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Let ’em Have It?
The New Orleans Pelicans are part of the 2017 NBA Draft Lottery this year, and they keep their pick if they end up with one of the top 3 selections. If not, the pick goes to Sacramento. Convention wisdom says that we should all hope the Pelicans end up with the top-3 pick. The pros […]
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Jrue Holiday will set the baseline for the 2017 free agent point guard class
The summers of 2012 and 2013 felt important for the future of the point guard position in the moment, but together they now especially feel like a definitive moment. Because many of these players will soon be free agents, it is a good time to take stock of this group of veteran playmakers. The biggest […]
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Progress Towards an Identity
I wrote a while back that the Pelicans were in dire need of an identity. This idea resonated with many, and it was of course lampooned by those who are just slower to process the obvious who came around the same point a year later. Well, here we are a year after that, and identity […]
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Anthony Davis made healthy progress during the 2016-17 season
When incredible talent and radical injury misfortune intersect as precisely as they have in the career of Anthony Davis, the organization overseeing it all is bound to get swept up in a bit of what you might call “back-and-forth”. The Pelicans’ success during Davis’s career (longer than you might think at this point) has been […]
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I Want To Talk About the Pelicans’ Medical Staff
I want to talk about the medical staff of the New Orleans Pelicans. But the problem is I don’t know how. It’s weird and slightly uncomfortable. The Pelicans medical staff has a negative reputation. That’s largely due to the 2015-2016 season having 351 games lost to injury–most in the league. Years of seeing Anthony Davis […]
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Pelicans Prepare for a Big Choice
The New Orleans Pelicans have been under the gun since it was clear that Anthony Davis was going to be what was hoped prior to the 2012 NBA Draft. The first attempts to build a roster showed promise, but they fizzled from a combination of bad luck and risk. New hope emerged for a Davis-filled […]
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The Specifics of a Jrue Holiday Max Contract
With the regular season effectively over for the New Orleans Pelicans all eyes turn towards the offseason. And any discussion about the offseason starts with free agent guard Jrue Holiday. While there are plenty of big name point guards available in free agency this year pretty much all are expected to resign with their current […]
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Prioritizing identity for the sake of identity
What is in an identity? Much like within an individual, the identity of an organization takes on its shape over time. It is up to the constituents of that body to decide if its identity will be influenced more by external forces or internal ones. Do we trust the instincts of our leadership enough to […]
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The Wisdom of Solomon?
When the New Orleans Pelicans signed Solomon Hill, I told myself: Read up. When I had time to read up, I told myself: This guy is going to do most of his work off the box score. When I watched the games for those off-the-box things: I didn’t see them. Every team has its under-the-microscope […]
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I’ll Die on Boogie Hill
The New Orleans Pelicans acquired DeMarcus Cousins in a trade, and now I’ve had some time to think about it. There’s been a good deal of flap about the trade just because of its nature, but the team’s up-and-down record since then along with how much Cousins played in those wins has added flappiness to […]
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10-Dayer Power Rankings
Fans of the Pelicans have become pretty familiar over the past two seasons with the players littering the top of D-League rosters and back end of NBA benches. The Pels have been forced to sign these tweeners time and time again based on their combined need for veteran leadership at the guard spots and shooting […]
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Why Are the Pelicans Struggling on the Glass?
The DeMarcus Cousins era for the New Orleans Pelicans has not gotten off to the flying start many thought would occur. Struggles abound in multiple areas, and while some make sense as the Pelicans figure out the kinks others are a big surprise. None more so than the Pelicans defensive rebounding struggles. Pre-trade the Pelicans […]
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Casspi and the Cap
The New Orleans Pelicans traded for DeMarcus Cousins, and many minds were lost. As detailed in the post here once the trade was confirmed to us, Everything changes. Everything. It’s a new team, led by Davis, Cousins, and Holiday, in that order. Everything else is fodder. The Cousins acquisition was seismic, and with that comes […]
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New Orleans Pelicans Trade for DeMarcus Cousins
The New Orleans Pelicans will land DeMarcus Cousins in trade, per multiple reports came out after the conclusion of the 2017 NBA All-Star Game. Reports of discussions built before and during the game. This will be fleshed out in the coming days, but here’s the primer. The Trade New Orleans Pelicans Receive: DeMarcus Cousins Omri […]
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New Orleans Pelicans’ Once and Future All-Star
As the Pelicans approach the All-Star break the main focus will be on Anthony Davis, and, to a lesser extent, Buddy Hield. But there is someone else in New Orleans that people should be paying an eye on. Jrue Holiday. Over the last 13 games leading into the All-Star break, Holiday has been playing fantastic, […]
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Civil Disobedience
Don’t hate the media; become the media. — Jello Biafra I’ve written a few very personal pieces on this site over the years. Long-time readers and friends will recall my David West Lament, my message to the nay-sayers, and more. Mostly you know me for my old news summaries, boring coverage of laws and analysis, […]
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Brook Lopez and Setting the Bar
Earlier this week, I wrote about the swirling Jahlil Okafor rumors and why I don’t think it’s a good idea for the Pelicans to trade for him. Yesterday, one of the targets I proposed for the Pelicans, Jusuf Nurkic, was unloaded to Portland; this might have taken Portland out of the bidding war for Okafor, and […]
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The Injury Inefficiency Efficiency
The New Orleans Pelicans seem to be plagued with injuries. Some Pelicans fans feel like this is a curse of some sort. Some writers and even employees and players have mentioned, likely in jest and in frustration. The data backs up that the fans are not wrong about the effect of the injuries and which […]
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NOkafor: Why I Have Little Interest in Jahlil
Earlier this week, there were rumors that the Pelicans had interest in Jahlil Okafor. There were multiple proposed packages, involving assets ranging from this year’s draft pick to unloading Alexis Ajinca’s contract. I suspect the alleged package involving Ajinca + some protected version of the 2018 Pelicans pick is the correct one. For now, though, […]
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So It Is a Center Pairing, Is It?
Amid recent reports around the Pelicans’ trade deadline activity is a message from the organization that they have made a decision regarding the future of the team: they are going to find a center to pair with Anthony Davis. Not a 4 willing to take on the duties of a 5. Not a stretch-5. A […]