The 2024-25 season won't go down as the most successful one for the New Orleans Pelicans. Constant injuries and off-court issues forced the team to roster 25 different players over the course of 82 games. Since personnel was changing nightly, the Pelicans struggled to find rhythm and ended up finishing with the second-worst record in the league, 21-61. Although the result wasn't what the Pelicans wanted, they did benefit from a down season.
New Orleans saw rookie big man Yves Missi's breakout way earlier than expected, earning all-rookie team honors. It allowed the Pelicans to evaluate Brandon Ingram, ultimately trading him to Toronto at the deadline. And it also gave the Pels a top 7 pick (Jeremiah Fears) to add to their already talented and exciting young core.
The idea of taking a gap year should be an enticing one to some teams heading into this upcoming season. The Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers are especially notable, as neither team is going to be a contender, with Indiana not having Tyrese Haliburton and Boston not having Jayson Tatum.
I know the Pelicans didn't initially try to lose games to start last season; however, once they realized the overwhelming amount of injuries they had, it was clear that they needed to commit to tanking.
With the Celtics owning their own first-round pick and the Pacers reacquiring theirs from New Orleans during the offseason, it only makes sense that both teams tank in 2025-26.
It's not in either of these teams cultures
Traditionally, tanking is a word you never hear around the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics. The Pacers have always been an organization that wants to give their fan base a competitive team over anything else. So, tanking has never really been something we've seen them do.
As far as the Celtics go, I can't really remember a time they actively tried to lose, a bit during the Pierce era, but at the same time, those teams were still full of talent.
Although neither of these teams is accustomed to tanking, no one expected the Warriors to tank during the 2019-2020 season. But they did. With Steph Curry only appearing in 5 games, the obvious move was to let the young guns play and strive for a high draft pick.
In the modern NBA, mainly thanks to the current CBA, GMs have to be more calculated than ever before. That's why I really do see the Celtics specifically tanking this season. If we are being honest, Brad Stevens is a genius and will understand the value in taking this year without Tatum off. Adding a high lottery pick on a rookie scale deal will only help extend the Tatum and Brown window in Boston.
For the Pacers, even though it could make sense to tank and could extend their championship window, after a finals appearance, it'll be hard to sell fans on the idea of a tank. On top of that, if Andrew Nembhard has the Jalen Brunson level breakout I'm expecting, then it's safe to say they'll be a playoff team.
The Celtics and Pacers should look at how helpful a gap season was for the Pelicans and consider doing the same in 2025-26.