New Orleans Pelicans Rumors: How the start date vote affects the team

Analyzing how the NBA’s proposed start date will affect the New Orleans Pelicans going into next season

After all the uncertainty that has gone in during this year, there’s finally some news that is sure to relieve New Orleans Pelicans fans. That news is the NBA drawing closer to a proposed start date for the 2020-2021 season.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the NBA Players Association will be voting on either Thursday or Friday to decide if next season will begin on December 22nd, 2020, or January 18th, 2021. Charania’s report also stated that NBA players believe the December date is more likely.

With that report emerging, there’s been a lot of people debating the pros and cons of both dates. The December date is encouraging for fans of Christmas basketball, and the league’s revenue while the January date would add interest to Martin Luther King Jr.’s day and present a better product with more players having time to rest.

What I’m concerned about, is which date is better for the New Orleans Pelicans and how will they handle the return to play whenever it may happen.

Why starting the season in January favors the New Orleans Pelicans

Considering the facts, I’d say the New Orleans Pelicans could be better served with the January start date as opposed to December. My reasoning for this is due to the Pelicans having a new head coach in Stan Van Gundy, and the projection that they’ll be adding a significant player to their roster in some form on draft night.

Starting with the Van Gundy issue, Van Gundy was just hired and if the season starts in December he’ll only have a short training camp to install his system and try to build chemistry with his roster. That clearly puts the Pelicans behind other NBA teams across the league, and in their division, because those teams will have more continuity. Starting the season in January would give Van Gundy and the Pelicans more time to get on the same page.

Then there’s the 2020 NBA Draft, which is now less than two weeks away. The Pelicans hold 4 picks in the draft are in some way whether it be trade or selection, they are expected to add at least one more significant player to their roster on that night. That means if the season starts in December, anyone who’s added to the roster will have to then quickly come into training camp.

Cleary January is the better option for the New Orleans Pelicans, but what happens if the season does start in December? I wouldn’t be surprised if a December start date means that the Pelicans come out the gates slow as they learn to adjust to Van Gundy’s scheme and additional players on their roster.

This is by no means an ideal situation for the New Orleans Pelicans, but it’s also not ideal for any other team in the NBA. Of course, nothing is concrete and even with a start decided, the NBA still doesn’t know how they’ll approach playing the season due to COVID-19. That means all Pelicans fans can do right now is hope that their new coach and young players get to work as quickly as possible.