Sometimes, building an NBA championship team is all about capitalizing on the right opportunities. The Golden State Warriors took advantage of an unprecedented salary cap spike to add Kevin Durant to a roster that already won a title and went to the Finals twice in a row. That shrewd capitalization of their circumstances cemented their dynasty and directly led to two additional championships for Golden State.
The New Orleans Pelicans are looking to get lucky soon. This season, they were supposed to compete for a title or at least make a deep playoff run. Instead, due to injuries, they're now competing for NBA Draft lottery odds instead of jostling for postseason positioning. Of course, landing a top pick and coming away with a prospect like Duke's Cooper Flagg or Baylor's VJ Edgecombe could be New Orleans's version of creating their own luck.
While the Pelicans' future largely hinges on what happens in the lottery and subsequent draft, that doesn't mean that Executive Vice President David Griffin and the rest of the team's brass should just be twiddling their thumbs, hoping for the best come the summer. There are still plenty of ways they can maximize the franchise's future between now and the draft lottery, whether it be making roster moves on the margins or reevaluating their coaching needs. Unexpectedly, a prime opportunity may have just opened up for the Pelicans to add their future championship play-caller and floor general at the same time.
The Pelicans should hire Taylor Jenkins and then go after Ja Morant
When the Memphis Grizzlies initially announced that they had fired Head Coach Taylor Jenkins just weeks before the playoffs, it sent the entire NBA world into a fritz. Considering the team's success under Jenkins and the completely unexpected nature of this move, people immediately began to speculate that there had to have been issues behind the scenes.
According to The Athletic's Sam Amick, Fred Katz, and Joe Vardon, there was plenty of motivation behind Jenkins's dismissal that wasn't solely tied to his or the Grizzlies' performance this season. Based on past experiences and the typical dynamics between an NBA organization, its stars, and its staff, many surmised that this move came at the request of Ja Morant, Memphis's star point guard and franchise player. As it turns out, though, Morant was opposed to this move.
Apparently, it seems that Memphis had been preparing to fire Jenkins for a long time now, starting with firing his assistants and replacing his staff ahead of this season. The front office had a different vision for the team than what Jenkins had laid out, and they essentially strong-armed him into changing the system and the offense to be less Morant-centric. Part of what ultimately gave them the opportunity to give him the boot was Jenkins reinstalling some of his and Ja's favorite actions for the point guard against the front office's wishes.
Now, Jenkins is without a job, and Morant is fully aware that his team no longer sees him as their focal point moving forward. Ja was already reportedly frustrated with the changes to the offense. With Jenkins gone from his corner, it could only be a matter of time before Morant's out the door, too, whether it be his choice or the team's.
The New Orleans Pelicans may be reevaluating their own coaching needs after this disastrous season. If so, they now have the opportunity to put a proven winner on their sidelines, one who has a record of innovation and success on the court. As a bonus, replacing Head Coach Willie Green with Taylor Jenkins could also instantly make them favorites to be Ja Morant's next destination if he ends up demanding a trade, giving them a chance to unite the first and second-overall picks from the 2019 NBA Draft to create the league's next dynamic duo, and a young, athletic, and lethal Big 3 along with Trey Murphy III.