In the short span between season’s end and present day, the New Orleans Pelicans have drastically overhauled the roster. The influx of both young talent through trades and the draft in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Zion Williamson, Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker paired with veteran additions of JJ Redick and Derrick Favors in free agency.
Antonio Daniels, the newly-announced color commentator for Fox Sports New Orleans, recently spoke about the roster upheaval and the new focus heading into next season.
“They’ve got some great locker room guys. You have Jrue (Holiday) still there, and now you add (Redick and Favors),” he said. “In today’s NBA, you want a mix and balance of youth and experience. You don’t want to be too young or old, and then you add those middle guys, young youth with experience, with Lonzo, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart to put with Zion and Jaxson Hayes, guys yet to experience what the NBA life is like.
“(Griffin) really accomplished what we wanted in free agency this offseason. Now we’ve got veteran leadership and toughness.”
David Griffin certainly deserves lots of plaudits for the work he’s done in just a handful of months in charge. On top of masterfully handling the Davis trade negotiations, his continued work in unloading a contract like Solomon Hill’s all even before free agency where he landed Redick and Favors, key veterans that will also be contributors moving forward, were all shrewd business moves.
The result is a better, deeper team built around Williamson than Davis ever had in his time in New Orleans. How the team handles continued team-building moving forward will be interesting but all early indications are the Pelicans are a team set for a bright, bright future.
