Unique roster gives Pelicans foundation for immediate and long-term success
Among the 10 players who logged 900-plus minutes in 2022-23, six Pelicans were in their first, second or third NBA campaign, including sophomores Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, as well as rookie Dyson Daniels. The Pelicans' unique roster gives them a strong foundation for immediate and long-term success. Prior to injuries last season, the Pelicans had a strong young core, largely consisting of sophomores, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Dyson Daniels. Among the 10 players who logged 900-plus minutes in 2022-23, six were in their first, second or third NBA season. The team's average age is 25.5, making it tied for the league's 11th-youngest. Despite a flurry of big-name trade demands this summer, the team has been able to maintain some cohesion.
Pubblicato : 2 anni fa di Jim Eichenhofer in Sports
As a previous member of three other NBA franchises, Larry Nance Jr. has experienced the full spectrum of team outlooks, from title contention (Cleveland reached the 2018 Finals) to a rebuild (the Lakers averaged just 26 wins during his three full seasons in L.A.) to in between (Portland launched a new era by trading Nance and CJ McCollum to New Orleans in 2022).
From that standpoint, Nance’s circumstances in the Crescent City are unique. Prior to injuries dramatically changing the course of last season, the Pelicans had enough talent to zoom to the top of the Western Conference standings. They did so largely behind a cast of early-20s contributors The Ringer ranked as the NBA’s fifth-best “young core” a year ago. Among the 10 players who logged 900-plus minutes in 2022-23, six Pelicans were in their first, second or third NBA campaign, including sophomores Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado, as well as rookie Dyson Daniels.
“It’s great. There are (usually) situations that are win-now or rebuild,” Nance said. “Win-now or win-future. It’s really cool to be a part of a team that can win now, but with a mixture of future optimism. It’s really the only team I’ve been a part of that’s like that.”
“It’s great, amazing, dope, that we do have a lot of guys who are still improving,” 23-year-old Zion Williamson said. “I feel like I’m still improving myself. (Brandon Ingram) feels the same way, CJ (McCollum). The guys like Trey, Herb, Naji (Marshall), Jose, Kira (Lewis Jr.), all of these dudes, we’ve got a lot of depth. Larry. We have a lot of depth on this team. We think we can make a real run at it.”
Even after the offseason addition of reserve center Cody Zeller, 31, the 26-year-old Ingram is the fifth-oldest player on the main Pelicans roster. According to HispanosNBA.com, which compiles annual roster data, New Orleans’ average age is 25.5, making it tied for the league’s 11th-youngest. Of the 10 teams entering 2023-24 with a lower number, only Minnesota (24.7) and reconfigured Brooklyn (24.7) made the playoffs this spring.
A significant portion of the groundwork was laid on draft night in 2021, when the Pelicans traded down to select Murphy with the No. 17 overall pick and nabbed Jones at 35. Alvarado went undrafted, but signed a two-way contract and emerged midway through his rookie season as a bona fide force as an NBA reserve. Two years after that draft, the Pelicans continue to benefit.
“In my head, we’re the best draft (trio) that came in (to the NBA on the same team) in a while,” Alvarado said. “We all mean something to the team, and that’s one of a kind.”
With a heavy emphasis on the draft and keeping its core group intact, New Orleans has also been able to maintain some cohesiveness, after the club’s previous decade featured many change-filled summers. Pelicans players appreciate that they’ve been able to get acclimated to a familiar cast of teammates.
“It’s super exciting,” Jones said. “It’s tough for some guys to always have to adapt to new faces. That’s tough for anyone, no matter where you go. If you can get a group of guys who like each other well, get along well, it makes the basketball part easier.”
Last season provided plenty of evidence that the Pelicans have immense potential for immediate success, despite formidable competition in the West. While a few big-name NBA stars changed teams this summer and other basketball conversation focused incessantly on fulfilled (or unfulfilled) trade demands, New Orleans had a very quiet offseason. Which is just fine with Pelicans players.
“Everyone wants to focus on Dame (Lillard) to Milwaukee, (Bradley) Beal to Phoenix and the other big deals that happened, but that’s not our battle,” Nance said. “Our battle is us. We’re our own biggest enemy in terms of staying healthy and all that. If this offseason was just spent keeping everyone healthy and having a healthy season, that’s the biggest acquisition of the summer across the whole league, in my opinion.”
“Obviously we were disappointed with how last year ended, but we know we’re a better team than that,” Daniels said. “We know we have the talent and the young guys who can come through. We have the depth. We’re excited for this season because we can be a playoff- or championship-contending team if we put it together and play the right way.”
Temi: Basketball, NBA, New Orleans Pelicans