1 00:00:14,679 --> 00:00:19,280 What is up, fellow thermonuclear afers. I am Dana Valley coming at you 2 00:00:19,359 --> 00:00:23,320 with another twenty twenty three twenty twenty four NBA team look ahead. We're on 3 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:27,359 to the New Orleans Pelicans and that means, as always, we talked to 4 00:00:27,679 --> 00:00:32,240 Schmidt Duah follow him on Twitter at Fear of the Brown spelled exactly as it 5 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,640 sounds. He is from the in the No podcast and also the in the 6 00:00:35,679 --> 00:00:39,479 No substack. You can find the links to both of those in our podcast 7 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:44,119 and YouTube descriptions. Shmidt, how are you doing? Damn my man? 8 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:48,079 I'm doing great. You know, I always cherish when you send me these 9 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:50,439 invites as the years about a kickoff, I'm like, all right, this 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,560 is I associated with good things, right. Media days are around the corner 11 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:56,079 of the NBA season's about the start, so it's like bill them, there's 12 00:00:56,079 --> 00:00:59,759 the damn invite and let's do this. Let's talk Pelicans. Yes, I 13 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:02,719 was excited, you answered me. It's been tough this year because Twitter is 14 00:01:02,759 --> 00:01:04,560 broken and so like I have your email now, which is great, but 15 00:01:04,599 --> 00:01:07,879 like some people just don't see the d ms as much anymore. Probably I 16 00:01:07,879 --> 00:01:11,000 don't pay for Twitter, so maybe that's why they don't see them, so 17 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:15,120 I'm excited to have you back. Let's start with I mean, there's so 18 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,480 much to start with, but I want to start with last season before really 19 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:21,560 getting into the topical stuff, which is the Trey Murphy injury. They were 20 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,159 a beast before the Zion injury. They had like a top They had a 21 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:29,719 top three net rating in the West coming out of the heading into the new 22 00:01:29,799 --> 00:01:33,319 year, excuse me, top eight on offense and defense. Zion get you 23 00:01:33,359 --> 00:01:37,280 in injured, everything kind of fades away. How much do you read into 24 00:01:37,359 --> 00:01:40,879 though the first iteration of that team Zion was healthy and they didn't have picture 25 00:01:40,920 --> 00:01:44,239 perfect health elsewhere. But how much do you how much stock do you place 26 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,560 in that? And if it's differs from how much stock do you think the 27 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,480 organization placed in that? When looking at how relatively quiet their offseason was, 28 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:55,760 I think they have to tread carefully with that sample size. It was impossibly 29 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:59,840 small to start with. And secondly, there was just a lot of things 30 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:05,239 they were figuring out en route to that performance that they had. One of 31 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,680 those things being moving Zion away from the post and putting the ball in his 32 00:02:08,719 --> 00:02:13,919 hands, which is sounds something that should have been obvious from the get go, 33 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:19,400 but it apparently wasn't for this team, and but they obviously saw great 34 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:23,960 results when when they did, and it kind of put all the other pieces 35 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:27,360 in the proper place. It was kind of this organizing principle, Oh yeah, 36 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:30,960 we can get Zion the ball, and everyone else's role makes so much 37 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:36,960 more sense now, right, And I think they're excited about the prospect of 38 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,000 trying to replicate that, because I do think they feel like they have the 39 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:47,719 right pieces to compliment Zion and his amazing efficiency. But it's so difficult to 40 00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:53,000 put all your eggs in that basket because he's only played thirty games in a 41 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:57,400 season once in his career, and so how much can you really count on 42 00:02:57,479 --> 00:03:00,280 that? I don't know, And he kind of going back to this idea 43 00:03:00,319 --> 00:03:04,840 of like, was that a fools gold team even when he was healthy or 44 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,599 not? I would say it's like I would say, they're They're not the 45 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:14,319 best team in the league as they were at that time, but there are 46 00:03:14,439 --> 00:03:16,560 they are a good team with a lot of room for proven That's what I 47 00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:22,800 would say. Were you or how did you feel about how quiet their off 48 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:24,560 season ended up being and didn't have a ton of spending tools to begin with. 49 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:28,080 But I think everyone want nationally wanted them to be a little bit more 50 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,919 aggressive, getting shooting or diversifying the front line. Surprised they weren't that aggressive. 51 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,840 Do you think they should have been more aggressive on the trade market? 52 00:03:34,879 --> 00:03:37,520 Where do you just land on how they went about their off season? Where 53 00:03:37,639 --> 00:03:40,120 the two biggest moves are With apologies to the Zeller family, it's extending Herb 54 00:03:40,199 --> 00:03:46,000 Jones and adding Jordan Hawkins. Yeah, I am fairly disappointed that this is 55 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:51,319 the route that they chose to go. Again, there are two main players 56 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,319 do not stay healthy on a regular basis, and so I feel like they 57 00:03:54,360 --> 00:04:00,840 needed to add more offensive firepower to this team, whether shooting, whether it 58 00:04:00,879 --> 00:04:04,560 was creation, whether it's something else to offset some of those games missed by 59 00:04:04,599 --> 00:04:09,240 those players. I felt like they needed to improve on their big man rotation. 60 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:13,240 Uh. Like you said, apologies to the Zeller family, but their 61 00:04:13,240 --> 00:04:15,680 big man rotation, and this from the center position is is JV and Cody 62 00:04:15,759 --> 00:04:19,360 Zeller, which JV is great, I love him. Willy Green doesn't seem 63 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:25,439 to be the biggest fan of his on court play for for for reasons unknown, 64 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:29,319 and so you know, I was hoping they would try to find a 65 00:04:29,319 --> 00:04:33,120 different solution there, and they just chose to sit stay put, which is 66 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:39,879 doubly surprising because around draft time the buzz was Scoot Scoot Henderson. Pelican's interested 67 00:04:39,879 --> 00:04:42,920 in Scoot Henderson. You're gonna have on that for any of our listeners in 68 00:04:42,959 --> 00:04:46,079 are like you were all over Scoot, like you wanted Scool, like you 69 00:04:46,079 --> 00:04:48,759 you pretty much you were ready to die on that hill of Scoot to Oh. 70 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:55,279 Absolutely, And I think that was an extremely good opportunity for them to 71 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:00,600 do a soft reset with their contractual situation right now, just to fill listeners 72 00:05:00,639 --> 00:05:04,079 in. They are entering the season over the tax line. They have never 73 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:08,920 paid the tax in their franchise history. They're entering the season over the tax 74 00:05:08,959 --> 00:05:14,160 line. They have very limited trade flexibility because of that, and very likely 75 00:05:14,279 --> 00:05:16,800 they'll look to get under the tax, you know, mid season at some 76 00:05:16,879 --> 00:05:20,879 point. We've all kind of penciled in Kyra Lewis as the guy that they're 77 00:05:20,879 --> 00:05:25,240 going to use as a salary dump to get under the tax. But they 78 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:29,120 either they have other options and there's no sort of rush to do this at 79 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:30,199 the moment. They could do it as long as they get under it by 80 00:05:30,199 --> 00:05:33,800 the end of the season, but they're over the tax line and they just 81 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:40,199 paid herb Jones. Zion's contract is kicked in. Brandon Ingram is up extension 82 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:44,800 eligible currently and more importantly, will be next year with the potential of hey, 83 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:47,120 if he plays decently well, he might hit all NBA and be eligible 84 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:54,279 for thirty five percent max contract. CJ has multiple years remaining, Trey Murphy 85 00:05:54,399 --> 00:05:59,079 is going to be extension eligible heading into next offseason, and so you're looking 86 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,600 at an environment where you're you're not going to be able to generate salary flexibility. 87 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:08,639 And the new CBA is only going to be more punitive with regards to 88 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:12,839 those teams that are that have high payrolls. And and I don't anticipate the 89 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:15,720 Pelicans ever being like a Mantraus payroll team or you know, the second Apron 90 00:06:15,759 --> 00:06:21,319 ever being something they'll entertain. But even even if they were underneath that threshold, 91 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,360 the amount of options they have are are limited. And I thought, 92 00:06:26,439 --> 00:06:29,680 hey, if they traded for Scoot, they would have an opportunity. And 93 00:06:29,879 --> 00:06:34,040 personally, my preference was to be clear trading brandon Ingram. And I'm of 94 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:40,600 the belief that if they had offered Ingram to Charlotte. They could have worked 95 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,120 out a deal. You know, maybe maybe there was some asset juggling that 96 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:46,360 needed to happen to balance the books there or whatever. But I'm of the 97 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,920 belief that if that piece was dangled, there would have been a deal. 98 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:55,199 They would have had the number two pick and been able to select Scoot, 99 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,199 And at that point you can do a soft reset. You have Scoot on 100 00:06:58,199 --> 00:07:00,839 a rookie scale contract, Zion on all only a twenty five percent max contract 101 00:07:00,959 --> 00:07:04,959 because he was not healthy enough to make all NBA. Oh, he's not 102 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:09,959 going to get that thirty percent rose Roull max that was in his contract, 103 00:07:09,959 --> 00:07:13,079 but you know he didn't meet the eligibility requirements. You would have Trey Murphy 104 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,839 on a rookie scale contract, Diyson, Daniel's, Herb Jones, all of 105 00:07:15,839 --> 00:07:20,399 these people, and if you needed to move away from Zion at any point, 106 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:25,439 you have a fallback option in building around Scoot and Trey Murphy. Right, 107 00:07:25,519 --> 00:07:29,199 you're set for the long term. And again, if you go back 108 00:07:29,199 --> 00:07:31,800 to this idea of hey, this was a really good team when Zion was 109 00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:36,240 healthy, and if you look very closely, a lot of those wins came 110 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:40,240 when Brandon Ingram was not on the court when he was not healthy. And 111 00:07:40,279 --> 00:07:44,279 I'm not saying that Brandon Ingram is a detrimental factor to this team or not. 112 00:07:44,519 --> 00:07:46,720 But I am saying is Zion is going to drive wins when he's healthy, 113 00:07:46,759 --> 00:07:50,160 regardless of who is on the court. He's that good. And so 114 00:07:50,279 --> 00:07:54,360 if you're able to do that soft reset and have Scoot on the rookie scale 115 00:07:54,399 --> 00:07:59,519 salary, I felt like you're extending your window, extending your flexibility, extending 116 00:07:59,519 --> 00:08:03,279 your ability need to do things just down the line, and giving your shot 117 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,720 to be give yourself a shot to be a real championship contender rather than like 118 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:11,879 a good playoff team. I thought, that's that's something they need to make 119 00:08:11,040 --> 00:08:15,240 a high upside variance play there. They obviously chose not to do that. 120 00:08:15,759 --> 00:08:18,319 I think, you know the funma flip side. I was like, well, 121 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,759 Dame Millard's on the market. You can go get him too, right, 122 00:08:20,839 --> 00:08:22,800 you have the assets to do it. Clearly, you can outbid anything 123 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,360 Miami can put on the table, or you know, according to heat media, 124 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:31,439 but according to to Heat media, you know, that's another guy. 125 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,799 But again, if you if you trade for Dame, you swing the pendulum 126 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:39,600 in the extreme opposite direction or instead of becoming lean and salary flexible and blah 127 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:41,519 blah blah blah blah. You are in the text. You are all the 128 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:46,159 way in and you're you know your your clock. It's like when Griff is 129 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:48,919 back in Cleveland with Lebron, like your clock is now you're gonna win today 130 00:08:50,519 --> 00:08:54,639 and those are your options. And and honestly, like I thought, I 131 00:08:54,679 --> 00:09:00,279 think Griff operates at his best under pressure when when things need to change change 132 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,159 rapidly. I think that is when he operates that as best. I think 133 00:09:03,159 --> 00:09:07,960 when you give him ample time and all the assets in the world. Uh 134 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:11,039 maybe maybe not the you know, the most optimal decision making there, but 135 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,679 like in crunch time, yeah, I think Griff is like one of the 136 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:18,679 best. It's this gives like fifteen questions into the outline. But since you're 137 00:09:18,720 --> 00:09:22,320 since you're there, that's the stakes though this season is it not? Is 138 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:26,000 like you're It's good that Griff operates under pressure because like this is the last 139 00:09:26,039 --> 00:09:28,039 offseason you can play that like, well, look at what happened like during 140 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:33,919 this small sample size card and so what actually like if if this team is 141 00:09:35,279 --> 00:09:37,120 would you trust that and you mentioned they're into the tax right now. But 142 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:39,440 even if you make trades that could either get out of the tax or maybe 143 00:09:39,480 --> 00:09:41,840 a big trade, you know, it still lowers their payroll and they can 144 00:09:41,879 --> 00:09:46,039 go that route. Would you if this team is good enough or looks healthy 145 00:09:46,159 --> 00:09:50,600 enough, like, are they a team that could make that consolidation trade in 146 00:09:50,639 --> 00:09:52,320 the middle of the year depending on the market, or is this a team 147 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,360 that's more likely to make such a wholesale change in one direction or the other 148 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:00,720 you're talking about a soft reset or maybe Dame would be the other direction where 149 00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,440 it'd be a consolidation trade. They're clearly not going to be in on him 150 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,159 and that was always weird, like so CJ gets moved as part of that, 151 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,279 but Dame would be I thought would be a fun fit there. But 152 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:11,639 are they a team that you can see making a decision like that in the 153 00:10:11,639 --> 00:10:13,879 middle of the year or is this very much like no, that team's not 154 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,720 going to do anything until the twenty twenty four offseason. I think they are 155 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,960 positioning themselves to take a swing in the middle of the year. I think 156 00:10:20,039 --> 00:10:24,840 that's one of the reasons they're entering the season in the tax right holding on 157 00:10:24,919 --> 00:10:28,879 to the Kyra Lewis contract because they're not they don't have a ton of very 158 00:10:28,960 --> 00:10:35,399 movable pieces, and his five ish million dollar contract is pretty movable, especially 159 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:37,960 when you combine it with some of the other pieces, and they can reach 160 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,559 you a few different numbers, Yeah, depending on what they're trying to hit. 161 00:10:43,639 --> 00:10:48,879 And so I think they've left the door wide open for a consolidation trade 162 00:10:48,840 --> 00:10:52,879 of pushing your chips in type of trade, it's just so difficult to predict 163 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:56,600 on like who that might be or like and I feel like it's so reliant 164 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,840 on external circumstances, whereas my position would be and I'm obviously I'm not privy 165 00:11:01,879 --> 00:11:03,559 to any of these kind of discussions. Is if you've identified a target or 166 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,200 two or whoever it is, you should push all your chips, said now 167 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:11,039 today, even if it means paying a premium, uh, you know, 168 00:11:11,159 --> 00:11:13,799 as opposed to in February. You know that might that might cost one less 169 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:18,240 first round pick or whatever, in efforts of being the best possible team you 170 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:22,600 could be from day one, rather than trying to consolidate in February when the 171 00:11:22,639 --> 00:11:26,600 trade deadline is then you have you know, two and a half odd months 172 00:11:26,639 --> 00:11:28,480 to figure out, figure it all out, and then you've maked yourself in 173 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,399 another accuse, well excuse, We're like, oh okay, like shit, 174 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:33,639 we we only had two and a half months. We don't know what they 175 00:11:33,639 --> 00:11:35,480 can be. We gotta give them more time. And it's just like, 176 00:11:35,519 --> 00:11:39,159 you know, like give yourself. Like I think jobs are on the line 177 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,039 this season. I legitimately think that if this season doesn't work out, well, 178 00:11:43,159 --> 00:11:46,879 I think they're going to review everything from their core to the management, 179 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:52,519 to coaching, all of that and if those are the stakes, then be 180 00:11:52,679 --> 00:11:56,960 as good as possible day one. Like that is that is my opinion. 181 00:11:58,559 --> 00:12:01,960 The trade Murphy injury, I still think something not Pelicans fans obviously, but 182 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,399 I think still think some people in the corners of the basketball world don't understand 183 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:11,000 how important he is to them. How big is this injury, the timeline 184 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,840 of it, and how do you see it kind of affecting the rotation early 185 00:12:13,879 --> 00:12:18,559 on? Yeah, you know it's it stinks first and foremost. Like when 186 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,200 when I heard that news, it was just like great, I was trying 187 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,000 to have a good summer. You know, this is this is terribly He's 188 00:12:24,039 --> 00:12:26,519 one of my favorite players on the team, one of my favorite players to 189 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:35,799 cover and just a very awesome young individual. And he is also by far 190 00:12:37,159 --> 00:12:41,600 their best shooter on the team. And he happens to be six nine with 191 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,480 a forty in vertical and can you can slot him from two to four and 192 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,000 and and you know, just he can play any position. And that is 193 00:12:48,039 --> 00:12:54,639 a skill set that works extremely well with their best players, particularly Zion, 194 00:12:54,720 --> 00:13:00,840 who is the paint king, right And then if you take his volume shooting 195 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:05,600 off of the team, you know, his three point attempts makes percentages, 196 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:09,159 all of that off the team, you're left with a team that has hardly 197 00:13:09,159 --> 00:13:13,919 any competent shooters. And and so, like I was hoping, one of 198 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:20,519 the big discussions on Pelicans Twitter and Pelicans media and the collective was just who 199 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,440 is supposed to start this season? And I'm full steam ahead on the tray 200 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,919 Murphy needs to start. Anything else is a you know, shortsighted decision that 201 00:13:28,919 --> 00:13:33,159 doesn't make sense, because I firmly believe he's capable of being the team's third 202 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:35,840 best player this season, not just in the future. Like this season, 203 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:39,480 you know, the two best being Zion and Brandon Niggeram of course, and 204 00:13:39,559 --> 00:13:43,600 I think he has legitimate star potential. So if that is the future and 205 00:13:43,639 --> 00:13:46,840 you're eventually going to end up paying him, in my opinion, close to 206 00:13:46,919 --> 00:13:50,519 thirty million dollars a year, then you rip the band aid off today. 207 00:13:50,600 --> 00:13:54,799 You rip the band aid off, You start him. You overlap as many 208 00:13:54,840 --> 00:14:01,799 minutes as possible with Zion that you can while he's healthy, because like, 209 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,919 if you're bringing Tray off the bench, then you're not maximizing their overlap at 210 00:14:05,919 --> 00:14:09,120 all, Like you gotta in my opinion, handcuff them into their rotation, 211 00:14:09,159 --> 00:14:15,080 And if Zion's on the court, then then Tray's gotta be on the court. 212 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,840 And so you know they're gonna go back to their original starting lineup, 213 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:24,159 which just see j Herb Jones brandon Ingram, Zion and JV And I think 214 00:14:24,159 --> 00:14:26,720 they're going to be a pretty solid regular season team if Zion's healthy, like 215 00:14:26,919 --> 00:14:31,039 he can, Zion can win regardless of who's on the court. I genuinely 216 00:14:31,039 --> 00:14:35,320 do believe that they're just gonna have to find a way to make up for 217 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:39,360 the the shooting and the loss of possession efficiency that trade rings in other areas, 218 00:14:39,399 --> 00:14:43,200 and I think the areas that they should do it in in this case 219 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:46,840 is lean all the way into offensive rebounding. They have the personnel to do 220 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,720 that, and lean all the way into just being super aggressive in the paint 221 00:14:50,799 --> 00:14:52,519 and get into the free throw line. So those two things, well, 222 00:14:52,519 --> 00:14:58,600 I think would like boost their possession efficiency and hopefully stabilize the offense until you 223 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:03,360 know trad Tray is able to get in there. So Trey Murphy comes back, 224 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,759 let's fast forward. What's the biggest thing that we should be watching for 225 00:15:07,039 --> 00:15:11,600 from him in year three? Oh, that's a good question. I know 226 00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:18,759 he's spent a lot of time working on the in between game. He views 227 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:24,080 himself as an extremely high level two level score at the rim from three point 228 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:30,000 land, very efficient in both areas. Right. He spent a good portion 229 00:15:30,039 --> 00:15:33,399 of his summer being able to add counters from the mid range areas. So 230 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:35,519 if he can't get all the way to the rim and he's run off the 231 00:15:35,559 --> 00:15:39,759 line, he has scoring options. So if you were to ask him, 232 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,200 that is what you would see. But if you were to ask him me, 233 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:46,080 I just want more offensive possessions for him. This guy had a close 234 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:48,639 to seventy percent TRU shooting in the back half of the season. I think 235 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,919 he finished the season like a sixty five or something, just something absurd, 236 00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:58,360 and he's so far beyond the threshold of hey, he's efficient, Can we 237 00:15:58,559 --> 00:16:03,360 Jenner, you know, can we generate more possessions for him, more usage 238 00:16:03,399 --> 00:16:07,759 for him, and see where the efficiency drops. Like he is so far 239 00:16:07,799 --> 00:16:11,679 beyond a cliff there that we need to actively find out where the drop is 240 00:16:11,679 --> 00:16:15,519 going to happen. And if that you know that drop happens at seventeen shots 241 00:16:15,519 --> 00:16:19,679 a game, then give him sixteen. And you want to give your most 242 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:25,159 efficient players as many offensive possessions as possible, and I don't care where they 243 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,720 come from, but that should be Like one of the organizing principles for this 244 00:16:29,919 --> 00:16:32,279 offense is, hey, so Ion guess the ball. Yeah, I guess 245 00:16:32,279 --> 00:16:37,039 the ball and feed Trey Murphy. He does feel and some of the numbers 246 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,559 on this were skewed, but just like he feels critical if you want to 247 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,720 optimize your half court attack, because even with Zion being on the floor, 248 00:16:42,879 --> 00:16:47,360 they're about lead average in the half court. Their efficiency and a lot of 249 00:16:47,399 --> 00:16:49,440 their stuff most average is gonna come off offensive rebounding. And so if you 250 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,000 want to be able to inflict your will upon teams outside of that, then 251 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,360 you know, lean into it as far as you want. You made a 252 00:16:56,399 --> 00:16:59,240 great point while Trey Murphy's out like you to figure out how to open up 253 00:16:59,240 --> 00:17:02,639 the floor and do some more damage from beyond the arc long term, and 254 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:06,440 he just feels so critical to doing that. And also you did mention we 255 00:17:06,480 --> 00:17:07,640 probably won't. I would be shocked. We see a ton of like mid 256 00:17:07,799 --> 00:17:11,920 range counters from him, but this team doesn't really have a three level score, 257 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,480 and so it's like, is he either, but is it? Like 258 00:17:15,599 --> 00:17:18,039 it could be b I, but like it's definitely not CJ. It's definitely 259 00:17:18,039 --> 00:17:22,200 not even like kind of zion. So it's like that development would be fairly 260 00:17:22,279 --> 00:17:26,960 huge for this team if he did become like something in the vein of that. 261 00:17:26,519 --> 00:17:29,759 Yeah, I mean, I think I think this team would look to 262 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:34,759 b I first and CJ secondly for the three level score role because like BI 263 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:42,720 loves the mid range and and that's his preferred area and uh and and surprisingly 264 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:47,279 so does CJ. And what they need from those two guys, and CJ 265 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:52,160 has been more willing is a willingness to shoot more threes. Uh and and 266 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,359 I think you know, brandon Ingram's his attempts have decreased as as the last 267 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,400 two seasons have gone on pretty much everything related to a three point percentage and 268 00:18:00,519 --> 00:18:04,599 volume has has not been good compared to the first two years when he came 269 00:18:04,839 --> 00:18:07,359 to New Orleans. You know, under Alvin Gentry and Stadmon Gundy, he 270 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:11,000 shot almost seven three's a game and almost forty percent of game. Was was 271 00:18:11,079 --> 00:18:14,440 like, hey, that's that's kind of what you need from him. And 272 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:18,160 the other thing that's the decrease is is like his his aggressiveness going towards the 273 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:22,079 rim and and some of those things are complicated by not having enough space. 274 00:18:22,839 --> 00:18:26,640 And there's that's where Trey Murphy enters, right, But if you got Zion 275 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,880 on court, you got JV on a court, you got herb Jones on 276 00:18:29,920 --> 00:18:32,680 the court, there's not gonna be a lot of real estate going to the 277 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:33,640 rim. And so like, you know, b I may feel like, 278 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,559 all right, I just gotta kind of get going from the mid range. 279 00:18:37,599 --> 00:18:41,440 And it's tough, and so the coaching staff has to find out ways to 280 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,920 put him in positions where he's taken more efficient shots than he currently is. 281 00:18:47,759 --> 00:18:49,880 Yeah, because it does feel still like feel like he's still finding that same 282 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,519 battle fitting into the larger context of this team. At full strength. But 283 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,440 the counterpoint to that would be the team is never at full strength, and 284 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,880 so it's like I don't even know a picture, like, yeah, the 285 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,640 three point volume needs to come up. His catch and shoot volume actually dropped 286 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,000 last year. But okay, well, look at the amount of time Zion 287 00:19:06,079 --> 00:19:07,359 was out and that he was out and that they didn't play with them. 288 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,640 I don't know how to make a read on long term BI with this team, 289 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:15,880 Like do you have confident confidence like the best version of the Pelicans includes 290 00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:19,759 Bi as your I guess second best player, like a premier player on this 291 00:19:19,799 --> 00:19:23,400 team or is that kind of the more next Desion's health Is that like the 292 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:27,319 second biggest question for this team going forward? Yeah, I feel like for 293 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:33,720 this season it needs to they This is a season that is going to ask 294 00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:37,680 a lot out of Brandon Ingram, and I think it's going to ask him 295 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:42,839 to be more of the top twenty, top twenty five guy that a lot 296 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:48,759 of people see him as than Hey, I'm actually my impact is closer to 297 00:19:48,759 --> 00:19:52,119 top fifty, right. I think there's a pretty big gap between being borderline 298 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:56,880 All MBA and then borderline All Star. There's a pretty big gap of players 299 00:19:56,960 --> 00:20:03,160 and I think the Pelicans kind of need him to be pushed that that all 300 00:20:03,279 --> 00:20:07,319 NBA threshold, and he knows what's on the line contractually for him. I 301 00:20:07,319 --> 00:20:10,160 mean, this is generational wealth. This is you know, a third of 302 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:15,880 a billion dollars or however many that that's gonna be. And and so like 303 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:19,559 he closed the season out really strongly. Uh, last year, you know 304 00:20:19,759 --> 00:20:22,440 something to I don't remember the exact stats, but it was something like twenty 305 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,920 seven points a game, like eight rebounds and nine assists or something absurd to 306 00:20:27,039 --> 00:20:32,599 that effect, like kind of kind of like Lebron esque raw numbers and clearly 307 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:33,960 not the same winning. In fact, I'm not trying to compare the two 308 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:40,319 in that regard, but I think they need that Bi to be present the 309 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:44,799 whole season rather than the one that's kind of been a roller coaster for them. 310 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,680 And and I think, yes, that is like the second biggest question 311 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:52,799 Zion stays healthy. If BI can consistently reach that threshold, then this is 312 00:20:52,799 --> 00:20:56,160 a terrifying team to play against. The Stuff with Zion is interesting. This 313 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,319 season, it feels like there's been more of a push to be hey, 314 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:04,640 look at this, it's pictures of Zion in shape the Pells did overhaul some 315 00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:08,079 of their training staff. There was a report that Zion did the same on 316 00:21:08,119 --> 00:21:12,759 his end. How much stock do you actually take place and all that, 317 00:21:12,839 --> 00:21:17,480 and is the like, what is the actual concern for you or the fan 318 00:21:17,519 --> 00:21:21,480 base with Zion's injury history, because there's nothing that's been chronic, and yet 319 00:21:21,519 --> 00:21:25,319 there's been talk about his conditioning, his commitment to staying in shape, and 320 00:21:25,319 --> 00:21:26,799 then we heard this summer, oh, we spent more time around the organization. 321 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:30,319 He was more in market than he normally was. And then it's like 322 00:21:30,359 --> 00:21:33,839 I mentioned, there's nothing chronic, but everything's on the right side of his 323 00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:36,200 body, and it's his right side. Though, It's like, what is 324 00:21:36,279 --> 00:21:38,680 just the is it just we have to cross our fingers. Part of this 325 00:21:38,759 --> 00:21:42,680 is the risk of Zion's like just physical body type. I just how do 326 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,759 you make sense of or how much stock do you place in everything that that's 327 00:21:45,759 --> 00:21:49,359 come out this offseason. I don't put any stock in it, to be 328 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,160 honest, I'm firmly at the point of you need to show me, not 329 00:21:52,279 --> 00:21:57,599 tell me, you know. I think it's the Zion news cycle is cyclical 330 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:02,680 with this. You know, he plays well, people are hyped, he 331 00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:07,640 gets hurt, you know, concerns come out, the injury process takes longer 332 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:11,880 than it should take for him to get back on the court. In that 333 00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:15,960 time, everyone has an opinion on what's going on, and so it's happened 334 00:22:17,079 --> 00:22:19,880 enough times to where I'm like, Okay, cool, I know what to 335 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,880 expect. I know what it's like when you're on the court. I don't 336 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:29,079 doubt that you've put in the effort to get yourself where you need to be 337 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:32,319 to start the season. What I want to see is the next time you 338 00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:36,240 get hurt, what happens then? You know? How how long are you 339 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:38,559 going to be out? How quickly do you know are you able to get 340 00:22:38,559 --> 00:22:44,240 back on the court? Like that is what I'm really looking for. It's 341 00:22:44,279 --> 00:22:47,079 not that is he going to be ready to start this season. I'm sure 342 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:48,799 he will be. He'll be fine, and if he's not, he'll play 343 00:22:48,839 --> 00:22:53,480 himself in the shape and it'll be okay. But what happens when he gets 344 00:22:53,559 --> 00:22:56,799 hurt again? You know, what is that recovery process going to look? 345 00:22:56,799 --> 00:23:00,480 Like? How seriously is he gonna take it? How? You know, 346 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,319 how is the medical staff gonna approach it? Whatever that is, I don't 347 00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:07,359 honestly I don't care at this point who should be responsible for the blame. 348 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,519 I just need to know that if you put a timeline of four weeks, 349 00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:12,440 he's going to be back in four weeks. You put on the timeline in 350 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:15,079 two weeks, he's gonna be back in two weeks. Not that, Oh 351 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:19,039 hey, he tweaked to hamstring, it's four to six weeks, and then 352 00:23:19,079 --> 00:23:23,839 he misses the whole season. It's like that, that is where where my 353 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:29,920 issue is? What? So two fault here? What impressed you most about 354 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,519 the way he was playing before he was injured? And then what is there 355 00:23:33,559 --> 00:23:37,079 anything you're still watching for to be like Kenny hone, this, Kenny add 356 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:41,759 this is he goes into year five. I think the most impressive thing about 357 00:23:41,839 --> 00:23:48,200 him last season is he took a massive step forward defensively, and it happened 358 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:52,920 as the season went on, because when he started the season he was very 359 00:23:52,039 --> 00:23:56,559 much similar to Zion of the old. We've all seen the clips, we've 360 00:23:56,599 --> 00:24:00,920 all seen the memes of him kind of being a traffic coner defense or just 361 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:06,440 unable to shuffle his feet, and there was a pretty vivid moment early early 362 00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:10,519 in the season, they played Portland and Jeremy Grant isolated him and just blew 363 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,759 by him with ease and just dunked all over the Pelicans, and it was 364 00:24:12,799 --> 00:24:17,160 like, all right, Like Zion's gotta get himself where he used to be 365 00:24:17,839 --> 00:24:22,680 defensively, and as he got into more game shape, as he got his 366 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:26,799 legs underneath him, he became a guy that was legitimately impactful defensively, and 367 00:24:26,839 --> 00:24:32,119 his weak side Loman rotations were insane, like they were awesome on point. 368 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,960 He did a really good job of covering up those holes. And the Pelicans 369 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:41,119 were the fifth best defense in the league last year. They were I want 370 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,519 to say they were also top five when he was healthy, if not like 371 00:24:44,599 --> 00:24:47,799 top two ish, top threeish. I don't remember that exact stat What I 372 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:51,720 do know is when he was on the court, they always had elite defensive 373 00:24:51,799 --> 00:24:55,960 units when he was on the court, and that, to me was a 374 00:24:56,039 --> 00:24:57,720 huge question mark with him, is like, are you ever going to be 375 00:24:57,759 --> 00:25:03,319 able to put a line up with him out there that is competent? Defensive 376 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,559 competent? That was the threshold and they blew past that threshold and it was 377 00:25:07,599 --> 00:25:10,359 like, no, these lineups are more than competent, They are awesome. 378 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,440 They're awesome defensively, and I don't want to, you know, act like 379 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:18,160 he was the driver of those, but he was certainly an active participant and 380 00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:22,440 he ended up being turning into a defensive event generator. Not quite at the 381 00:25:22,519 --> 00:25:26,440 level of where he was at Duke, you know, the block and Steel's 382 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:30,839 machine that he was, but something that was resembling the guy at Duke for 383 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:36,079 sure. Yeah, Clean and Glass has them at seventh and point slot possession 384 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,240 before his injury, and they were better than that with him on the floor, 385 00:25:38,319 --> 00:25:41,519 Like allowing if you were points per under possession. Not the end all 386 00:25:41,559 --> 00:25:45,240 be all, but that's important. What's this team ends up finishing PERCYTG sixth 387 00:25:45,319 --> 00:25:48,480 and point slot per possession overall, there's a lot of stuff that they I 388 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,039 think, you look at the roster, won not a team that I would 389 00:25:52,079 --> 00:25:55,000 just predict, Hey, top seven defense right there. They do a good 390 00:25:55,039 --> 00:25:56,960 job rebounding. They're not a good rim protecting team, but they limit looks 391 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,279 at the rim. They definitely got lucky a little on opponent three point shooting 392 00:26:00,359 --> 00:26:03,359 last year, but they do on live balls for the most part, get 393 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:07,960 a good job going back. Is there like a what's the secret sauce or 394 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:11,279 the schematic element or the thing that they do to you that you think allows 395 00:26:11,319 --> 00:26:14,440 them to have this, I would say a defense. It almost feels like 396 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:17,960 it outperforms their personnel on paper, unless I'm just so divorced and out of 397 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,240 touch with how talented these guys in the roster actually are defensively, Dyson Daniel's 398 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:27,480 notwithstanding some in love with him. The biggest thing is they prevent attempts at 399 00:26:27,480 --> 00:26:33,599 the rim, so so the volume of attempts at the rim, I think 400 00:26:33,599 --> 00:26:36,680 they were amongst best in the They were at one point best in the league. 401 00:26:36,680 --> 00:26:38,440 I'm pretty sure that numbers top five towards the end of the season. 402 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:42,039 Now if an opponent gets to the rim, it's a different story, right 403 00:26:42,079 --> 00:26:47,720 they they're amongst the worst they'll league at that. But they were really good 404 00:26:47,759 --> 00:26:52,519 at limiting the most efficient shots in the league and sealing off the paint, 405 00:26:52,559 --> 00:26:56,640 so that that's where it's their standout was. The other thing was, you 406 00:26:56,680 --> 00:27:00,599 know, like they were the best team at opponent three point scentage, which 407 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,920 is shooting variants, and I don't think that's something you can like bank on. 408 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:10,079 But I do think because they played a very switch heavy lineup that was 409 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:14,200 their preferred way to close out games with Larry Nance at the five and a 410 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,119 bunch of long athletic wings. That the quality of three point looks that they 411 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:23,640 gave up during those lineups were a lot of these self created ISO step back 412 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:29,039 type threes that are low percentage, and they were always able to be attached 413 00:27:29,079 --> 00:27:30,359 to those kind of situations. So, like, I don't I don't want 414 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:33,480 to say like they're going to replicate their best in the league up point of 415 00:27:33,519 --> 00:27:38,519 three point percentage defense, but I do think their scheme played a part in 416 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:47,839 forcing more difficult looks, and sure luck helped. So what's the hope for 417 00:27:48,079 --> 00:27:51,839 Herb Jones on offense at this point? He closed the year shooting well from 418 00:27:51,839 --> 00:27:55,960 three on catching shoot looks, but the volume is still just kind of like 419 00:27:56,400 --> 00:28:00,039 it's it's more important than ever though to juice up that kind And like I 420 00:28:00,079 --> 00:28:02,880 know Pelicans fans and I've gotten into it a little bit about how we feel 421 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:04,119 about I thought he kind of regressed. Is like someone if he was going 422 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,000 to have the ball in space, they don't have the space to ever worry 423 00:28:07,039 --> 00:28:11,640 about like Herb Jones consistently attacking closeouts and high volume. How important is it 424 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:15,880 for him just to get that three point volume up, especially with Trey Murphy 425 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:22,119 out to start the year. It's a difficult balancing act because you don't want 426 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:26,519 to give an inefficient player more volume just to get your volume. I think 427 00:28:26,599 --> 00:28:30,759 it's like, Okay, if we're giving him more volume, where is it 428 00:28:30,799 --> 00:28:33,240 coming from? And in that starting unit, it's coming from four better offensive 429 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:38,799 players, So it's like, Okay, they're gonna have to find what that 430 00:28:38,839 --> 00:28:45,160 balance is to where like it's enough volume to where it's it's it makes the 431 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,559 defense respect him. But if they find out very quickly that regardless of all, 432 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,160 the defense is just not going to respect him, then they're gonna have 433 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,240 to get him involved in different ways, and volume is not the solution. 434 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,160 The solution, in my opinion, kind of goes back to what we talked 435 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:02,680 about earlier, is he has got to become more impactful in the glass, 436 00:29:02,759 --> 00:29:07,079 particularly the offensive glass, and and you know, if he's going to be 437 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:11,200 left alone in the corner, then he's got to crash every single time. 438 00:29:11,279 --> 00:29:15,519 He's just gotta crash. And then the second thing is I thought the Pelicans 439 00:29:15,599 --> 00:29:21,119 left a lot of change on the table by not using their non shooters and 440 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,000 their shooters can like as a conjunction to free up other actions. So for 441 00:29:25,039 --> 00:29:29,640 example, like Herb Jones setting screens off ball for CJ. You know you're 442 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:33,400 gonna have to the help has to pay attention to what's going on with that 443 00:29:33,519 --> 00:29:37,680 action of the lest CJ is gonna get a warm up three like, he's 444 00:29:37,720 --> 00:29:41,720 just gonna get good shots from that action. So kind of doing that stuff 445 00:29:41,759 --> 00:29:47,240 on the weak side or just getting non shooters involved in screening actions, more 446 00:29:47,839 --> 00:29:52,160 is going to choose the offense and you know, maybe you can use decoy 447 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:56,079 actions to assist with that, but yeah, it has to be, in 448 00:29:56,119 --> 00:30:00,440 my opinion, attack the offensive class and be used him as a screen or 449 00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:04,400 more even in direct pick and roll actions because oftentimes they're gonna hide the weakest 450 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:08,880 player on Herb Jones. So if you're hiding like a Trey Young on Herb 451 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,960 Jones, put him in a pick and roll like with Zion and Herb Jones, 452 00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:15,359 put him in a pick and roll like I don't care who's on ball, 453 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,279 Like Herb Jones can run on ball screen and rolls. He can do 454 00:30:18,319 --> 00:30:22,319 it, you know, but sure like get him involved in screening actions for 455 00:30:22,359 --> 00:30:26,240 sure. I'm only asking this because I saw it. It felt like some 456 00:30:26,279 --> 00:30:29,480 people were split on it as to why did they do it? Now? 457 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,599 How did you feel about the Herb Jones extension. I couldn't bring myself to 458 00:30:33,640 --> 00:30:37,319 think the Pelicans just the way free agency is now that they passed on anything 459 00:30:37,359 --> 00:30:40,720 moving forward, and like he's never gonna make ten percent of the salary cap. 460 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:41,960 I know there's a bunch of questions on offense, but it felt like, 461 00:30:42,279 --> 00:30:45,400 I know you could have waited like that. I feel like that would 462 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:51,759 have been riskier, you know, I think like as a deal goes, 463 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:56,920 it's a fantastic deal. Like I have no qualms about, you know, 464 00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,039 the money, the percentage, the cap he occupies, all stuff like it's 465 00:31:00,119 --> 00:31:04,680 you would love to have an all NBA caliber defender at that price, Like 466 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:11,400 fantastic, the CAP's gonna rise. I don't necessarily agree that this was the 467 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,880 only time that they would have been able to do it, because like, 468 00:31:14,920 --> 00:31:18,279 if he doesn't progress as a three point shooter, no one's gonna pay him. 469 00:31:18,279 --> 00:31:23,319 Like it's it's it's this arc type of limited offensive player that's really good 470 00:31:23,319 --> 00:31:30,440 at defense. Caps out at how much people are willing to pay and you 471 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:33,160 know, maybe if it would have cost two or three more million dollars a 472 00:31:33,279 --> 00:31:37,160 year next year, they still would have had restricted rights on him. I 473 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:41,160 think there is a real opportunity cost this season. You know, they they 474 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:48,240 forewent for Yeah, I guess that's a word. They sacrifice their ability to 475 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:53,960 use the FULLAMLI. They sacrifice some of their trade flexibility because now they're entering 476 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:59,599 again, They're entering in the season over the tax. So you know, 477 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:06,480 they kind of have created this situation themselves in fear of he's gonna get a 478 00:32:06,519 --> 00:32:10,240 crazy amount of money next offseason, which I just I just fail to see 479 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:16,319 that kind of market materializing for him unless he has hesitant to like throw these 480 00:32:16,319 --> 00:32:20,640 restricted free agency offer sheets out there in the past few years too. Yeah, 481 00:32:20,680 --> 00:32:22,480 I mean, look at look at look at Grant Williams, look at 482 00:32:22,519 --> 00:32:29,599 PJ. Washington, who play a similar positional role, uh to Herb Jones. 483 00:32:29,599 --> 00:32:32,079 Obviously not the same caliber at defenders, but you know that these are 484 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:37,160 six seven six eight forwards who can do things and I would say are probably 485 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:42,519 more talented than Herb Jones on offense. Obviously nowhere near the defenders that he 486 00:32:42,599 --> 00:32:45,000 are. And and what was their market rate, right, Like who paid 487 00:32:45,039 --> 00:32:52,279 them? Yeah, I mean that is of them, that is sorry, 488 00:32:52,279 --> 00:32:54,880 go ahead, So so that is yeah, no, yeah, absolutely, 489 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:58,640 so that that is like kind of like my angle on this is like I 490 00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:05,240 think the fear of someone throwing the bag and herb Jones is unfounded, and 491 00:33:05,400 --> 00:33:09,839 I think the opportunity cost was real. So that is the only complaint to 492 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:13,599 have about it. But do I mind that herb Jones is locked in for 493 00:33:13,599 --> 00:33:15,160 the next four years at like eleven million dollars a year. No, not 494 00:33:15,200 --> 00:33:19,440 at all. That's a that's a great deal objectively from a money standpoint, 495 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:22,319 it's a great deal. You gotta get going. So we have to enter 496 00:33:22,359 --> 00:33:24,680 the cookie cutter portion. But like, do need to ask about Dyson Daniels. 497 00:33:24,839 --> 00:33:30,079 What impressed you most about his rookie season and what are you kind of 498 00:33:30,119 --> 00:33:36,000 watching for the most in year two? Yeah, his defensive readiness, Uh, 499 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,359 just out the gate. Like one of his first games, he was 500 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:42,319 tasked with guarding Luca and he like forced three turnovers on him. And then 501 00:33:42,359 --> 00:33:46,279 like he guarded Lebron and he guarded a number of like all NBA like perimeter 502 00:33:46,359 --> 00:33:50,880 players and always he made life hell on him. I can't remember which game 503 00:33:51,079 --> 00:33:57,000 watched the Yeah, and so he's always been able to just contribute, which 504 00:33:57,039 --> 00:34:01,319 is insane for a nineteen year old to be that good defensively. I enjoyed 505 00:34:01,319 --> 00:34:07,759 his rebounding. I enjoyed his ability or his desire to try creative things. 506 00:34:07,799 --> 00:34:15,000 From a passing standpoint, he is another player someone to Herb where he needs 507 00:34:15,039 --> 00:34:20,199 to become a factor offensively some ways, somehow, doesn't matter what it is. 508 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:23,119 I do think his pathway to being a catch a two three point player 509 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:29,039 is stronger than that of Herbs. I think Sean mchanics are great. He's 510 00:34:29,079 --> 00:34:31,079 younger, he's gonna have more time to refine those mechanics. But like, 511 00:34:31,199 --> 00:34:36,159 some ways, somehow, he's got to become a factor offensively, because if 512 00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:38,480 he's like a three field goal attempts per game type of guy, he's just 513 00:34:39,079 --> 00:34:44,639 gonna be unplayable for large stretches of the game, especially in the playoffs. 514 00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:47,840 You just can't play like Matisse title sits on the bench when the game matters 515 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:53,480 the most, right, like Andre Roberson required k D and Russ to like 516 00:34:54,119 --> 00:34:58,400 keep him on the court. And so you know, it's one of those 517 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:04,840 situations where you can be amazing defensively but you gotta be something offensively, like 518 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:07,679 you can't be the PJ. Tucker of guards unless you were absolutely elite and 519 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:14,559 have the right roster construction. And also any early impressions of Jordan Hawkins, 520 00:35:14,679 --> 00:35:16,639 is there a chance you might even see him given the Trey Murphy injury, 521 00:35:16,679 --> 00:35:21,599 what's the situation there. I think he's certainly going to have the opportunity to 522 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:28,480 showcase his abilities, and then he's brought drafted very clearly for the reason of 523 00:35:28,599 --> 00:35:32,400 his elite shooting, his elite movement shooting. And I do think that this 524 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:39,239 coaching staff is relatively hesitant to play young players, especially young players who are 525 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:45,960 just not ready defensively. So his pathway to getting on the court is either 526 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:52,320 going to be being one of the best shooters this league has seen or being 527 00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:54,159 ready to compete defensively. That's how he's gonna get minutes on the court. 528 00:35:54,199 --> 00:35:58,719 Otherwise he's gonna be kind of stuck fighting for minutes behind the guys like Dyson 529 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:04,360 and even even Naji Marshall. Are you ready for the cookie cutter portion of 530 00:36:04,400 --> 00:36:08,400 the podcast? Absolutely, are there any strengths or weaknesses about this team? 531 00:36:08,400 --> 00:36:15,760 They're flying under the radar that we have not discussed yet. Strengths that we 532 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,840 have not discussed yet. I feel like we've covered the strengths pretty well. 533 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:22,840 I think this is a physical team that's going to live in the paint, 534 00:36:24,079 --> 00:36:30,280 and when Zion's healthy, they're gonna they're gonna crush on the getting to the 535 00:36:30,280 --> 00:36:35,119 free their line, crush on converting at the ram, crush on getting second 536 00:36:35,199 --> 00:36:38,639 chance points. Is so I would say like we've covered that pretty well. 537 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:45,000 The weaknesses, I would say one, I would say the desire from coaching 538 00:36:45,079 --> 00:36:50,400 to play their big men in the situation that warrants playing big men frequently. 539 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:54,280 They'll trot Larry Nance out there at the five against massive, massive teams and 540 00:36:54,400 --> 00:37:00,519 just the Pelicans will be punished on the glass severely for for that. And 541 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:06,199 they don't necessarily have the requisite shooting because Nance is not a shooter to make 542 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:09,440 up for it. The other weaknesses, I mean, I don't think it's 543 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:14,199 fair to say health is the biggest weakness because I feel like we touched on 544 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:17,840 that. The other weakness is the three point shooting. Are they going to 545 00:37:20,239 --> 00:37:23,280 be able to win the math game? And if they can't win it from 546 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:25,880 the three point line, it goes back to everything we talked about on offense, 547 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,880 they have to find a way to win the math game and that's going 548 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:34,400 to be a challenge all season long. Yeah, and I think, I 549 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:36,840 mean you mentioned this already driving home, but that so much of that. 550 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:38,639 I just feel like rest with Brandon Ingram at this point following the Tray Murphy 551 00:37:38,639 --> 00:37:40,840 injuries, Like, dude, you need to take more than four three point 552 00:37:40,880 --> 00:37:45,199 attempts for thirty six minutes on this team Like that just needs to be back 553 00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:49,599 of life. The ten man rotation or the top ten, like the top 554 00:37:49,639 --> 00:37:52,320 ten most players that receive minutes. It feels like there's nine locks on this 555 00:37:52,360 --> 00:37:57,800 team with CJ. Ingram, Herb Joe and Zion Jonas, Jose Alvarado, 556 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,599 Trey Murphy, Larry Nance, and Dyson Dans unless you think the final two 557 00:38:00,639 --> 00:38:04,400 spots are up for grabs. But who would you give the final spot if 558 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:07,880 you agree with those nine? I feel like it had to be Cody Zeller 559 00:38:09,880 --> 00:38:14,199 a little bit. That's fun. Yeah, I feel like it had to 560 00:38:14,199 --> 00:38:17,679 be Cody Zeller. The outside chance of like e J. Ladell, you 561 00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:22,840 know, breaking in or I think I think Kyra Lewis is gonna have a 562 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:28,960 real opportunity to start the season again. They're holding on to him. They 563 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:30,480 could have dumped him, they could have gotten onto the tacks or holding onto 564 00:38:30,519 --> 00:38:35,360 him. Jose is hurt, although it's not really a serious injury. Gets 565 00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:37,360 sprained his ankle, So I don't know what his availability for camp is going 566 00:38:37,400 --> 00:38:40,800 to be. But I think the reporting on that was like a death knell. 567 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,920 It was very weird. It's like it was a sprained ankle. Did 568 00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:45,639 he was it something that was more serious? I think I think no, 569 00:38:45,719 --> 00:38:49,880 it's absolutely not more serious. So like I can clarify that is it is 570 00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:52,199 not a big deal. Like the Pelicans, don't think it's going to be 571 00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:59,320 any kind of hindrance moving forward. But I do think Kiro will get his 572 00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,480 fair shape to try to enter the rotation at the backup guard spot. And 573 00:39:02,519 --> 00:39:07,519 so we'll see. We'll see who ends up winning that out. You have 574 00:39:07,639 --> 00:39:10,199 to build a one size fits all closing unit for this team. Can't play 575 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:16,880 to the matchup. What is it? If I had to pick, I 576 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:23,480 would pick Zion Willimson, Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy, those are my locks. 577 00:39:24,280 --> 00:39:32,920 And then I would pick HERB Jones and I pick CJ. I was 578 00:39:34,199 --> 00:39:38,039 I'm the fifth one. I can go between Dyson, Larry or c J. 579 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:43,880 But I want offense. I want all the offense. Give me the 580 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:47,719 offense, and so give me CJ. Is there any weirdo unconventional lineups you're 581 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:51,320 hoping to see them try this season, or even lineups you know they won't 582 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,519 try that you would love to see. They are probably not going to try 583 00:39:57,320 --> 00:40:02,559 crazy JV lineups, But I would like lineups that feature JV and a ton 584 00:40:02,599 --> 00:40:07,280 of shooting, and so it'd be like JV, c J, Trey, 585 00:40:08,199 --> 00:40:12,760 b I and like throw Jordan Hawkins in there. I don't care, Like 586 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:15,559 just just JV in a kind of shooting and the focus is like you're playing 587 00:40:15,599 --> 00:40:20,679 four out with this big godzilla of a human being and just let him cook, 588 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:22,440 you know, obviously like B I can do other things. But yeah, 589 00:40:23,039 --> 00:40:25,159 yeah, that would be a fun one because the default one is just 590 00:40:25,239 --> 00:40:29,119 and it's not weirdo enough. It's just Zion plus all the wings where it's 591 00:40:29,119 --> 00:40:31,280 just like BI and Trey, Murphy and HERB. But that's the lineup that 592 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:35,920 I still want to see the most though. Yeah. The other one I 593 00:40:35,920 --> 00:40:39,639 would say is there're other one is just a ginormous lineup. You start Brandon 594 00:40:39,679 --> 00:40:44,639 at the point guard and then it's Trey, Herb, Zion and JV. 595 00:40:44,800 --> 00:40:49,119 You're just huge, You're just humanious. I like it. That's what is 596 00:40:49,119 --> 00:40:52,360 the smallest play? Is Zion the smallest player in that lineup? Yes? 597 00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:55,000 By height? Yes? Love it. Love it. So as we record 598 00:40:55,039 --> 00:40:59,360 this, this team's over under a set at forty four and a half. 599 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,480 That's September twenty fifth, which, by the way, forty four and a 600 00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:05,519 half is the most common overrun, Like every team has that this year. 601 00:41:05,920 --> 00:41:08,360 Are you taking the over or the under on that? I'm taking the under 602 00:41:08,599 --> 00:41:15,039 on that. I just don't trust this team. I'm fully jaded at this 603 00:41:15,119 --> 00:41:19,159 point. So last year I predicted fifty three wins and in December I looked 604 00:41:19,199 --> 00:41:22,519 like a genius because they were on pace or like now, I'm just like, 605 00:41:22,599 --> 00:41:25,639 you know, I'm prepared to be disappointed. So I think they probably 606 00:41:25,679 --> 00:41:30,239 finished close to like forty two forty three give an average injury luck, and 607 00:41:30,639 --> 00:41:34,840 that's probably where they're going to be. But hey, if they end up 608 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:37,719 being a lot better, I can't wait for people to tell me I'm a 609 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:39,960 hater. I cannot wait. I won't reveal my over under X. We 610 00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:43,679 haven't done that pod, but I was before the Trey Murphy injury. Flirting 611 00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:45,039 with this is my bold pick of like, oh, the Pelicans are gonna 612 00:41:45,039 --> 00:41:47,840 make the Western Conference finals, so I am still high on the core at 613 00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:52,360 full strength. The final question here is how many teams in the West would 614 00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,280 you be prepared right now? Like which teams you're guarantee will be better in 615 00:41:55,320 --> 00:42:00,239 the regular season than the Pelicans? Ironically, like that number is not huge 616 00:42:00,239 --> 00:42:04,000 for me. So it's it's I have Phoenix in Denver if you want, 617 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:07,119 my answer is Phoenix in Denver. And that's like, that's like it. 618 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:09,079 You could tell me any order after that, and I would just believe it, 619 00:42:09,159 --> 00:42:13,000 like oh, the King's oh, the Pelicans, Oh, the Lakers, 620 00:42:13,039 --> 00:42:15,199 the Warriors, Like you tell me the thunder a third, I'll believe 621 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:19,599 it. I am one hundred percent with you. It's like it's like it's 622 00:42:20,039 --> 00:42:22,840 even though I'm picking the under on the Pelicans, it's it's Phoenix in Denver, 623 00:42:22,039 --> 00:42:27,440 like that that is it. And so I would say, like I 624 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,440 would say, yeah, that's it. Actually, you know what, that's 625 00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:31,920 it. I'm not even saying that guarantee. I'm not asking you to predict 626 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:36,519 like the teams that you would guarantee that's a guarantee. That's a guarantee. 627 00:42:37,199 --> 00:42:39,840 Uh. Anything else that needs to be discussed before I get you out of 628 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:45,400 here, anything else that needs to be discussed. We didn't really talk about 629 00:42:45,440 --> 00:42:50,199 CJ McCullum all that much, but I think this year is another big one 630 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:54,559 for him in the sense that he was kind of shoveled in as a lead 631 00:42:54,639 --> 00:42:58,920 guard for this team, and I think the best version of this team relies 632 00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:04,480 on him being an off guard as someone that can leverage is shooting and let 633 00:43:04,519 --> 00:43:08,719 those other two stars handle the bulk of on ball playmaking and so less c 634 00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:14,679 J on ball possessions, more CJ attacking closed outs, attacking untilt the defense, 635 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:17,679 running off screens, all that kind of stuff. So I'm excited to 636 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:22,239 see that version of CJ. I hope that is how they implement him this 637 00:43:22,320 --> 00:43:25,760 year. Are you able very quickly to tell our listeners or they can find 638 00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:29,599 you in all the great work that you do. Yeah, you can find 639 00:43:29,599 --> 00:43:31,679 me at Fear of the Brown. It's on your screen right there. And 640 00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:37,480 then my substack is in the NO which is n O like New Orleans at 641 00:43:37,519 --> 00:43:40,719 substack. The links to all that will be in the podcast YouTube description. 642 00:43:40,960 --> 00:43:44,280 As always, SMID thank you so much for coming on and as you know, 643 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:47,960 I'll be fasting you again down the line