The New Orleans Pelicans’ “process” will happen faster than the 76ers’ did
The New Orleans Pelicans and Philadelphia 76ers have a lot in common.
Like the 76ers, the Pelicans are hoping to draft foundational talent that will not only give them sustained success but a chance at championships.
Philadelphia’s famous “Process” basically came down to trading all of their veterans for picks, tanking as hard as possible to get top draft picks and then using them to get superstars.
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It finally looks to have paid off, as Philly is one of the top teams in the NBA and could very well win a title this year behind MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid, who they drafted in 2014 to kick off their rebuild.
After whiffing in the draft the following year, the 76ers tanked again and got Ben Simmons with the number one overall pick.
Now, in 2021, Philly has assembled a supporting cast worthy of their two stars and “The Process” is finally making good on its promise of sustained success and championship contention.
The New Orleans Pelicans have their own “process” going after trading Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday for young players and picks and getting their foundational superstar in the draft with Zion Williamson.
The Pels aren’t contenders yet, but they should get there faster than Philly did.
New Orleans Pelicans: The Pels rebuild will be fast
It took Philly a long time to get to where they are now, and though the New Orleans Pelicans are following their model, the Pels hope to get there sooner.
Like Philly, the Pelicans are trying to build around two stars in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, two young players with superstar potential much like Embiid and Simmons.
Unlike Philly, the Pelicans already have these guys in just the second full year of their rebuild. The Pels also have some nice complementary pieces in Lonzo Ball, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Steven Adams and haven’t completely whiffed in the draft as Philly did with Jahlil Okafor and Markelle Fultz.
Though Jaxson Hayes, NAW and Kira Lewis Jr. have not been great, they have already shown more promise than anyone Philly drafted in the immediate wake of getting Joel Embiid and eventually Ben Simmons.
But the Pelicans can’t take their greatness for granted just because they have their two stars. They still need a team around them and Philly should be a stark warning against what might happen if they make the wrong choices in the draft, grab the wrong free agents or suffer injuries.
The New Orleans Pelicans are well on their way to being good and should be a playoff team sooner than later, but nothing is a given in the NBA, so they need to add the right complementary players around Zion Williamson so they don’t have to wait seven years for his talent to pay off as Philly did with Embiid.
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