The New Orleans Pelicans season begun with some solid wins against the Houston Rockets(currently 16-7) and the Cleveland Cavaliers(currently 13-10, but after these wins, they began to slump hard. With a loss to the Los[s] Angeles Lakers(currently 4-18) on November 12th and a loss to the Utah Jazz(currently (6-16) on November 10th, the Pelicans were looking at a seriously difficult time. By December 5th, the Pelicans had a record of 6-11, and their playoff hopes were looking grim.
Around this time, the New Orleans Pelicans Front Office made some game changing moves, so let's break them down.
We'll start with the lesser of the 2, the New Orleans Pelicans made a move to acquire Lance Stephenson from the Los Angeles Clippers, shedding Tyler Dorsey, Andrew Bynum, LiAngelo Ball, and 2 2nd Round Picks. Due to salary complications, LAC asked for minor compensation to take on Ball's 3 year contract, and they obtained that in the 2025 Pelicans 2nd Round Pick. In doing so, LAC chose to take a chance on some 2nd Round fliers, while giving away a bench warmer for them.
Stephenson was too good to play on that LAC team, he would have given them unnecessary wins. But now, as he's on the NOP, he's been put in a position to shine. Deemed by an anonymous GM as
Lance Stephenson has been a vital part of this team's recent success. Proving to be a vital part of the bench unit, he has fitted flawlessly with the team.Anonymous GM wrote:the best player off your bench
At the same time, the New Orleans Pelicans Front Office made another bigger move, to acquire what they were originally lacking coming into the regular season. A real #3 option. Moe Harkless was solid, no doubt, but he wasn't a real #3 option. And so as a result, the New Orleans Pelicans made the move to acquire Klay Thompson from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Justin Holiday from the Chicago Bulls in a 3 team deal.
The acquisitions of Justin Holiday and Klay Thompson have been a revelation to the team, there are no other words to describe it. Justin Holiday was acquired to replace Moe Harkless' defense, and replace he did. With the lesser role on offense, he has done a great job shutting down opposing perimeter players. As of recent, he kept Dante Exum of the Atlanta Hawks(15-8) to 1-7FG 3 Turnovers and 2 Fouls, and he also kept Davis Bertans of the San Antonio Spurs(14-8) to 3-11FG 2 Turnovers and 1 Foul.
Klay Thompson has replaced Harkless' role on offense and more, providing the 3 point barrage the Pelicans team was missing entering the regular season. He may not be the most efficient 3 point shooter(as he's doing the majority of the 3 point shooting), but he's been lighting up the floor every game, averaging over 20PPG over the last 6 games.
These acquisitions have skyrocketed the New Orleans Pelicans offense, winning them the last 4 games in a row. As a result, at the 1st Quarterly Review of the season, the New Orleans Pelicans sit at 10-11, just under .500. If the playoffs were to happen today, they'd be the 7th seed, facing off against the Houston Rockets(16-7) in a close and exciting 1st Round series. Their next game will be against another team that has been on the rise, the Denver Nuggets(10-13), who as a result of playing more games, are behind in win percentage.
These trade acquisitions have not been the only reason why the Pelicans have done so well. Their original roster shines as well.
Anthony Davis: 19.6PPG/9.3RBG/2.4OR/2.3BPG/1.1SPG/27.3MPG
In rather limited minutes, Davis has shown that he's still a force to be reckoned with. The NOP Front Office has already publicly stated that they want to save Davis for the post season, so we shouldn't expect too much of a spike in per-game numbers, but Davis is still Davis.
Paul George:
22.2PPG/4.1RBG/2APG/1.6SPG
On the opposite spectrum, iron Man Paul George has been playing a crazy amount of minutes, considering his age. Due to that, he is limited by his poor efficiency, carrying the team through the regular season. In spite of this, he's still been fantastic, posting All-League numbers across the board.
The 3rd star, Thompson, has not played enough games in a Pelicans jersey for me to put out stats yet, but do expect them for the mid-term report.
This has been an exciting season so far, and there's more yet to come! Stay tuned, as we go over the New Orleans Pelicans each step of the season!
2028
