Joel really do be saying it with the hard r 😭

In sum, the article discusses the Wizards plans for this season. They want to win games this year, and have the veterans with accolades to compete (AD, Trae, Middleton, Ayton). The discussion came down to the priority at certain points in the season: winning games with veterans or getting their abundance of youth on the court, particularly in crunch time. We'll have to see how that plays out.

Here, it would appear that this is the same conundrum N.O. is in. They have veterans that are here to win now (Zion, DJM, Herb, Bey, Trey, etc.). However, there is young talent they heavily invested in that will need to continue playing, particularly in meaningful games, as those did not exist last season. Missi, Fears and Queen have received a lot of playing time, but now they are all pushed back in the lineup for the veterans. (This does not apply to Missi as much because he appears to be the starting center. However, I would imagine that he will be subbed out for small lineups frequently). Mosley will have to gain direction from the FO on how to handle.

Notably, Willie Green and to an extent Borrego were saddled with this for some time. Veterans would play in front of the youth in an attempt to win games rather than develop the players recently drafted. Obviously Willie and Borrego are gone, but Mosley will have to figure out a way to remain competitive in the WL column while giving significant minutes to the 2 most recent draft picks.

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/preseason-postgame-wrap-pelicans-107-wizards-106

For three quarters, New Orleans and Washington treated Friday’s preseason game similarly to a regular season matchup, with starters logging relatively significant minutes. The rotations of head coaches Jamahl Mosley and Brian Keefe seemed to reflect what may be the case Wednesday, when both squads tip off their 2026-27 campaigns in separate games that count in the NBA standings. The Pelicans won those 36 minutes of exhibition hoops by double digits, showing more positive signs on the defensive end by limiting the Wizards to just 70 points and 35 percent shooting.

Also fuck AD

That's the post. We spend too much time talking about DQ forcing him to be ready sooner than he's ready to be because we gave up a first rounder for him. Fears, the actual true #1 pick, is ready now.

I saw this in MSY airport around December of last year and it was my exact style, but it was a bit out of my price range so I let it go for a minute and figured I'd mull it over and come to a decision. Unfortunately by the time I had another opportunity to stop by the store in the airport they'd already moved on past this. I was wondering if there was maybe another listing of it somewhere online that someone had found?

I think this is a little low. Nugs, Magic, Hawks (with CJ and Flemings) are rated higher.

This would seem high at first, until you glance at the rest of the league and see how bad other teams are at SG.

I think this is low as well. Trey has not made an all star team, but he's a very solid player. I think he's much better than Kon and Jaden McDaniels. How do we know if Markkanen is any good if he hasn't played in a competitive basketball game the 5 years he's been in Utah? Although Franz has an all star appearance, I think the combo of Trey and Mathurin is better than Franz and Cain with the Magic.

Notable players/teams ranked above are Nets/Randle, Knicks and Utah/JJJ. Behind are squads like Denver with Gordon, Charlotte with Naz Reid and Rockets. Bey doesn't exactly fit as a power forward, but for this exercise, the combo of Zion/Bey seems appropriate.

Not many situations deemed worse than this. It's hard to argue based on potential and performance that this duo is a bit behind. This could jump if improvement is made, but I find it hard to argue with this ranking.

In sum, they do not have a top 10 positional group. They have decent depth at each position, but no superstar to drag up the entire ranking.

would you guys make this trade?

If the pelicans tear it down this year would targeting Kel’el Ware be the best fit as a center for a future team lead by Queen and Fears?

Tracking the Alonzo Mourning trade from 1992 helps Hornets/Pelicans land Trey Murphy and Dejounte Murray:

• Charlotte drafts Mourning in 1992 then traded to Miami for Glen Rice
• Rice → Eddie Jones → PJ Brown → Tyson Chandler → Emeka Okafor → 2012 2nd Rd pick → draft Darius Miller
  • → Steven Adams & Eric Bledsoe → Trey Murphy
  • → 2025 1st Rd pick → Larry Nance → Dejounte Murray

https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/jamahl-mosley-radically-changing-ways-231639694.html

"Mosley is replacing Green's familiar 10-game evaluation windows with shorter, playoff-style assessments designed to identify problems before they become entrenched habits. Essentially, the philosophy is to not wait three weeks to address an issue that might cost the team a win tomorrow."

This team has a lot of mouths to feed. It’s not like SGA always going to lead the team, or Edwards/Ball on Minny, or KAT/Brunson on Knicks. There are a lot of guys that would like a steady shot diet. Let’s go through those with a chance:

3rd String - Bryce, Pierre Jr, Jordan, etc. just deserve a mention because they’re on the team. Bryce can do it in April if the team is mathematically eliminated and others are hurt/pulled.d

2nd string but highly unlikely - Missi, Karlo just won’t’ get enough shot attempts. They do not create on their own.

2nd string but possible a couple of times a month - Mathurin, Poole and sometimes Queen. Mathurin and Poole are shooters. They can get hot and if they do, only Mosley can slow them down. Queen has scored more than 30 in a game and he will operate as the hub of the offense. I could imagine him having the most shots a few times this season. Bey can fit in this category as well if he goes on a heater, but he too usually seems to thrive if someone sets the table for him

Defensive wing that seems unlikely - Herb. He’s just not going to shoot the ball 20 times in a game. And that’s ok.

Point guards - DJM and Fears. Both will have the ball in their respective hands. Fears will likely have it more due to DJM’s injury history. Fears has taken a lot of shots tonight, and this could be the best way for him in the event he can maintain above average shooting. Last season we saw DJM shoot more, which could result in some inefficient performances.

Veterans forwards - Trey and Zion. These 2 should lead the team in shot attempts. Zion shoots a very high percentage from the paint, who knows if he’ll shoot a 3 during the season. We know Trey can. Trey can light it up and shoots well above league average from deep.

I think this will be interesting development this season. I would think at the end of the season Zion will lead and Trey will be second. However, I think that on any night DJM, Fears, Queen, Mathurin and Poole could have the most shots. If they can figure out to use this efficiently, they can improve offense along with defense.

Dejounte is clearly on the decline and not the same player he once was the writing is on the wall need Fears starting by the 20th game mark or something

Fuck the Mavs. Game @ 19:00 CST

If anyone else wants to put up a post-game thread after, I'm likely gonna be asleep

Hey Pelicans fans, so I’m making a video on each franchise’s biggest upset (when they were not expected to win) and each franchise’s biggest choke (sorry if that strikes a chord). I have my guesses for each but I wanted to ask actual Pelicans fans to see what you guys think and if you have better answers that I should look at.

I'm considering an upset strictly as when that team was not supposed to win or were big underdogs and won. A choke can either be when your team was expected to win and underperformed, or blew a big lead in an important game or in the playoffs (something around those lines). It can also be a blown playoff lead (example: 3-1 lead)

Let me know what you guys think, I will link the video here when it’s done. Good luck to you guys this season!!