Pelicans have mismanged everything

[Ca$H]

So many opportunities have been lost.

2012 Draft. Anthony Davis was the right choice. However, why couldn't they trade Eric Gordon's restricted free agency rights along with the 10th pick in order to move up and select Drummond to pair with Davis.

2013 Draft. Huge debacle. Jrue Holiday is a dime a dozen PG. Trading Noel and a 2014 1st rounder is absurd. They should have just drafted MCW.

Signing Reke- Why?

Pelicans should have tanked hard this year for Wiggins/Parker and build a dynasty.

MCW-Wiggins/Parker-Deng(free agent)-Davis-Drummond. with Anderson off the bench.

[outbreak]

they've made mistakes and could have made far better moves than they have but your post is stupid, Drummond at the time was a big question mark and was viewed as a player who could be a huge bust or a huge steal but could go either way, MCW also didn't look too hot coming out of college. Revisionist history here.

[moe94]

Basically, you wan the pelicans to start 5 centers.

[Ca$H]

Basically, you wan the pelicans to start 5 centers.

Drummond is the only center in that lineup.

[Ca$H]

they've made mistakes and could have made far better moves than they have but your post is stupid, Drummond at the time was a big question mark and was viewed as a player who could be a huge bust or a huge steal but could go either way, MCW also didn't look too hot coming out of college. Revisionist history here.

No. I was high on Drummond and MCW before both drafts.

[scm5]

So many opportunities have been lost.

2012 Draft. Anthony Davis was the right choice. However, why couldn't they trade Eric Gordon's restricted free agency rights along with the 10th pick in order to move up and select Drummond to pair with Davis.

2013 Draft. Huge debacle. Jrue Holiday is a dime a dozen PG. Trading Noel and a 2014 1st rounder is absurd. They should have just drafted MCW.

Signing Reke- Why?

Pelicans should have tanked hard this year for Wiggins/Parker and build a dynasty.

MCW-Wiggins/Parker-Deng(free agent)-Davis-Drummond. with Anderson off the bench.

I agree with everything except the MCW signing. Everyone had the Pels picking Trey Burke which I guess would have helped them tank for Wiggins.

I personally thought they drafted right and picked right in Nerlens, they should have kept him and tanked another year and hopefully got Parker or Wiggins.

Let's just say they picked up Parker...

Nerlens
Davis
Parker
Gordon

I would go after Jeremy Lin during the offseason for Ryan Anderson. Lin is a solid PG on an overpriced contract, but mostly everyone on the Pels would be on a rookie contract.

Ryan Anderson would fit in with what the Rockets are trying to do and they already have Beverley (and Harden who is able to create). The Rockets would also have a bunch of pieces they could trade off for a better PG like Asik and TJ.

Nerlens
Davis
Parker
Gordon
Lin

[kamil]

Pelicans should have tanked hard this year for Wiggins/Parker and build a dynasty.

Anyone else getting annoyed when hearing about 'so and so team tanking for Wiggins..'

I'm getting tired of this. Its like the entire eastern conference (except for Miami and Indiana) are tanking for Wiggins or Parker and a few more in the West are too.

These statements are ridiculous. How do you tank when everyone else is?

[ZenMaster]

Trade Holiday and Gordon for two 1st round picks, sit Davis as much as you can with injuries. They'd lose 8/10 the rest of the season.

Whatever they come up with they need to get Asik or draft Joel Embiid.

[outbreak]

No. I was high on Drummond and MCW before both drafts.
I don't care if you say you were high one someone, your making a thread acting as if their silly for not taking two risks on two players that the sports media and scouts and people who had actual access to interview and test these players all agreed where risky prospects. That's being a revisionist, we can go through every years draft after the fact and find teams that could have done much better in hindsight but were correct at the time, the only time it's legitimate is if a team takes a stretch that goes against logic (like Bennett if he doesn't shape up)

[scm5]

Anyone else getting annoyed when hearing about 'so and so team tanking for Wiggins..'

I'm getting tired of this. Its like the entire eastern conference (except for Miami and Indiana) are tanking for Wiggins or Parker and a few more in the West are too.

These statements are ridiculous. How do you tank when everyone else is?

By losing more.

This would be easy with a lineup of:

Nerlens (injured)
Davis (got injured)
Anderson (injured at the beg of season)
Gordon
????? at PG

[outbreak]

Anyone else getting annoyed when hearing about 'so and so team tanking for Wiggins..'

I'm getting tired of this. Its like the entire eastern conference (except for Miami and Indiana) are tanking for Wiggins or Parker and a few more in the West are too.

These statements are ridiculous. How do you tank when everyone else is?

It's a silly system and it annoys me but really it's the way the NBA works now, if a team can't lure top tier stars in free agency and wants to be an actual competitor they have to tank to have a chance of winning. They need a detriment to tanking but I'm not sure what they do without major re structuring

[kamil]

It's a silly system and it annoys me but really it's the way the NBA works now, if a team can't lure top tier stars in free agency and wants to be an actual competitor they have to tank to have a chance of winning. They need a detriment to tanking but I'm not sure what they do without major re structuring

Yeah but with all the shit teams in the East, tanking doesnt guarantee you anything.

[scm5]

Trade Holiday and Gordon for two 1st round picks, sit Davis as much as you can with injuries. They'd lose 8/10 the rest of the season.

Whatever they come up with they need to get Asik or draft Joel Embiid.

The Pels are ****ed right now.

I doubt anyone wants EJ for the contract he's signed on for, same w/ Tyreke.

[LilEddyCurry]

Why did they trade Noel ? :rant

[RedBlackAttack]

Everyone loves playing revisionist history with Drummond. Go back and read the threads from ISH leading up to the draft. Only a few of us were high on Drummond and trading the 10th pick and Gordon for the right to move up a spot and take him would have been universally panned.

It's easy to be a GM with hindsight as a guide... Tougher when you don't know what the future holds.

I really did hate that Noel trade, though. The idea of pairing him with Davis would have been amazing for the NBA and its fans. A modern day Sampson/Dream pairing. They did blow that one, imo. Sixers made out like bandits.

[scm5]

Why did they trade Noel ? :rant

Probably because everyone viewed the draft as a weak draft and they saw an opportunity to get a really good PG in Jrue. I don't blame them, but I would have kept Nerlens if only to tank for a deep draft.

[RedBlackAttack]

Probably because everyone viewed the draft as a weak draft and they saw an opportunity to get a really good PG in Jrue. I don't blame them, but I would have kept Nerlens if only to tank for a deep draft.
Noel is an exceptional talent. The Pels had a chance to put together something really special with those two big guys. I like Jrue and all, but good PGs are a dime a dozen in this league. Unless you're getting a true game-changing talent (Jrue is not that), focus on what no one else has...

A Davis/Noel pairing has the potential to be dominant defensively.

[scm5]

Noel is an exceptional talent. The Pels had a chance to put together something really special with those two big guys. I like Jrue and all, but good PGs are a dime a dozen in this league. Unless you're getting a true game-changing talent (Jrue is not that), focus on what no one else has...

A Davis/Noel pairing has the potential to be dominant defensively.

I agree, but the ACL tear...

[Ca$H]

Noel is an exceptional talent. The Pels had a chance to put together something really special with those two big guys. I like Jrue and all, but good PGs are a dime a dozen in this league. Unless you're getting a true game-changing talent (Jrue is not that), focus on what no one else has...

A Davis/Noel pairing has the potential to be dominant defensively.

especially if they got wiggins next year.

wiggins(pippen potential on D), Davis(KG potential on D), and Noel(tyson chandler potential on D).
Maybe sign lowry and deng in the offseason to build a defensive juggernaut.

[RedBlackAttack]

I agree, but the ACL tear...
That's the only unknown in all of this. In the lead-up to the draft, the prevailing thought was that Noel would be back sometime this season. Some thought it could happen around Christmas, even.

Turns out he was ruled out for the season before it even started.

Does that mean the knee is worse than we thought? Or, does it just mean that the Sixers are being extra cautious and want him to be fully rehabilitated before stepping back on the floor? In the meantime, get a higher draft position for maybe the best class in the last 10 years.

This is where being a GM and being privy to information that the general public is not comes in handy. If the Noel injury is potentially career-threatening, then the Pels obviously made the right decision. Time will tell, I guess.

If Noel can get his health back, I consider it a blunder and a great move for the Sixers.


especially if they got wiggins next year.

wiggins(pippen potential on D), Davis(KG potential on D), and Noel(tyson chandler potential on D).
Maybe sign lowry and deng in the offseason to build a defensive juggernaut.

Yes, then you're talking an OKC type situation or maybe even better. With the lack of bigs in today's league, having two guys like that with a Wiggins or Parker alongside them? Nasty.

I think Noel -- if he gets his health back -- will be even better than Chandler, btw. He is a monster. That's not just blocked shots, but he led the SEC in steals last year prior to the injury.

He is a rare, rare talent.

[notatop29pg]

You could make a thread like this for every single team in the NBA.

The Pels made a decision to build around Davis and that is what they are doing. Nerlens Noel is nothing at the moment, and regardless of injuries competitors like Davis don't stick around when their team is tanking. They want to win.

"Hey AD, just take a seat and work on that jumper for the next 164 games so we can get Wiggins please....". Yeah that's gonna please your cornerstone.

Noel will sit all this year, then next year will be an adjustment year and likely the following too. by then Davis contract is up for renewal and the Pels have won 30 games in two seasons and he's meant to want to stick around? Even with Wiggins.

[RedBlackAttack]

You could make a thread like this for every single team in the NBA.

The Pels made a decision to build around Davis and that is what they are doing. Nerlens Noel is nothing at the moment, and regardless of injuries competitors like Davis don't stick around when their team is tanking. They want to win.

"Hey AD, just take a seat and work on that jumper for the next 164 games so we can get Wiggins please....". Yeah that's gonna please your cornerstone.

Noel will sit all this year, then next year will be an adjustment year and likely the following too. by then Davis contract is up for renewal and the Pels have won 30 games in two seasons and he's meant to want to stick around? Even with Wiggins.
I understand what you're saying, but this is the same train of thought that got the Cavs in trouble during the James years.

This franchise was always in such a state of fear about him being unhappy that an urgent push to "win now" resulted in a team that, while competitive and actually pretty good, was not built to last. Draft picks were traded away for more immediate contributors. Desperate moves were made at the trade deadline, which ate away all of the team's cap space and limited mobility in free agency.

It was all about appeasing James... showing him that money would be spent and the franchise would do whatever it took.

And, at the end of the day, none of it mattered. We would have been better off building through the draft so that, not only would the team grow together more naturally and with more young talent, but so that even if James left, we'd still have other young talented pieces to build around. Yeah, maybe the team doesn't win 50 games in 2007. Maybe we don't make the Finals that soon.

But, there would be something in place not as reliant on one guy.

Watching this franchise in those years, I learned that you can't manage a team out of fear. You make the right moves and take your chances. The guy you're so afraid of losing may leave anyways (as happened with us), so why not build something more lasting?

To be totally honest with you, I think Noel alone may have the kind of rare talent that you can build around. Maybe the Pels didn't feel the same way, but from where I'm sitting, you can't pass on that out of fear of losing Davis.

There is always the chance he's going to leave. Might as well do what's best for the longterm interest of the franchise.

That's my take as someone who has witnessed that kind of situation first-hand. :confusedshrug:

[RoTM]

Nothing they've done has been really crippling. Evans will end up being good for them. Noel trade was bad. Had they packaged that deal with a little more they could have put together a deal for a real star instead of going with three borderline all stars in the backcourt. Trading Anderson would be awful and they absolutely should not.


...It was all about appeasing James... showing him that money would be spent and the franchise would do whatever it took....

The peli roster is just so much better than the Cavs had. All their building blocks are young instead of being washed up. They have five players with legit all star talent.

[notatop29pg]

I understand what you're saying, but this is the same train of thought that got the Cavs in trouble during the James years.

This franchise was always in such a state of fear about him being unhappy that an urgent push to "win now" resulted in a team that, while competitive and actually pretty good, was not built to last. Draft picks were traded away for more immediate contributors. Desperate moves were made at the trade deadline, which ate away all of the team's cap space and limited mobility in free agency.

It was all about appeasing James... showing him that money would be spent and the franchise would do whatever it took.

And, at the end of the day, none of it mattered. We would have been better off building through the draft so that, not only would the team grow together more naturally and with more young talent, but so that even if James left, we'd still have other young talented pieces to build around.

Watching this franchise in those years, I learned that you can't manage a team out of fear. You make the right moves and take your chances. The guy you're so afraid of losing may leave anyways (as happened with us), so why not build something more lasting?

To be totally honest with you, I think Noel alone may have the kind of rare talent that you can build around. Maybe the Pels didn't feel the same way, but from where I'm sitting, you can't pass on that out of fear of losing Davis.

There is always the chance he's going to leave. Might as well do what's best for the longterm interest of the franchise.

That's my take as someone who has witnessed that kind of situation first-hand. :confusedshrug:

That's fair enough and everyone will have their own opinion.

There's only so much planning for the future that you can do. At the end of the day sooner or later you need to start winning.

Noel might be a Hall of Famer and he might be Greg Oden part 2.

The difference with the Pels situation is that they came in with new ownership, new branding and basically a new team.

If you are looking at the long term picture then you need to start with culture. This isn't just a squad being rebuit, its an entire Company being rebuilt. You don't start a new company by telling everyone to just chill out and perform at 35% for a couple years while you make plans around winning the lottery.

I can only imagine what this thread would say if they had kept Noel, finished with the worst record in the NBA and ended up with pick 7. How many other teams tanked to get Davis?

I think for a new business starting out they made the right choice albeit the unfashionable one. But don't think for a second that I wasn't really excited for them when they called at Noels name.. I was.

[RedBlackAttack]

The peli roster is just so much better than the Cavs had. All their building blocks are young instead of being washed up. They have five players with legit all star talent.
That Cavs team won 48 games in James' third year, 50 games and a Finals appearance in his fourth season and had a couple of 60+ win seasons.

I know revisionist history likes to portray all of that success as James dragging along a bunch of bums, but those teams were good. They were always at the top of the league in team defense and rebounding, the two areas that really matter in the playoffs.

I think saying that a Pelicans team which hasn't done anything has much better talent than those teams is a little premature.

Again, those Cavs teams were actually good. They fit James' skillset extremely well, had shooters all over the floor and played defense at an extremely high level... But, again, they were completely dependent on James being on the floor.

The franchise was so focused on appeasing him and tailoring everything to him, they failed to look at the longterm health of the organization.

I'd just hate to see the Pels make similar mistakes. And, I think the Noel + a pick trade was a big mistake... and I like Jrue's game.

[hawkfan]

Trading up to get Drummond wasn't necessarily feasible.

Now if you really want to criticize New Orleans over draft picks, then Austin Rivers over Jeremy Lamb is one to do it.

[RedBlackAttack]

That's fair enough and everyone will have their own opinion.

There's only so much planning for the future that you can do. At the end of the day sooner or later you need to start winning.

Noel might be a Hall of Famer and he might be Greg Oden part 2.

The difference with the Pels situation is that they came in with new ownership, new branding and basically a new team.

If you are looking at the long term picture then you need to start with culture. This isn't just a squad being rebuit, its an entire Company being rebuilt. You don't start a new company by telling everyone to just chill out and perform at 35% for a couple years while you make plans around winning the lottery.

I can only imagine what this thread would say if they had kept Noel, finished with the worst record in the NBA and ended up with pick 7. How many other teams tanked to get Davis?

I think for a new business starting out they made the right choice albeit the unfashionable one. But don't think for a second that I wasn't really excited for them when they called at Noels name.. I was.
Fair enough. The worst record in the NBA can't mathematically get any lower than the 4th pick in the lottery, but point taken.

I'm not saying it's a lost cause or they don't have a nice young roster. They still have plenty of room to make moves (or not make moves, which is sometimes the best thing) and they have a nice group of talent. My comments are mainly focused on that one trade which I really didn't like.

If they trade Ryan Anderson (and obviously depending on what they get back), I would be disappointed. No reason to do that.

But, other than that one trade so far, I don't have any issues with what they've done. I hated the Austin Rivers pick, but the draft is an inexact science and I'm not going to kill them for it.

They're undoubtedly one of the best "future potential" teams in the league. That much is obvious. I root for all the small market teams, so I really want it to work.

[RoTM]

That Cavs team won 48 games in James' third year, 50 games and a Finals appearance in his fourth season and had a couple of 60+ win seasons.

I know revisionist history likes to portray all of that success as James dragging along a bunch of bums, but those teams were good. They were always at the top of the league in team defense and rebounding, the two areas that really matter in the playoffs.

I think saying that a Pelicans team which hasn't done anything has much better talent than those teams is a little premature.

Again, those Cavs teams were actually good. They fit James' skillset extremely well, had shooters all over the floor and played defense at an extremely high level... But, again, they were completely dependent on James being on the floor.

The franchise was so focused on appeasing him and tailoring everything to him, they failed to look at the longterm health of the organization.

I'd just hate to see the Pels make similar mistakes. And, I think the Noel + a pick trade was a big mistake... and I like Jrue's game.

The east was historically terrible in 2007. The Cavs also didn't bleed picks like the Nets to stay relevant or take on albatross contracts like Amare before James FA. With two #1s and four top 5s they would already be relevant if they hadn't botched it. If anything it could be argued they didn't try to appease him enough because of the threat of him leaving.

Anyway it isn't even relevant as Davis can't even leave for seven years. With their young talent they could easily pull a GSW level improvement.

[bdreason]

Only move I really question is the Tyreke signing. Makes no sense at all.

[Johnny Jones]

Dell said over the summer that this team is still a work in progress. My best guess is that we trade Gordon for a small forward that can shoot and maybe Anderson + Aminu for a young, athletic center.

[Johnny Jones]

Only move I really question is the Tyreke signing. Makes no sense at all.
The eventual plan is to move Tyreke to starting shooting guard and trade Gordon.

Build around Holiday-Reke-Davis. Fire Monty Williams. Hire George Karl. Profit.

[RedBlackAttack]

I don't want to turn this into a discussion about the Cavs, but I just wanted to respond to this post because I was confused about a few things.


The east was historically terrible in 2007.
It was bad, but the Pistons were considered a legitimate threat to whoever came out of the West and absolutely huge favorites over the Cavs... who not many people even expected in the ECF.


The Cavs also didn't bleed picks like the Nets to stay relevant or take on albatross contracts like Amare before James FA. With two #1s and four top 5s they would already be relevant if they hadn't botched it. If anything it could be argued they didn't try to appease him enough because of the threat of him leaving.


I don't understand what you're saying. Are we talking about the same franchise?

With James in Cleveland, he really began pushing the franchise to "win now" in '06. He openly said he wanted to see the franchise spend money and prove that they were serious about winning.

That offseason, the three top FAs were Ray Allen, Michael Redd and Joe Johnson. The Cavs pushed incredibly hard to get any of the three, with their main focus being Ray Allen. He decided to stay in Seattle.

Instead of just staying put and not giving into James' demands for fears that he would leave, they felt big moves had to be made regardless of the price. The consensus fourth best player available that offseason was Larry Hughes, who was coming off of an All-Star appearance the previous season.

They "showed" James that they were serious about winning and would spend money... by signing him literally to the definition of an albatross contract... a max deal, in fact. They followed that up by grabbing fellow "top" FAs Damon Jones and Donyell Marshall, both coming off of career years... both would provide great spacing for James' unstoppable slashing ability.

Make no mistake, these moves were hailed as "huge" in both the media and even on here. And, truthfully, we don't win 50 games and make the Finals without those guys. But, they were clearly overpaid and that is an understatement.

Meanwhile, draft picks were routinely traded away for guys who would help "win now" during this period. The Cavs had no draft picks in 2005. By '06, their plan of "winning now" was working, but they were picking too late to really build at all with young players through the draft.

Funny thing is, the Cavs actually drafted well in those years. They got Shannon Brown with the 25th pick in '06 and followed that up with Daniel Gibson in the 2nd round. If you remember, Gibson was absolutely key in us getting to the Finals in '07.

Again, no picks in '07 due to "win now" mode.

In 2008, they grabbed JJ Hickson 19th in the draft and, the next year, Eyenga at 30th and Danny Green in the 2nd round.

That was the extent of the Cavs' draft picks from 2005-10. Not bad picks, just too many traded away to "win now" and the others too late in the draft to really change the identity of the team (though some nice picks late).

The only draft pick you can really say the Cavs definitely blew in the James years was Jiri Welsch who was picked 10th in 2004, but the franchise sort of made up for it by later trading Tony Battie to the Magic for the rights to Anderson Varejao (who was a 2nd round pick).


As for a lack of albatross contracts? You're saying the Cavs didn't have any during James' stay? How about Larry Hughes? Ben Wallace? Shaq? Jamison? The list is endless.


Those years were literally the blueprint of building a team out of fear of losing a player. Those Cavs teams were ALWAYS in the top three in payroll in the NBA and were even the top payroll in a couple of those years.


With two #1s and four top 5s they would already be relevant if they hadn't botched it.
You seem to be confusing two eras in Cavs history. They had zero No. 1 picks and no top 5 picks with James a part of the team. Those came after he already left.

I'd also argue that we are still WAY too early in the rebuild to consider those drafts "botched." Kyrie was the right pick. Tristan has already proven to be a good pick and, with his drastic improvement every year, potentially a great pick. Waiters has pretty clearly been one of the best 5 in that draft or some may have him just outside the top 5. Either way, that can't be a "botch" at No. 4. You're not always going to get the BPA in every draft.

It's way too soon to evaluate the current rookies... Bennett has looked horrible and Karasev has shown some really nice flashes. They could both be terrible or great. Who knows?

Either way, none of these picks had anything to do with James' decision. In fact, the front office handling those picks and the front office that was in place with James are even completely different.



Look, I'm not saying the Pelicans have necessarily "botched" anything. I was directing that response at notatop29pg's original post, which claimed the Pels made moves because they were concerned with Davis leaving if they weren't competitive soon enough.

I just wanted to relay the story of the 2003-10 Cavaliers, which were the living embodiment of a franchise making moves out of fear of a player leaving. It didn't work out well.

I wouldn't want to see the Pels make similar mistakes. That's really all. I'm not comparing the two respective teams or the talent or anything... just the mindset.

[anthonyRandolph]

The Pels are ****ed right now.

I doubt anyone wants EJ for the contract he's signed on for, same w/ Tyreke.
Eric Gordon was poised to be a star at the time that contract was signed, he's been playing pretty well. You can go look at his numbers. With Ryan Anderson back the Pelicans are like 11-3, Ryan Anderson is averaging 21 points shooting 50% from the field and like 52% from 3. This teams average age is around 25, and no player from their core is over that age, nothing but young talent all around the roster. Jrue Holiday has been fantastic these last 14 games (on the season 45%fg 42%3pt), he's in no way a dime a dozen pg, he's the #1 isolation defender in the league, guards his man full court, is a true leader, and does a great job running the offense. The Pelicans are 10-10 with a hurt Anthony Davis, these players are all really young (pretty sure the youngest team in the league) honestly they look fine to me.:confusedshrug:

[clipse026]

4-1 without Davis, with a loss to OKC. Doing alright so far. Gordon was incredible today. 25 on 10-12

[RedBlackAttack]

I do really like the look of their roster. Anderson is a stud. Jrue is about as solid as it gets at the PG position. He's never going to blow you away, but he consistently produces.

If Gordon can start playing the way he did a couple years ago before all the injuries, sky is the limit for these guys.

Really love what the Pels have done, aside from a couple of blips.

[clipse026]

Still REALLY need a C and a more reliable SF. Every time Aminu does anything other than dunk I cringe. He can defend, which is nice but so can a few of the starters. We could use a better starter at the 3. I like keeping Evans and Anderson in the 2nd unit.

[RedBlackAttack]

Still REALLY need a C and a more reliable SF. Every time Aminu does anything other than dunk I cringe. He can defend, which is nice but so can a few of the starters. We could use a better starter at the 3. I like keeping Evans and Anderson in the 2nd unit.
I've always felt Anderson is capable of playing the 3. Is this inaccurate?

[clipse026]

I've always felt Anderson is capable of playing the 3. Is this inaccurate?
He could do it, but he'd be a horrible defensive liability. He's a decent rebounder and defends pretty well but no chance he could hang with the smaller, faster guys.

[OG LeeTSkeeT]

woulda liked to see the noel/davis combo. gervis is capable of starting.

vasquez
gordon
evans
davis
noel

after noel returns

[Johnny Jones]

He could do it, but he'd be a horrible defensive liability. He's a decent rebounder and defends pretty well but no chance he could hang with the smaller, faster guys.
Anderson is actually a pretty good post defender he just sucks at everything else on defense

[Johnny Jones]

woulda liked to see the noel/davis combo. gervis is capable of starting.

vasquez
gordon
evans
davis
noel

after noel returns
Vasquez is a backup point guard on a playoff team.

[clipse026]

Anderson is actually a pretty good post defender he just sucks at everything else on defense
Which is pretty much what I said. He's not going to be posted up at SF. They'll just blow right by him.

[DMAVS41]

Everyone loves playing revisionist history with Drummond. Go back and read the threads from ISH leading up to the draft. Only a few of us were high on Drummond and trading the 10th pick and Gordon for the right to move up a spot and take him would have been universally panned.

It's easy to be a GM with hindsight as a guide... Tougher when you don't know what the future holds.

I really did hate that Noel trade, though. The idea of pairing him with Davis would have been amazing for the NBA and its fans. A modern day Sampson/Dream pairing. They did blow that one, imo. Sixers made out like bandits.

Totally agree with the bold.

And of course it's easier to look back, but the Pelicans have botched everything. Signing Gordon was awful, but of course it really wasn't their fault...it was Stern's fault for making them trade for him to begin with.

Hard to tell your fans that you traded CP3 for Austin Rivers...which is what the trade would have netted the Pelicans if they let Gordon walk.

So that was just a tough situation. But trading Noel for Holiday? Signing Evans?

The ceiling of this team is maybe one playoff series win in the next 3 years...and for what? They screwed their future...because they should have been awful again this year so they could get a high pick in a loaded draft.

Davis/Noel...and a top 8 pick in this years draft with a ton of cap space going forward?

It could still work out because Davis is great, but they have to figure out a way to move Gordon...otherwise they are just wasting the next 3 years with with this roster.

[MiseryCityTexas]

Pelicans look like a solid NBA team on paper even with Davis hurt lol.

[GOBB]

Tyreke Evans is mind boggling as far as moves. And why would you prefer him over Eric Gordon? Even if you were planning or are planning on moving Eric Gordon. I dont like his replacement to be Tyreke Evans. :confusedshrug:

Anthony Davis/Ryan Anderson sure do look like a good duo.

[DMAVS41]

Tyreke Evans is mind boggling as far as moves. And why would you prefer him over Eric Gordon? Even if you were planning or are planning on moving Eric Gordon. I dont like his replacement to be Tyreke Evans. :confusedshrug:

Anthony Davis/Ryan Anderson sure do look like a good duo.

Exactly. So why not keep Noel and your 2014 pick and let Davis/Anderson grow together...and do everything you can to ship Gordon out.

Then you get a higher pick in the 2014 draft (a loaded draft at that) and have a ton of cap space to actually go out and get what you need.

Now they are stuck with a bad Gordon and bad Reke contracts...all while being a fringe playoff team.

[clipse026]

Anybody even watching the games? Ignoring the fact that the Gordon and Evans deals are high (and I agree even as a fan), they have both been playing really well. Evans has seemed to figure out his role and he's been really aggressive. And Gordon is still a little inconsistent but he's having a pretty nice season so far and just came off a 25 on 10-12 shooting night. They only had the entire team together for like a week so far and are 4-1 without their superstar. :confusedshrug:

[GOBB]

Exactly. So why not keep Noel and your 2014 pick and let Davis/Anderson grow together...and do everything you can to ship Gordon out.

Then you get a higher pick in the 2014 draft (a loaded draft at that) and have a ton of cap space to actually go out and get what you need.

Now they are stuck with a bad Gordon and bad Reke contracts...all while being a fringe playoff team.

I see what you're saying.

[bigwebb5000]

The Pelicans were one of the worst teams getting into the lane and bench play last year hence the Tyreke signing. He's best IMO off the bench with Ryno where all he has to do is score. He doesn't have to set up or facilitate the offense.

As for the trade, I keep hearing people saying Noel and Davis, but many Pels fans believed that pick was going to be Burke or MCW. Demps and Philly gm already had the trade worked out before the draft. Had Bennett, Oladipo or Noel fell the trade was set in place.