Meet the New Orleans Pelicans, the team with the brightest future in the NBA

Sometimes things have a funny way of working out. In the span of just 12 months, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis have left the New Orleans Pelicans. Despite their departures, the future is as bright as it’s ever been.

Anthony Davis has finally been traded. He was once upon a time the New Orleans Pelicans’ franchise cornerstone, now he’s a bitter rival over in Hollywood. The NBA landscape has drastically altered; power has shifted, the Pelicans might not be immediate contenders in the wild west, but they are built for the future.

Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart join a roster that will soon include Zion Williamson and already has franchise staple, Jrue Holiday. If you stop there, that’s a pretty appealing roster to retool around. But that’s just scratching the surface.

Where this organization once had Jeff Bower and then Dell Demps, they now have David Griffin and Trajan Langdon. Mrs. Benson has done a remarkable job incorporating the correct personnel to change how New Orleans is perceived in the basketball spectrum.

Griffin achieved what he was supposed to do in Cleveland, which was constructing a roster that could hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. There wasn’t an opportunity for sustained success, it was win-now, worry later mode, but now he’s at the helm of an organization that has the polar opposite mindset.

Trajan Langdon was an assistant GM of the Brooklyn Nets and was a key factor in them reversing Billy King’s ineptitude and getting to a spot where they are respectable and ready to contend sooner than later. When you’re in a smaller market, you’re really only as good as your front office is. And the Pelicans have one of the best front office corps in the NBA after their drastic revamp since Davis’ trade demand.

They played the waiting game, and at times it was grueling. Fans wanted Davis gone, they wanted this grim era in Pelicans’ lore concluded. But the organization continued to wait, and wait until the best possible return revealed itself, and then they struck.

It wasn’t just that the Pels gutted the Lakers young core, they got a bunch of draft capital to go alongside it. Now the possibilities are seemingly endless. They could utilize the draft picks and select future first-round prospects, package them for star talent, or try and obtain roleplayers that best fit what they’re building.

Thank you to Andrew Lopez of The-Time Picayune for breaking down the details of the draft assets so everyone (myself included) can understand them.

Again, this isn’t Dell Demps trading a future first-round pick for Omer Asik, and it definitely isn’t Jeff Bower selecting two defensive minded centers back in ’06 with the 12th and 15th overall picks. This is David Griffin and Langdon, two proven commodities that will make the right decisions moving forward.

They’ve been shopping the 4th overall pick, but even if they fail to trade it, it’s still a fourth overall selection in a top-heavy draft. It very well could materialize into either Jarrett Culver, Darius Garland, or De’Andre Hunter. All of those aforementioned players have tremendous upside, despite concerns on how they would on the roster.

Julius Randle opted out of his contract according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, which puts the team in a cap friendly position moving forward if they don’t retain the 24-year-old. He’s fresh off a career season and he’s likely to be in the $12-18 million demographic, which just wouldn’t be worth it for the Pels. There’s also the prospect of packaging draft assets with Hill’s contract, which would further free up cap space and put the Pels in an opportunity to make a significant splash in free agency.

No matter how you pitch it, the team is in good shape. Pelicans/Hornets fans have had their fair share of turmoil since their inauguration back in 2002/03, superstars have demanded out of town, horrible contracts have been handed out, and the draft has been one mistake after the other—this city deserves something to be excited about.

Their work isn’t done yet, it’s just beginning. Alvin Gentry has to find a rotation and system that best fits his roster, Griffin and Langdon have to continue to get him the pieces he needs to succeed. But if the past five months have told you anything is that they are ready for the challenge.