2019-20 Finish: 31-51

Season Highlight:

I would have to say the evolution and development of Ja Morant into a star in the NBA. The combo of Donovan Mitchell and Ja will give West teams headaches for a looong time!

Season Lowlight:

Because the team was so young and loaded with potential, a season like this was to be expected, however, despite being one of the bottom 3 teams in the West, this team has a lot to be hopeful for. This looks to have been just a small step back. Let me tell you why…

Best Trade:

Soo many trades for this team, GM Leeroy, who’s a top 5 GM in my book, was a wheeler and a dealer this season.

NO gets: John Collins, Keita Bates-DIop
NO sends: Sekou Doumbouya, Grant Williams, 1^st BKN ’21, 1^st PHX ‘22

Toby was after those Phoenix 1^st rounders, so that enabled Leeroy to get a current top 16 ESPN player for prospects and player vouchers, huge win.

Worst Trade:

There isn´t a lot to knock here, but I´ll go with this one.

NO gets: Kaminsky, Amile Jefferson, Svi Mykhailiuk, 2^nd DAL ‘22
NO sends: Seth Curry, Omari Spellman, Bruno Fernando

Maybe Leeroy really likes Svi, who knows? I´m going to count this as one of the few losses. Seth Curry ended the season as one of the best NBA shooters and Bruno Fernando was a high 2^nd rounder the year before.

 

Other Notable Trades:

NO gets: Covington, Dedmon, Nwaba, James Johnson 1^st CLE ’20 (Bane), 1^st POR ’20 (Oturu), 1^st SA ‘23
NO sends: Jarrett Allen, Fournier, Joe Harris, Oni

This could also have been counted as a loss, as I believe there’s too much talent going out and not much coming in, although at the time the 3x 1sts could be argued, but I´m a fan of Allen, so I think this tilts the scales against NO. 

NO gets: Bridges, Ilyasova, Mclemore, 1^st BKN 2021, 2^nd POR ‘23
NO sends: Covington, Bell, Terence Davis

Mainly Bridges and a 1^st for Kov, which seems fair, because I think Bridges is solid, but it´s developing slowly, but this deal was part of the bigger trade that allowed Portland to set the foundation for their title run.

Free Agency:

N/A

New Orleans has got their shit together and want no headaches with annoying free agents asking for contracts, so they made sure to ship them all away and have a full stable of players at their disposal and under contract.
 

Star:

Donovan Mitchell

Spida is the name of the beast! This cat was the be all end all, he was the man and he was empowered by the franchise too!

The criticism on Mitchell was that he was too short for the NBA game and, therefore, would never be more than a role player. Mitchell took that to heart and with the help of Morant, he was able to bridge the gap between the top guard-duos in the league and it´s tough to find a better pairing. He looks to totally dominate the opposition taking this team to the postseason, including the quest for that elusive ring! Why not? Bonafide star! Just got payed too 😉

Goat:

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk – I´d have to say Svi is the goat, not the G.O.A.T, that guy plays for the Lakers. Svi shot 40% from the field and 33%, and as we´ve said before, he came in on a trade for controversial returns. Leeroy seems to be a believer.

Draft Grades: B

GM Leeroy held the 8^th pick of the draft, so it was a “sit and wait” situation to see who was going to fall to them. By his post draft reaction and subsequent trade after the flip, for Brook Lopez, it looks like they were hoping a big man would fall to them. Nevertheless, Leeroy took Patrick Williams, who had fallen from 4^th in the NBA to the 8^th spot. Pat Will was selected by the Bulls, is expected to have plenty of opportunity to play and develop under a great head coach in Billy Donovan. I like the value pick here, however, Pat seems to be a ways to go before he can play consistently. He´s uber athletically, though, looks to have been built in a lab, very prototypical.

The Future:

The future is awesome if you are a Pelicans fan! Oh my lord, is this team stacked with current and future potential. Anytime you have a potential future lineup of Ja, Mitchell, Bridges, Williams and Collins, you´re pretty much set for the for the future. That is a scary lineup with endless athletic potential. Ja Morant has, and will, take that next leap to become a superstar and continue to delight us, and GM Leeroy for years!

C: Brook Lopez / Gorgui Dieng / Robert Williams
PF: John Collins / James Johnson
SF: Mikal Bridges / Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk / Patrick Williams
SG: Donovan Mitchell / Keldon Johnson
PG: Ja Morant / Terry Rozier