Last Seasons Record 48-34
This Seasons Record 40-42
This is it, don’t get scared now. Actually, you should all be terrified. Anthony Davis is more than likely out the door in New Orleans, and you can’t really blame him. Last year I think they really had something special going, until the devastating injury to DeMarcus Cousins. Having the sweep in the first round of the Trailblazers certainly helped, and Davis was probably the best player in the NBA at the end of the year. With all that being said, he can’t rot in the New Orleans and waste all of his prime years. He wants to win, and he needs to move on if he wants to do that. It’s not personal, it’s just business.
Key Additions and Subtractions
So this team actually went through a decent amount of changes this offseason, but they certainly did not fill the void that is DeMarcus Cousins. That’s right, Boogie Cousins is now on the Warriors, but they got some players back. Julius Randle, Elfrid Payton, and Jahil Okafor were all added to this roster. These are three perfect examples of guys who needed a change of scenery. All lottery picks, all guys that maybe got drafted to the wrong team. Randle wants to prove that the Lakers should not have moved on from him and no one wants to prove the haters wrong more than Payton and Okafor. Maybe the Pels can feed off some of this new energy and it can take them back to the playoffs.
Year Long Question – What do the Pelicans do about Anthony Davis?
This is, without doubt, the biggest season in the history of the franchise. Not because they could make some noise in the playoffs, but their cornerstone player could be gone by the end of it. I personally do not think he will resign with the Pels as I believe he wants to be part of a bigger market franchise. So what does this mean? Do they trade him away? To get a little something in return, but no team will want to trade for him unless they are certain he will resign with him. Boston is really the only logical destination because they have both assets and draft picks. Anthony Davis going to the Celtics is something so scary that I don’t want to think about it.
Fan Mindset
AD is pretty much a superhero. Call him Mr. Incredible, because he really can do it all. Now each one of those little black balls? Those are fans trying to stop AD from leaving the great city of New Orleans. It will take a serious team effort to do so, but collectively they could break him down and maybe, just maybe force him to stay. But like most superheroes, they are too strong, too powerful for a simple trick like this. Sure you might subdue him for a short period of time, but the hero always wins. No matter how overpowering the fans can be, I just don’t think it will be enough to stop AD from leaving them. It’s going to be one sad goodbye, but don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
Bold Prediction, Sponsored By Nate – AD gets traded to the Celtics
So we all know that AD is a free agent coming up, and he is more than likely leaving. The Celtics seem like the perfect fit, but they want to win now. Getting AD will be an X-factor, and if they want him, they will have to get rid of a few of their pieces. Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier and perhaps a first-round draft pick (Sacramento) is enough to land the Brow. He will sign with them in the summer and everything will go from there. But he can’t sign in the summer and expect all those guys to remain on the roster. So trading for him is almost their best bet.
