There are no new faces lacing the roster of the New Orleans Pelicans. A multi-time champion and divisional rival added two major pieces (LaMarcus Aldridge and David West to San Antonio), while another division foe added one of the league’s most coveted free agents (DeAndre Jordan to Dallas).
As sports fans, we look to the draft and free agency to provide beacons of hope, to make us believe that not only were we one or two players away from making a major breakthrough, but that those players are now here. In that regard, this has been a bit of a boring offseason for the home team.
But those thinking this was anything but a major success for Dell Demps, Mickey Loomis and company are misguided, in my mind, for the following reasons:
The team didn’t gain anyone, but lost no one either. The Pelicans have a talented roster. Anthony Davis has every tool in the box, plus a few he’s “borrowed” from a next door neighbor. Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday all have had their warts as players, but each guy has a multifaceted skill set. Ryan Anderson was once one of the league’s biggest difference makers as a stretch four, and Omer Asik is one of the league’s best rebounders and defensive centers. Role players like Quincy Pondexter, Dante Cunningham, Norris Cole and Alexis Ajinca have been pulled from relative obscurity to create a nice bench. Heck, even little used Luke Babbitt shot 51 percent from behind the arc!
Asik, Cunningham, Ajinca and Cole were all free agents this offseason, and only Cole as of this writing was still on the market. And while there were no big additions, it may be just as well because this team already made its biggest free agent splash when …
-The Pelicans replaced Monty Williams with Alvin Gentry and spiced up the assistant coaching staff. This was one of the most influential moves in the league this offseason. Williams did some good things in New Orleans and was the kind of high-quality individual you like to have leading a group of mostly young players through their formative years.
That said, the team’s on-court strategy seemed always a couple of steps behind. An aversion to the 3-point shot, despite the team being one of the league’s most accurate from 3-point range, and reluctance to play at a higher pace despite the massive advantage that Anthony Davis brings in an up-and-down game were among Williams’ biggest sins. The biggest, though, seemed to be the team’s late-game overreliance on isolation ball, which too-often froze out Davis and got the Pels away from the things they were having success with in the first place.
Enter Gentry, who long as been one of the league’s top offensive assistant coaches. His teams have finished No. 1 or 2 every season he’s been a top assistant since his days with Mike D’Antoni in Phoenix, and he’s led three different teams to those results. His top assistant, Darren Erman, crafted a defense that saw Golden State leap from No. 22 to No. 3 over two years in defensive efficiency, and the Boston Celtics finished 13th last season under his watch despite boasting limited frontcourt personnel. With a frontcourt of Davis, Asik and Anderson, these coaches should get the best of both worlds.
-Anthony Davis is here for six more years. Resigning Davis early was critical on so many levels. It shows a major star’s willingness to buy in in a way Chris Paul, or even Baron Davis, didn’t. That shows fans that this team won’t simply be a tease until Davis leaves town. It also shows prime free agents from other teams that this might be a prime spot to join up with a fellow superstar. The Pels could have played hardball with Davis, or he could have taken the same wait and see approach that Paul did when he signed a three-year extension in New Orleans.
Instead, these Pelicans are primed to take flight — and stay there for a long time to come.
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