After stocking up on assets this week, the New Orleans Pelicans could be planning to execute a plan similar to one the Boston Celtics did
After so much excitement and the trading of Jrue Holiday earlier in the week, the New Orleans Pelicans essentially punted on the 2020 NBA Draft. Instead of making a bunch of selections during the two rounds, David Griffin and the front office staff decided to select Kira Lewis Jr. at pick 13 and then trade all their other picks away.
My instant reaction was, questioning what are they doing? After all, I looked at the three selections they traded and thought that RJ Hampton, Elijah Hughes, and Nick Richards could all play valuable roles on this Pelicans team.
Since then though, I stopped and followed what David Griffin said that there are still more moves to be made. I decided to look a the big picture for once. When I did it got me thinking. I looked at how many assets the New Orleans Pelicans have collected and saw that there was only one historical comparison for this. That comparison is what Danny Ainge did twice with the Boston Celtics.
That’s right, you might say “oh there goes that guy from Boston again writing about the Pelicans” but listen. Danny Ainge twice constructed a competitive roster by stockpiling assets and then trading them for star players. He’s one of the only executives to do that in, and he essentially made the blueprint.
For a little history lesson, Danny Ainge took over the Boston Celtics in 2003, and with a franchise player in Paul Pierce already on the roster, he began stockpiling assets. Finally going into 2008, he used all of them by executing two trades. First, he traded for Ray Allen and then directly after he traded for Kevin Garnett.
That team won the title in 2008 and played made another Finals appearance in 2010.
After that core reached its limit, Ainge executed the only move that was comparable to the Anthony Davis deal before it happened, by trading Pierce and Garnett to the Brooklyn Nets for 4 first-round picks. With those picks, Ainge attempted to execute the same plan by trading for Kyrie Irving and then trying to trade for Anthony Davis ironically.
Why the New Orleans Pelicans could execute the Boston Celtic’s blueprint
I think it’s extremely possible that even if David Griffin isn’t following Danny Ainge per se, that he’ll try to execute a similar plan. Why? Well, it all goes back to the market.
Ainge had to make these powerplays to build contenders because Boston isn’t a free agent market due to cold-weather, a high cost of living, and a questionable past. New Orleans, is also not a free agent market because it’s a smaller city in the south that doesn’t hold the same glamour that other cities do.
So now that Griffin has a treasure chest filled with assets, he doesn’t have to lure in free-agent stars, he can just trade for them. With franchise cornerstones Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson on the team, all Griffin needs is a star or two to make this team a title contender.
What if Griffin can’t pull off the trades for star players? Then he’s set up just like Boston to use those draft picks and select homegrown stars at the top of the draft. It’s brilliant because David Griffin has now put together a no-lose plan.
You might ask what happens next? It’s all about the waiting game, David Griffin will sit back wait for a star player to request a trade and shake loose and then go all-in on him. It doesn’t have to be the first star available either, with these picks coming down the line, the New Orleans Pelicans are in an excellent position to wait for the player they want to come available.