New Orleans Pelicans: Kevin Durant’s decision will increase early season hype

By NBA standards, this has been a fairly quiet offseason, especially for the New Orleans Pelicans, who already had 14 players under contract and haven’t made any splashy moves.

The only real drama surrounded Kevin Durant, who had reportedly demanded a trade early in the offseason.

The Pelicans were mentioned as potential suitors, but those talks ended quickly when the Nets were allegedly asking for Brandon Ingram, which was not going to happen.

In fact, it seemed like no team was willing pay the hefty price the Nets were asking for Durant, which may have contributed to his decision to stick around. Durant wanted to be traded to a ready-made title team but it looks like the Nets were the best option, at least for now.

Durant’s decision to stay could set off a flurry of moves, as there were several teams waiting to see how this would play out who will turn to other potential deals.

His choice to stay will also add a whole lot of early-season hype for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ hype train

Excitement for the upcoming season is palpable, and if you are like me, you can’t wait to get going.

The Pelicans are getting Zion Williamson back, and have a much-better and deeper roster around him this time, so there was already going to be a ton of hype around the start of the season, as Zion generates as much buzz as any player in the league.

That hype just increased, as the Pels will take on Durant’s Nets in the first game of the season in a game that will have some of the most interesting subplots in the league.

We have Zion and Ben Simmons coming back. We have Durant and Kyrie Irving’s strained relationship, which will be under a microscope. We have 2nd-year defensive wizard Herbert Jones trying to slow down one of the best scorers of all time.

We have Ingram trying to show that those trade rumors for Durant were bogus, which could lead to a spirited game that could set off a new rivalry for the Pelicans.

Anticipation is already building in New Orleans and now that we know the Pels will be facing off against Durant, hype for that first game is going to be at an all-time high.