Every NBA team can look back on the past and wonder what might have happened if things had gone differently. This includes the New Orleans Pelicans, who have some big what-ifs of their own.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a lot of what-ifs, and so does the rest of the NBA.
What if Portland had drafted Michael Jordan? What if the Pistons had just taken Carmelo Anthony instead of Darko Milicic?
What if the Hornets had kept Kobe Bryant?
There are plenty of what-ifs around the league, especially for the New Orleans Pelicans, whose recent history could have gone very differently.
The Pelicans have been involved in some of the biggest trades of the last decade, missed opportunities to build a dynasty and flopped on huge trade that eventually worked out for them.
Few teams have had their destiny reworked as many times as the New Orleans Pelicans, who several times have looked to be on the verge of something big only to go a different route.
The New Orleans Pelicans have had three big eras since moving to New Orleans: The Chris Paul era, the Anthony Davis era and now the Zion Williamson era.
They botched the first one, and the jury is still out on the next two, as the Davis trade built the current roster and there hasn’t been enough time to judge the overall impact of the trade.
But enough time has passed to judge some other events in the New Orleans Pelicans’ past and wonder what might have happened if things had gone a different way.
The Pelicans have chosen some interesting paths that have led to the current team which is one of the most exciting and talented in the NBA.
Let’s take a look at what could have been with the three biggest what-ifs in team history.