Jrue Holiday Decision Will Create New Orleans Pelicans New Culture

The New Orleans Pelicans are now Jrue Holiday’s team. He is sounding more like the biggest investor but still needs encouragement. The new front office is trying to remain practical while being overly positive.

New Orleans Pelicans are giving the franchise to the Jrue Holiday for the next two seasons, not Zion Williamson. David Griffin’s master plan should benefit both players. Holiday is already voicing his satisfaction with the changes around the franchise.

Those quotes also highlight the shortcomings of the Dell Demps regime. Gayle Benson either did not trust Demps to make the changes Griffin has implemented, or Demps never had the ideas to present to Benson and Mickey Loomis. The structure of the New Orleans Pelicans organization is no longer as confusing as some of Demps roster moves.

Specifically, regarding Holiday, the New Orleans Pelicans handled the Holiday’s tragic family emergency with grace and understanding. Win totals mattered little with two lives on the line. Those things matter, way more than a new weight room. The hope is those situations occur as seldom as humanly possible.

Now the question is how many minutes should Holiday play in pursuit of the playoffs and individual awards.

David Griffin was detailed in his compliments for Jrue Holiday while on Sirius XM radio. He also explained the situation that led to Holiday deferring on some occasions.

"“He’s never really had a team to lead. When you’re as good as Jrue is, what makes you take the next step is your vision of self, and sometimes you need to be given permission to dominate people. In his situation with Anthony (Davis), he was always waiting, because it was Anthony’s job.And now Jrue knows it’s his job, and he’s ready to do that.”"

The admiration and respect for each other are mutual. Not many teams are successful when a star is ignoring or acting contentiously with the front office. Jrue was not bashful in analyzing and praising Griffin’s offseason plan, telling NOLA.com’s Scott Kushner:

"“I’m excited. I do think change can be good and some of the changes that have been happening are really exciting. I mean, from top to bottom, everything is completely different. I feel like it’s getting better and to a place where every day is going to be cool to see what happens.Since Day 1 (of Griffin’s arrival), it’s been exciting, and every new thing that comes in is pretty awesome to witness and be a part of. So, yeah, I’m really excited….…From the beginning, Griff has said he was going to do what he did. I wouldn’t say to the extent of getting the No. 1 pick and that stuff, but he always said he wasn’t just trying to have a young team and do it that way. He wanted to win. He wanted me to win. He surrounded us with veterans and young guys who are ready to win, and kind of have to win and perform to reach the next level they want in their career.”"

David Griffin has started the Jrue Holiday for MVP campaign well before training camp. These vocal and public efforts are meant to motivate Holiday even more now that he is the leading voice in the locker room. It is a fine, and welcomed burden, having the trust of the front office to carry the franchise on his back, but he can only do so much to affect the team’s fate. Still, Holiday is embracing the challenge, replying:

"“It’s awesome. It definitely feels good, but it’s also motivation to prove people right and prove Griff right. Obviously, the things I do on the court I feel like I am pretty good at it and want to showcase that talent. I want to win. And I think that’s the thing Griff has made known to me since the day he stepped into the building. So to be able to back that up is definitely motivating."

He knows the power of redemption in a player’s second city. Holiday was traded away from Philadelphia in the early stages of their rebuilding process. He can mentor the young Lakers trio joining the New Orleans Pelicans roster. Holiday knows the emotions involved in a trade, and how that affects a person’s mentality.

"“I feel like that motivates them to be better. And those guys from the Lakers, they’ve been through the gauntlet in L.A. and have a new start here and that will be awesome for them, and I’m here to help them in any way I can.“I really just want to win and I think we can. I’m just doing whatever I can do to help.”"

Jrue Holiday and the New Orleans Pelicans do disagree on how to use Zion Williamson. Holiday sat in for a lengthy interview in Las Vegas. The New Orleans Pelicans’ own website uploaded the video with a ‘state o the franchise’ tag.

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It was mentioned that Fred Vinson could prefer Zion stick to playing the four and five spots. Jrue says Zion is capable of playing the full one through four positional range. Everyone is fine letting that situation play out on the court. The team has to play together to get a feel for each other’s game.

Holiday acknowledged the roster turnover, saying that team chemistry is really built in the summer sessions. Most of the team is based in Los Angeles and getting plenty of court time together. The eagerness and excitement to prove the world wrong is a universal theme in the Pelicans locker room.

In a separate article with Kushner, Holiday explained the summer conditioning routines and the purpose behind the intensity.

"“It’s something I’ve realized I need. The only way I can do what I do is because of the work I’m putting in right now….It’s a constant kind of ‘king of the court’ type of game…It’s for more cardio and conditioning and getting the exercise I need in order to play 40 minutes per game, which is really where I need to be when I get to training camp. I know what it takes to do it, and it means a lot of preparation to be able to get to that level…We have so many new guys I think we need something like that for chemistry.”"

Any new players would be wise to listen to Jrue’s leadership. Maybe they can help him as well. Jrue is still getting used to asserting his confidence boldly. He said, he “thinks so” when Griffin is urging him to know so. This is Holiday’s eleventh season. Take on that pressure boldly.

Anthony Davis caused varying degrees of turmoil throughout last season. Griffin reserves the right to make a deadline move or two, obviously, but it is unlikely Holiday is traded. Still, there is far more certainty in the locker room situation this season.

Holiday told the sideline interview crew he belives the negativity began on the outside but hearing it enough affected the players mentally and physically. Alvin Gentry knows the team will ask a lot from Holiday but has possibly the most talented roster in franchise history.

Holiday admitted in that Las Vegas Summer League sideline interview that he had limited knowledge of Nicolo Melli’s game, but he has done some summer reading. The hope is Melli can stretch the floor just as well as Davis, Nikola Mirotic, or Ryan Anderson.

"“I had to do my homework. Really looking at him, seeing how he can help our team. Especially now, we have fives like Brook Lopez stepping out and shooting threes. (Fives) who can also guard inside if need be, even maybe sometimes switching on their guard every once in a while. (Melli) seems like somebody who can step out, knock down a three, who is a threat to relieve pressure for guy like myself, Zion, but wants to get inside, get in the lane and go to the basket.”"

Jrue Holiday knows Lonzo Ball and he has the potential of being the number one defensive backcourt in the NBA. From that same Summer League convo, Holiday said:

"“I’m excited about that. Seeing Lonzo play since UCLA, he played with my brother, being able to play against him now for a couple of years in the league, how he gets after it, how active he is, how he can pass, how he can even get to the basket and make plays, but his defense is where I feel like I love him the most. Because I’m a defensive guy and being able to be aggressive, get steals, get after steals, and then being able to make the right play. That’s him.”"

JJ Redick was the headlining free agency acquisition, and Holiday recognizes the contributions Redick can bring. The signing also made Holiday’s mother happy. Bonus points to Griffin and Trajan Langdon.

JJ Redick’s game extends beyond shooting. Jrue Holiday now had force in his affirmation for the questions’ assumptions, saying “For Sure” though he does not “know what’s up with all these Duke guys.”

Jrue Holiday added he had been a fan since high school, and also praised Redick on-court energy, saying:

"“He won the John Wooten Award and my mom loves him. So getting to speak to him and trying to get him to come on board was like a pleasure for me. But for one, he has been in the league for so long and just being able to experience things, he can help me. He can help out the younger guys. But he is always a threat, all the time. To have his motor, I want to have his motor.”"

Josh Hart, Frank Jackson, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker will be tasked with spelling Holiday a few minutes each quarter. The Pelicans will have useful depth. The Aaron Nelson led player development sessions in quiet gyms will pay off in front of packed crowds. When asked about the renovations to the training facilities and season ticket sales records, Holiday replied:

"“Yea, thank you Zion. Even had a parade for him. You know we love out parades. But yea, I feel like Griffin came in and has changed the whole culture. Changed all the equipment, the facility, made it more compatible for us and even our training staff and medical staff. He really knows what he is doing. It’s been real cool.”"

The extra effort to integrate player and team health and performance personnel was a substantial investment worth millions. It was also needed for the New Orleans Pelicans to been recognized as a respectable franchise. Also, Holiday is not getting any younger. The decade of age between him and Zion will be an issue in a couple of years, especially if the Pelicans play Holiday 40 minutes a night.

From that second Kushner article, Holiday stated:

"“They never told me before I was going to play as much as I did, but that’s what I train for… I train to play 48 minutes per game or 48-plus when needed. But, honestly, I haven’t gotten into that with the front office or coaches this year, and I think we are so deep and have so many guards who can contribute that I won’t need to play as much I did last year…But if they need me to do even more, I want to make sure I’m ready to do it.”"

This is where Griffin and Gentry may have a slight disagreement. Holiday will be aiming for Most Valuable Player honors. He cannot do that from the bench. Still, Gentry will be mindful of Jrue Holiday’s minutes.

"“I mean it’s crazy how much we ask him to do. We play him just about 40 minutes per night and have him guard the best player, score 20 points, get 10 assists and be our leader. It’s more than anyone asks any of their players to do and he never complains. He just shows up and does it…But it’s on us to ask him to do less.”"

A bit less star-driven drama may mean more focus on a successful season for Jrue Holiday and the New Orleans Pelicans. Great teams have to grind through minor disagreements and rough patches during an 82-game season.