Pelica Debrief
Fansided

For the New Orleans Pelicans, it may be the end of an era

By Nathan Heck

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Coming to the New Orleans Pelicans (the Hornets, at the time) by way of the Chris Paul trade, Eric Gordon was supposed to be the centerpiece the team built around for the next decade. Unfortunately, that isn’t the way his tenure in New Orleans unfolded.

Perhaps, this piece is premature. Perhaps, the New Orleans Pelicans sign Eric Gordon to another extension this summer, and he bounces in and out of the Pelicans’ starting lineup (due to injuries, of course) for a few more seasons. Truthfully, though, it certainly feels like fans have seen the last of Eric Gordon in a New Orleans uniform.

The polarizing guard has been the subject of intense scrutiny since the moment he arrived in the Crescent City, and rightfully so. Playing in just nine games during his first season in New Orleans, the sentiment began to grow that the “young star” the Pelicans had gotten in return for one of the best point guards ever was not exactly as advertised.

Gordon spent nearly the entire lockout shortened season on the sidelines as the team played their hearts out, and the perception that Gordon did not want to play for the Hornets took root. The young man’s expression certainly didn’t help matters, and the tendency for his face to fall into a look that gave an air of apathy made some fans, already looking for a reason to dislike the young guard, question whether he was personally invested in New Orleans’s future.

Then, there was the Phoenix offer sheet. When Eric Gordon hit restricted free agency after his first season as a Hornet, the Suns offered him a four-year, maximum deal. Making a statement that would stay in the minds of New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans fans to this very day, Gordon stated not only his intention to sign with Phoenix, but he also slapped fans in the face with his infamous quote.

"“After visiting the Suns, the impression the organization made on me was incredible,” Gordon told ESPN.com. “Mr. (Robert) Sarver, Lon Babby, Lance Blanks, the Front Office Staff and Coach (Alvin) Gentry run a first-class organization, and I strongly feel they are the right franchise for me. Phoenix is just where my heart is now.”"

Not only had the most coveted piece of the package the Clippers sent to New Orleans missed almost the entire season with a nagging injury, but now, Gordon did not even want to stay for the rebuild. From that moment on, Eric Gordon would be fighting an uphill battle to regain even a sliver of respect and adoration from the immensely proud New Orleans fanbase.

In a move that Dell Demps probably still regrets every evening before his eyes close for the last time after a long day, the Hornets matched the offer sheet extended to Gordon by the Phoenix Suns. The deal, even at the time, was seen as far too rich for a guard who struggled to facilitate for others and stay on the floor, but the Hornets were backed against a wall. They simply could not let the centerpiece of the Chris Paul trade walk away. Thus, the era of hatred towards Eric Gordon began in earnest.

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It didn’t help Gordon’s case at all that, just a week prior, the Hornets had selected Anthony Davis with the number one pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. From the beginning, Anthony Davis was everything Gordon was not. Humble, perhaps to a fault, and thrilled to play in New Orleans, Davis was embraced by fans as the savior and superstar from day one, despite not having a picture-perfect rookie season.

Eric Gordon, once again, missed extended time with a right knee injury along with other minor ailments, and his contract was immediately seen as a weight around the young team’s neck. No longer viewed as the future of the team and with the fans against him, the perception of Eric Gordon took yet another hit in the offseason the team became the New Orleans Pelicans.

Despite struggling at times in his rookie season, Anthony Davis was clearly going to be something special, and, with an owner desperate for a championship, Dell Demps made the controversial moves to bring in both Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans in an attempt to take a shortcut on the path to winning a championship. All of the sudden, not only was Eric Gordon not the face of the future, he was no longer the face of the backcourt.

Tyreke Evans and Jrue Holiday were both more talented from the beginning, and fans took notice. Evans, with his hard-nosed brand of attacking the basket, wooed fans while Holiday, with his willingness to defer to Anthony Davis, was seen as the floor general the team needed. Gordon, the slasher who had his burst sapped by repeated injuries, became the odd man out. Quietly, though, Gordon had begun to reinvent himself.

Shooting a hair over 39 percent from long range in that first season as the New Orleans Pelicans, Eric Gordon began to carve out a niche for himself, not just within the context of the Pelicans, but in the league as a whole. As the NBA became more predicated on the three point shot, Gordon was once again making himself valuable with his sharpshooting from long range.

In the 2014-2015 season, Gordon shot a ludicrous 44.8 percent from deep. The intensity of the scorn directed at him had softened with age, and fans began to speak positively of Gordon for the first time in years. His contract was still far too rich for his skill level, but Gordon filled a role that fit within the vision of the team. Anthony Davis, yet to develop his three point shot, required space around the basket to operate, and Gordon’s shooting gave him that. Unlike Tyreke Evans, who brought defenders to the basket, Gordon kept the opposition on the perimeter, allowing Davis to get to work inside.

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This past offseason, Monty Williams was fired to make room for Alvin Gentry, who was fresh off an NBA championship as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors. Just as Eric Gordon had predicted in 2012, Alvin Gentry’s system proved to be a good fit for Gordon. His scoring increased by nearly two points, his turnovers went down and, most importantly, his ability to get the rim had, for the first time in a long time, looked like it was back.

This season, Eric Gordon dunked the ball more than in any single season since the 2009-2010 season, a testament to his renewed athletic ability. He shot 52.4 percent at the rim, a six percent increase over his last season under Monty Williams. However, in a routine fans have come to expect, Eric Gordon was forced to miss 16 games due to a finger fracture, and arguably his best season in New Orleans was put on hold. He returned with a statement game against Minnesota in which he scored 31 points on an incredible shooting line of .529/.444/.900.

Over the next two games, Eric Gordon did everything he could to remind the NBA that he was still a capable scorer by putting up 14 and 23. Then, in just his fourth game back against the Utah Jazz, the talented shooting guard fractured the same finger yet again. As the news broke, everyone already knew what would be made official on March 8; Eric Gordon would, once again, miss the remainder of the season.

Unlike his previous injuries, this one is less likely to sap his athleticism or ability. Also unlike his previous injuries, though, this feels like the last one he will experience in New Orleans. The Pelicans are at a crossroads this offseason as to how to continue the building project centered around Anthony Davis. The current core made up of Jrue Holiday, Ryan Anderson, Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, while talented, has not shown the ability to stay healthy enough to put a run together.

With the clock ticking (and it always will be) on Anthony Davis’s deal, the idea of the Pelicans resigning Eric Gordon, a player most people felt it was a mistake to resign the first time and a player that has missed 173 of 394 possible games in his time in the Crescent City, seems far-fetched. Instead, it is likely the man who once inspired both hope and hatred will be packing his bags.

Eric Gordon riding his horse into the sunset will represent more than just a smart basketball decision; it will represent a willingness to step out of the shadow of the past. The talented shooting guard out of Indiana University is the last piece of the Chris Paul trade, the trade that ended the most successful era of basketball in New Orleans’s history. Anthony Davis has gone a long way to making fans forget about the departure of their superstar, but letting go of the last piece of the deal, the most important player the Hornets got in return, will finish the process.

As the former hope, the former future, walks out of the door, one cannot help but feel a bit melancholic. Sure, Eric Gordon signed the offer sheet with Phoenix and missed more than his share of games due to injury, but he also showed a willingness to reinvent himself as a role player that can thrive in the modern NBA. During his time in New Orleans he displayed a willingness to defer to players of higher talent, despite once being lauded as the next star.

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It seems impossible to not wish the best for Eric Gordon. He was forced to shoulder unrealistic expectations and criticized for accepting a contract that any player in their right mind would have. Battling back from injury time after time only to fall again, Eric Gordon’s body has made fulfilling his potential nearly impossible. In retrospect, he was a tragic hero of sorts, doomed from the beginning to an unescapable end.

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