New Orleans Pelicans
It wasn’t that long ago, just a few months back, that we felt bad for this franchise.
Here they had a generational talent in Anthony Davis, but they couldn’t surround him with a fully competent roster, and their shining star wanted out. How do you recover from that?
Hire a smart GM in David Griffin and give him an executive position (Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations).
Win the lottery again and get another generational talent in Zion Williamson.
Fleece the Lakers for all they fucking got.
Draft complementary rookies in Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker while obtaining a future draft pick and ridding yourself of Solomon Hill’s albatross of a contract along the way.
Sign well-seasoned veterans in J.J. Redick and Derrick Favors who specialize in exactly what you were lacking: 3-point shooting and experienced interior presence.
If you do those five things, you will not only have fully recovered, but thanks mostly to the key ingredient of ping-pong balls that sent Zion down to the Big Easy, you have instantly transformed from a bleak franchise in the midst of it’s darkest days into The NBA’s Team of the Future.
With the New Orleans Pelicans playing games on Opening Night and Christmas Day, and 30 times on national television throughout this season, it is obvious what the NBA is trying to do. The Association is already marketing the next face of the league.
Zion.
The earth shaking slams. The unparalleled athleticism. The soaring through the air. The authority and power. The speed and size — oh lawd, the size! The sheer will and determination. The nose for the ball. The feel for the game. The thunderous blocks. The freight train in transition. The fucking oops, man. The windmills. The flexing. The stomping. The yelling. The look.
Zion has it all. And the best part? He wants the ball in the game’s biggest moments. He’s not afraid, because he knows.
He’s Zion.
League Pass Notes
Could Zion be the Power Dunker to rule them all? Jaxson Hayes had the Power Dunk of Summer League.
We might or might not have a running Lonzo to Zion alley-oop counter.
Jrue Holiday, one of the game’s most underrated players, is still here and he deserves this team’s glow up.
NOLA might be the perfect place for Brandon Ingram to grow out of his current standing of being a homeless man’s Kevin Durant. The health issues are a concern, but the kid is still just 21 years old! Some things take time. We have not given up on Ingram becoming The Slenderman.
The Final Questions / The Final Take
How many players in the league are going to be able to guard Zion?
Shoals once stated, “Some players expand possibilities; others leave categories in liquid ruin.”
Will Zion rip through the fabric of the game?
We are ecstatic to watch every minute of him trying. OVER 38.5 wins.