with the first sudden move of the season... and for that... we turn to the page and the next article.
