Anthony Davis seems to be completely on board with the Pelicans’ decision to bring aboard Alvin Gentry as head coach next season, John Reid of the Times Picayune suggests. After winning the championship as an assistant with the Warriors last season, Gentry looked into the national TV’s cameras while holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy and exclaimed to Davis that a title was in the duo’s future in New Orleans. Davis said he was impressed with the conviction shown by Gentry, according to Reid, and Davis also added that he’s excited about the mix of old and new assistant coaches that Gentry will be working with next season.
Given the brutal nature of the Western Conference, it might be a stretch to suggest the Pelicans will be in the same spot next year that the Warriors are in now, but with Davis locked in as the franchise’s cornerstone for at least five more seasons, New Orleans will have a shot to be great if they can continue to build around the 22-year-old phenom. We’ll look at more from out West below..
- The Blazers didn’t have to trade any players over to the Cavs in the deal that netted them Brendan Haywood’s $10.5MM, non-guaranteed deal since they sent the minimum $75K in cash Cleveland’s way, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders points out in a tweet.
- Portland renounced Joel Freeland‘s Bird Rights, Pincus also tweets. Freeland spent the last three seasons with the Blazers before deciding to sign overseas in Russia on a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow.
- The Warriors should have a trade exception worth $5.4MM as a result of the trade that sent David Lee to the Celtics, Pincus observes in another tweet.
- Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM concludes that given the Suns’ roster situation, they’ll need to see improvement from players they already have on the team, like second-year wing T.J. Warren, rather than bringing in new faces. It’s still not totally clear how Warren’s unorthodox game will translate to the NBA however, as Tjarks surmises.
Pelicans fans, what moves does the organization need to make to develop into a serious contender within the next five years?
They need a shooter on the wing, preferably a 3 and D player, and they need to stay healthy. They could also use some improved shooting from Tyreke Evans
I’d like to see if Holiday can stay in one piece and develop chemistry with AD. They also need a clear No. 2 option to Davis. I don’t know if they have that guy on the roster.
That trade exception could come in quite handy for the Warriors if they need to add a piece, or a rotation player goes down before next February’s trade deadline.