New Orleans Season Recap

[Ramcus]

Ok, to be quite frank, I slacked on the 2nd half of the season. Finals came up, and this was the first thing to go. Afterwards, more stuff happened, but I'm more than ready to reconnect with this league. We finished a solid 46-36, but ended up as the 7th seed due to dropping a few easy wins and dropping out of the 50 win mark. Here are our stat leaders for the season
Points: Paul George - 19.2 Points per game | 42.3% FG/ 34.6% 3FG
Runner Up: Lauri Markkanen - 19 Points per game | 53% FG/ 37.2 3FG

Rebounds: Lauri Markkanen - 2.5 Offensive Rebounds per game | 6.2 Defensive Rebounds per game | 8.7 Total
Runner Up: Ivica Zubac - 1.6 Offensive Rebounds per game | 4.3 Defensive Rebounds per game | 5.9 Total

Assists: Damian Lillard - 6.5 Assists per game | 2.6 Turnovers per game
Runner Up: Aquille Carr - 3.9 Assists per game | 2.4 Turnovers per game

Steals & Blocks: Paul George - 1.5 Steals per game | Brice Johnson - 1.2 Steals per game
Justin Holiday - 1 Block per game | Lauri Markkanen/Ivica Zubac - 0.9 Blocks per game

I know everybody is wondering why I made that Anthony Davis trade. Part of the reason was that I expected AD to crumble down by the end of the season. He played 78 games total this season, and his 4 missed games were early during the season. I also knew I wouldn't have a real chance at the ring, as PG and AD weren't cutting it throughout the season. I ended up shipping him off to Chicago, as Marcos had a much better chance at a ring than I did. In making the trade, I at least attempted to get a decent pick back, and the Chicago Bulls 2026 1st Round Pick is projected high, as Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard are out of a contract that season. Their best bet is Teodosic, who may or may not resign this season.

Swiftly moving forward, this season was almost a throwaway season for me. I teased a chance at really competing, while trying to look for assets to move on. This will be a big off season, as it determines whether or not I can jumpstart my rebuild. The majority of the team will be on the block. More on this on my soon-to-be-updated Trade Block.

It's been a surprisingly long 1st season to my regime at the New Orleans Pelicans. I look forward to furthering my cause here.

Question of the Post: Is it better to have 10 consecutive years of sustained success, but no championship, OR slumming it in mediocrity as you wait for the right player to build around and then trade all your assets to win 1 championship, all the while understanding that you're back to mediocrity after that lone successful season?

[Dennis]

Well, i might be the best example to opt for 10 solid years instead of 1 title. I traded WB for assets to Ryan and he won 2 titles with him (I still wait for the pay check we negoatiated into our deal, Ryan..!). Others might think different though.

I’m always worried though if a team goes for full rebuild when it doesn’t have its picks or even traded them shortly before. Not having this years doesn’t matter much as the draft ain’t good outside the top4/5, but the 26 one gonna come back like a boomerang. Lakers had that type of flip flopping for years, which is the reason they are the worst FA in csl history. If you have a plan, stick to it.

Also, if you go rebuild and trade your franchise player (or in ADs case, the best player in the league) I feel like you should dictate the negotiations not the one offering. The negotiations with Sacramento for wb back then took like 2 months (correct me if I’m wrong ryan lol). I do think Lauri will be solid in the new engine, but with AD you should have gotten more assets in return. Especially as the bulls pick will be 25+ and the drafts lately becomes “plus 10 or 4 minutes guy” in that range. The trade wasn’t franchise crippling though it was just settling for 50% potential return. The klay one hurts more in the long run imo. I can see you get back to the playoffs hunt in like 2-4 seasons though.

[drumr]

I just don't understand this logic of he's gonna crumple and you didn't have a chance. He played 80 games in 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. He's 30, signed to the end of his prime, has high ratings enough he'll be damn good till 35, and his injury history should reset in the new engine.

Also not sure why you would care Marcos had a better shot at a ring. The question of the post is even stranger. There were more options than that imo. The trade makes even less sense now lol. I wish we had real reporters it doesn't add up but it ain't my team so just glad the whole thing is over tbh.

Good luck. I really do hope you find the defensive players to surround Lauri and he actually becomes remotely close to A.D. because N.O. hasn't had sustained success my entire irl 5 years here. It'll be interesting to watch if you can find an offense he takes off in. He seems like he'd be a pick and roll monster if he can pop.

[bt]

Well, i might be the best example to opt for 10 solid years instead of 1 title. I traded WB for assets to Ryan and he won 2 titles with him (I still wait for the pay check we negoatiated into our deal, Ryan..!). Others might think different though.

I’m always worried though if a team goes for full rebuild when it doesn’t have its picks or even traded them shortly before. Not having this years doesn’t matter much as the draft ain’t good outside the top4/5, but the 26 one gonna come back like a boomerang. Lakers had that type of flip flopping for years, which is the reason they are the worst FA in csl history. If you have a plan, stick to it.

Also, if you go rebuild and trade your franchise player (or in ADs case, the best player in the league) I feel like you should dictate the negotiations not the one offering. The negotiations with Sacramento for wb back then took like 2 months (correct me if I’m wrong ryan lol). I do think Lauri will be solid in the new engine, but with AD you should have gotten more assets in return. Especially as the bulls pick will be 25+ and the drafts lately becomes “plus 10 or 4 minutes guy” in that range. The trade wasn’t franchise crippling though it was just settling for 50% potential return. The klay one hurts more in the long run imo. I can see you get back to the playoffs hunt in like 2-4 seasons though.

Must have got lost in mail

I can't remember the exact deal anymore but I think those picks turned out pretty good for you. Or they were pretty well rated when the trade occurred plus some solid player talent. For two titles though, you would do it every day of the week obviously.

I actually think we took longer than two months. Spoke on and off about it for a fair while then when negotiations got serious, we probably spent two months on it, lol.

I can't even remember the AD trade but he did get a pretty good young player out of it. The other stuff I can't remember but we've seen worse and as long as a GM has their own plan, who cares. It's the ones who make these trades without a plan then disappear that cause the franchise issues. 30 GM's will mean 30 differing opinions but if someone wants to see a plan through, whether right or wrong, all the more power to them but I also hope said GM's can see that 29 others will also have an opinion on it. Just gotta stick fat and ignore the outside noise