New Orleans Pelicans: What a successful 2021-22 season would look like
After missing the playoffs in Zion Williamson‘s first two seasons, the New Orleans Pelicans know that they need to turn things around.
Both David Griffin and Stan Van Gundy are going to be on the hot seat if the Pelicans don’t win next season, as they have a generational superstar and no time to waste building a winner around him.
This is the most important offseason for Griffin, whose team needs to show some improvement while not trading away the future for small short-term gains.
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It’s a tightrope, as the Pelicans need to do enough to satisfy Zion Williamson and try to build around him, but also want to do it organically, unlike the approach they took with Anthony Davis.
But how much improvement is needed for the New Orleans Pelicans to be considered a success? Here is a what a successful season would look like in 2021-22 for the Pels.
New Orleans Pelicans: Fans want evidence of a plan
One of the biggest complaints about this season is the the Pelicans were stuck in the purgatory between rebuilding and trying to win.
Expectations were set a little too high for the team but after they acquired both Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe, it seemed like the Pels were trying to win now while still stockpiling for the future.
If the Pels had been billed as a rebuilding team, then fans might not have been so frustrated, but they weren’t and now no one is sure where they are.
Fans are willing to accept losing if there seems to be a plan behind it, but right now, I have no idea what the Pelicans’ plan is or how they plan to accomplish it.
This regime has been tight lipped about everything, which is not a good look and makes them seem like they are winging it instead of executing a carefully constructed plan.
With a huge amount of roster churn coming, can we expect the New Orleans Pelicans to be rebuilding again? Trying to win? Next season won’t be a successful one unless there is an obvious plan in action and not the kind of helter skelter team building that happened around AD.