Working on the Little Things

By:
Published: August 12, 2013

All the small things
True care, truth brings
I’ll take one lift, your ride best trip
Always I know you’ll be at my show
Watching, waiting, commiserating

— Blink 182, All the Small Things

New Orleans Pelicans News

New Orleans Pelicans second round draft pick Pierre Jackson has finally signed with ASVEL, according to that organization. More about the club can be found here. Pierre Jackson himself also acknowledged the signing:

Welp everyone it’s official in a couple days I will be going to France to play my first professional season with Tony Parkers team “Asvel”! Wasn’t really hard a decision I just chose what was best for my growth as a player and FINANCIALLY for me and my family! Extremely happy/blessed for the opportunity and excited for what my future holds!! Thank you to everyone for the support! ‪#‎theysleep‬

Michael discussed this shortly after it was reported.

The Pelicans are also reportedly nearing a deal to bring Lance Thomas back. The same report says the Pacers are also interested in the forward.

Additionally, the NBA released the schedule for the 2013-2014 season on Tuesday, and Michael gave a detailed analysis of how it could affect the team’s performance this season.

The Pelicans also released their partial ticket plans for the 2013-2014 season, including the popular weekend plan. Check them out. I talked to a Pelicans rep at a Saints practice and was told that the team has already sold over 10,000 Full Season Equivalents, though not 10,000 Full Season Tickets. Still, if the team starts winning, it’ll be more and more difficult to get good seats.

A poster on Pelicans Report. ballboy458, cobbled together most of the Pelicans’ preseason schedule.

10/5 Rockets (Houston, TX)
10/9 Magic (Jacksonville, FL)
10/17 Thunder (Tulsa, OK)
10/19 Wizards (Lexington, KY)
10/23 Heat (New Orleans, LA)
10/25 Magic (Orlando, FL)

Good work. The preseason schedule likely contains 2 more games.

Lastly, the Pelicans finalized the 23 members of their 2013-2014 dance team. The team is not yet named. The team has a photo gallery of the team on its site.

Around Bourbon Street Shots

The In the NO Podcast likely made its only August appearance this week. Ryan and Michael delved into the schedule, the Greg Oden chase, potential rotations, and more.

Gerry V extended his summer reading list.

We also had the latest installment of Trew to the Game. Among other things, Chris looks at the jerseys and reactions to them.

`Voices of the People’

Thanks for the insight into Greg Oden’s surgeries. i was one of the ones who was excited at the prospect of adding him, but I think it was more at the prospect of adding a high-profile talent rather than what he could actually contribute to the team. After reading your article, I believe the Pelicans are better off moving on without him.

DavidLBrown

We talk about Austin Rivers being our most improved player this year but I really think its going to be Aminu. We’ve been asking him to do too much for the past two years, but this year we dont need him to do much of anything offensively besides cut and rebound.

If he could instead use nearly all of his focus on developing as a defender, he has all the potential to become elite in that area. He could give nearly all SFs in the league fits both defensively and on the glass, and slower PFs would also struggle with his quickness.

If he could give us 10 rebounds a block and 1.5 steals in about 25 minutes per game at SF/PF while providing good defense, which I think is definitely in reach if he develops a little bit, I think he could be very key to this team making the playoffs and maybe even advancing to the 2nd round if thing fall in to place

Hank_

Wow, that was QUICK! Didnt the schedule just come out like 30 minutes ago! lol. Nice work.

Edbballin504

42 Sense

With the foreseeable offseason moves behind us for the most part, the Pelicans’ offseason may seem to be grinding to a halt. This is not the case, however, if you broaden the view of the franchise. The big things have been the focus to this point: big roster moves, the uniform unveiling.

The little things are still being taken care of, and this is important. Come opening night, the dance team needs a name. It’d be nice to have a mascot (the Thunder operated for months without one). The team is still building its ticket base and selling sponsorship deals. The Arena needs to be completed by mid-October (to accommodate some scheduled concerts). The practice facility is being finished up. The Pelicans need to be further embedded into sports `routine’ in the city. There is more, of course.

As two examples of the latter, the team’s Black and Blue report is a gift to the New Orleans sports fan. This podcast is hosted by Sean Kelley and focuses on both the Saints and Pelicans. It’s segmented, usually covers both teams, and has some discussion of hot sports topics, no matter the team or sport. It’s about 30m long, including ads. You can listen online or get the show on itunes. This is a great way to not only get more Pelicans news out there, but to use interest in the Saints to facilitate that.

Another cool thing is the inclusion of NBA exhibits in the small museum at the teams’ headquarters. For instance:

Anthony Davis’ gold medal is included in the stand with the Lombardi trophy.

Yeah. They are taking this seriously. There’s more NBA stuff there, but this makes the point about as good as anything can.

There are so many little things that need to be completed, and this down time is just what the franchise needs to make sure they are all done, making this offseason the last one, hopefully, filled with distraction.

I know this is all cold comfort for fans who have been treated to one of the most exciting offseasons of any team in recent memory, but just realize that during this quiet time the team is still furiously improving things and ensuring that we never have to go through any of this again.

Enjoy the silence, at least until Dell does something to shake things up again.

12 Comments

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.