There's definitely a trade coming soon. Or at least he thinks so. I think he's counting on one of those guys making a big step forward so that we can either trade Jones or them for a more accomplished power forward and move whomever is left to the bench. I also think Ariza's contract structure is designed with the intent of either making a FA push or trading him in a few years. In a vaccum, yes. But Asik was not a good fit with Howard and was going to leave anyways. The pick might end up getting us (either by drafting someone or through a trade) someone who can better play next to Howard.
I don't see it. How are you even listing Austin Rivers as a significant rotation player. Did you see how he played last year? He never seemed comfortable at all on the floor. If healthy then the starting 5 seems respectable but that bench doesn't look good enough to help that team out to make it a borderline play off team. You still have to have a better record than.. Spurs Thunder Clippers Rockets Trailblazers Warriors Mavericks Suns Grizzlies No one on the Pelicans squad has proven themselves talented enough to carry the team. Davis is a hell of a player but I can't see him willing the team past 48+ wins. Not in the West. We'll see how this plays out but we definitely got something for Asik.
1. Rivers improved throughout the year. I'm from New Orleans and follow the Pelicans some and talk Pelicans basketball with friends back home. 2. They won 34 games last year and were decimated by injuries. Jrue Holiday missed 48 games. Ryan Anderson missed 60 games. Jason Smith (starting center) missed 51 games. Eric Gordon missed 18 games. Anthony Davis missed 15 games and played injured more than that. I mean, there was a big portion of the season where they were missing their starting PG, starting center, 6th man, starting SG, etc. They were decimated. And through all that, they still managed to win 34 games. Just being healthy would easily get them over 40 wins. And one of their biggest needs was a defensive center. Their defense was TERRIBLE last year. And the lack of a center was the main culprit. Now, they have one of the best defensive centers in the league. Asik alone will get their defense from being dead last to about 15th in the league. Asik is going to have a HUGE impact on their team. Davis will now be free to be the monster he is defensively and it will have an effect on the whole team. They may even improve better than just 15th. Adding Asik will make them a team that can win 45-50 games. The Pelicans are going to be pretty damn good next year.
The Pelicans, if they can stay healthy, have a good enough team to stay competitive for the 8th seed. I could see the pick landing in the 11-14 range.
Who will they jump over though? Dallas won 49 games to grab the last play-off spot. Most think that with the addition of Chandler Parsons & Tyson Chandler they are a better team this season. Phoenix was an Eric Bledsoe injury away from being a 50 win team and a play-off participant. Denver should be back to what they were a couple of seasons ago when they won 57 games. Why? The addition of Aaron Afflalo and the return of Danilo Gallinari and that team is going to be stacked. 1 SA 2 OKC 3 LAC 3 HOU 5 POR 6 MEM 7 GS 8 DAL 9 PHX 10 DEN 11 NO I agree with anyone that thinks NO will be significantly better but.... they realistically need to improve 16 games to be considered a play-off team in the west. The west is going to be just brutal next season.
No he wasn't. His offense, not that he really has any, but even those layups and what not he does, were much much worse than normal. 48% fg%. He was looked at as somewhat decent defensively, but only because he replaced TJones, who gave up historic performances to LMA... but to be fair to Jones, Asik was also guarding LMA a lot. The only clear thing about the LMA matchup was that Dwight far and away did the best job on him, one on one. LMA abused Asik, too, because while Asik had the length, he didn't have the footspeed. Asik had a 9.1 PER. 9.1! Yes, it undervalues defense, but still. I still think it is unlikely they get a better player with that pick... but not remotely out of the realm of possibility.
With mostly the same team as last season, they will need to improve by 20 games to be better than the Rockets. Honestly, it's a very, very long shot at best.
Their best 3PT shooter went to OKC. Their next best shooters (Gordon, Holiday, and Anderson) missed quite a few games. I don't even know if Anderson [herniated disc] and Holiday [stress fracture, right tibia] will be ready to go to start the regular season.
No "but still". Asik is a defensive player. If there was a "PER" for defense, he would have a very high number. PER doesn't really take into account defense at all unless you have a bunch of steals or blocks. A lot of times, if a player has a lot of steals or blocks, it means he gambles a lot and is often out of position if he doesn't get the steal or block. PER is basically an offensive rating and doesn't take into account defense hardly at all.
Grizz lost Miller and still have no back court Warriors could possibly take a step back with a new coach Portland was not as good as their record reflected and will fall Phoenix might lose Bledshow Pellies are loaded, deep, and if healthy, scary. AD is the best player in the west not named Durant, Paul, Griffin, or Curry
C'mon guys! We all know that the Pellies pick will be number 14 in next year's draft. The Rockets and the 14th pick were made for each other, and Morey will work his hardest to keep other GMs paws off of it...
The protections are what make it valuable. If they're a playoff team, it'll be delayed until they aren't. It's a good pick with the potential to be a great pick with some luck, and that's where the value lies.
I mean, it's guaranteed 4-19 so if you trade it before you know, it has the potential to be really valuable, but anything in the top 20 has good value. I bet it falls between 12-15, but who knows.
It's hard to look at a team and claim injuries as their downfall, and then just assume that they'll all be healthy this time. Eric Gordon, for example, hasn't shown the ability to be healthy for an extended period of time in ages. Missing 18 games was the second most games he's played in a season in his entire career!
Don't know about Rivers but excellent post! The OP is wrong if he believes the NO pick is likely to be in the 7th range. Here's what I posted June 28th http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=9049319&postcount=57 Repeat, in 2013-14 the pelicans top 6 players in games played were Aminu, Morrow, Tyreke Evans, Brian Roberts and Austin Rivers!!
that pick is very valuable. hopefully canaan and dmo can keep it up and they will be valuable too. the only problem is, which star wants out? i don't think rondo gets us over the top. kyrie doesn't want out of cleveland anymore. love is headed to the cavs or lakers. dragic doesn't get us over the top. lma doesn't want to leave portland anymore. who is this mythical third star? 2015 summer the best players that we have a chance at signing are: rondo, dragic, and millsap. all would be great, but they will all probably sign for the max. considering age and price, we could've kept parsons for that matter and got similar production from a younger player.
This could have been a realistic option if Lance Stephenson was signed but there is no player, not named Lebron, that Houston could plug in and improve on what Harden already provides the team. Their is no one for one trade like that available. Morey is only interested in climbing that championship ladder, not just hanging in place.
