The New Orleans Pelicans barely resemble the team they were a year ago after a big trade, a draft miracle and getting rid of a lot of dead weight.
The New Orleans Pelicans have the best young core in the NBA, a couple of savvy veterans coming off the bench and a heap of unproven young talent, but at this time last year they were a completely different team.
Few teams have ever undergone a transformation as big as the one the New Orleans Pelicans did when they decided to change the course of the franchise after the 2018-19 season.
In 2018-19 the New Orleans Pelicans had an incredible 14 players who are no longer on the team, which is roster churn the likes of which the NBA rarely sees, especially for a team that was not trying to tank.
The 2018-19 Pelicans only won 33 games, so it is not surprising that they would make some moves, but most teams don’t have an entire team’s worth of turnover in one offseason.
David Griffin took over last summer and didn’t waste any time putting his stamp on the roster, let’s take a look how he did it.
Getting Rid of the Dead Weight
When your team wins 33 games it is obviously time to make some changes and the New Orleans Pelicans certainly weren’t afraid to do that.
Here’s a list of players who were on the 2018-19 roster who no longer play for the Pelicans:
Dairis Bertans, Ian Clark, Anthony Davis, Cheick Diallo, Tim Frazier, Andrew Harrison, Solomon Hill, Stanley Johnson, Wesley Johnson, Nikola Mirotic, Elfrid Payton, Julius Randle, Jason Smith and Christian Wood.
If you are counting that is 14, or an entire NBA roster, phew!
Some were traded (Davis, Mirotic, Johnson), some walked in free agency (Randle, Stanley Johnson, Payton), were claimed off waivers (Wood, Frazier) or went to play in another country (Bertans).
However way it happened, they are gone and the New Orleans Pelicans replaced them with the likes of J.J. Redick, Derrick Favors and Nicolo Melli, solid veteran contributors that made the New Orleans Pelicans a much better team.
They also made a huge trade and had one of the best drafts of the last 20 years.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a Draft for the Ages
Though the New Orleans Pelicans hadn’t officially traded Davis, the writing was on the wall as soon as they got the number one pick.
Everyone on the planet knew the Pelicans were choosing Zion Williamson and they did, taking the transcendent rookie number one overall.
But the Pelicans weren’t done there.
They acquired Jaxson Hayes (No. 8 pick), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (No. 17 pick) and Marcos Louzada Silva (No. 35 pick) from the Atlanta Hawks for De’Andre Hunter (No. 4 pick — acquired in trade with Lakers).
So in one draft the New Orleans Pelicans got a superstar who will be the next face of the NBA, an athletic, exciting big in Hayes and the possible shooting guard of the future in NAW. They also picked up an intriguing project in Silva who may make an impact as early as next season.
By this point the Davis trade was probably already done and the details were starting to leak and the New Orleans Pelicans were in asset acquisition mode.
Few teams add as much talent and potential in one draft, which is one of the reasons the current Pelicans look nothing like they did a year ago at this time.
The other reason was one of the biggest trades in NBA history.
The New Orleans Pelicans make a blockbuster trade…
Anthony Davis’ time with the New Orleans Pelicans was up and down but mostly down. General Manager Dell Demps repeatedly failed to build a good team around Davis and eventually The Brow whined until he got his one way ticket out of town.
This may seem harsh, as Davis was certainly good for the Pelicans, but it gets old watching player after player leave small markets for the easy money and team building on the coasts.
Watching “The Last Dance” was a reminder of how players used to struggle to win titles, building a team slowly and suffering heartbreaking (and entertaining) defeats before finally breaking through.
Davis couldn’t be bothered and ran off to L.A. to team up with LeBron. So much for the struggle.
But this was one of the few situations in which the small market team with the superstar actually got a good return for him.
The Pelicans traded Davis for Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and three first round picks, a haul that instantly rebuilt the roster.
Davis is great, but we think the Pelicans won that trade handily, especially when you consider the improvements of Ingram, Ball and Hart along with the huge amounts of draft capital the Pels were able to acquire.
The New Orleans Pelicans are an exciting, fast team whose fans don’t miss Davis one bit. In fact, most Pels fans would gladly keep the players they have than return to the 33 win, Davis-led team that was going nowhere.
Most teams don’t go through these types of transformations and come out the other side better, but the New Orleans Pelicans managed to lose their superstar along with 13 other players and still have a better roster the next season.
The New Orleans Pelicans are a different, better team than they were a year ago today. They are more exciting, more likable and have more potential than they ever have.
Thanks for reading and stay safe out there!