Friday 2 August 2019 12:28, UK
The new-look New Orleans Pelicans will adopt the Los Angeles Clippers' model from last season in 2019-20, says NBA TV analyst Wes Wilcox.
After dealing Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers, receiving a hefty return of young players and future first-round draft picks and selecting Zion Williamson with the No 1 pick in the 2019 Draft, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin has transformed the team's roster.
The 2019-20 Pelicans roster has the NBA's third-lowest total of returning minutes (ie average playing time of players who were on the team in the 2018-19 season).
How good can the Pelicans be in 2019-20 and what can be considered realistic expectations for the team next season? NBA TV analyst Wes Wilcox believes New Orleans will aim to follow the example laid down by the Los Angeles Clippers last season.
"You have to bet that [David Griffin] looks to the Los Angeles Clippers as the model," said Wilcox.
"'We're going to be competitive and raise our players in a winning environment' - Griffin has talked about that very openly. When you look at how that has worked for the Clippers, there are going to be a lot of teams trying to model what they have done. That's probably the balance that [Griffin] is trying to strike in reshaping his franchise."
Williamson has been labelled the best NBA prospect since LeBron James came into the league directly from high school in 2003 but Wilcox feels Griffin has subtly ensured his No 1 selection won't be undone by pressure and hype in his debut professional season.
"'Griff' has done a really nice job of being very clear that this is Jrue Holiday's team. That will take a little bit of pressure off Zion, specifically on the offensive end," he said.
"That might also be why we hear 'Griff' talking about Draymond Green as a potential 'comp' for Williamson. Of course, Draymond is an All-NBA defender, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Zion looks like he can be that type of player as well as a highly-versatile offensive player."
With the excitement around Williamson and his freshly-acquired team-mates, will the Pelicans emulate the 2018-19 Clippers and force their way into the playoff picture in the Western Conference?
"This team is really fascinating because it is really two groups," said Wilcox.
"You have this young group of players with the draft picks of Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the players they acquired in the Anthony Davis trade with the Lakers (Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart). But they also have a veteran group of players more in their prime - JJ Redick, Jrue Holiday, Derrick Favors and even E'Twaun Moore.
"Typically the best teams have an aligned two or three-year window with their best players. New Orleans don't have that and when you look at the future versus the present, it's going to be hard [next season in the West].
"The Lakers, the Clippers, Houston, Denver, Portland and Utah are darn-near playoff locks. The short-term is going to be tough. The best of the Pelicans is two or three years away."
