McBride resigns as Nicholls soccer coach
February 6, 2019
Playoffs near for local teams
February 6, 2019
I get accused a lot of being a “hater” of the New Orleans Pelicans.
It’s true, yes that in my columns, I often criticize the organization, its structure, the people making decisions, the front office — the full nine yards. I’m guilty as charged.
But a hater? Umm, no thank you. I think you’ve got the wrong guy.
Hatred is a powerful emotion. Quite frankly, we use it too often in sports. It’s a desire for ill to fall onto someone. It’s an active rooting for bad things to happen to a specific target.
Heck, in no way is that my emotion toward the Pelicans. I actually root for those guys and want them to succeed.
But look, I’m also no dummy and let’s face it: It is what it is.
They’re a poorly run, inept sports organization owned by a passionate football family that treats the team solely as a hobby to pass the time once football season ends.
The past week has made that more apparent than ever.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that Anthony Davis has asked out of New Orleans — even with the Pelicans having the ability to offer him a “super max” contract this summer — a more lucrative deal than any other team could offer him on the open market.
Let’s look at the reasons why.
The first is the obvious — the structure of the organization.
Tom Benson bought the Pelicans as a favor to the city of New Orleans during a time when the team was for sale, there were not an abundant number of buyers and there were talks of moving the team out of dodge.
His passion and energy for the team never amounted to 1/10th his passion for the Saints and now, in his passing, the team has even less luster.
Heck, the Pelicans don’t even have a full-time boss. New Orleans Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis oversees their day-to-day operations … IN ADDITION TO … his work with the NFL team.
That’s absolutely absurd and Bush League. I’ve been hooting and hollering about that decision from the day it was made and the lack of significant progress or change in the past several years is a shining example of how ill-advised that decision is.
General Manager Dell Demps should not have a job anymore in New Orleans — period.
He’s been in his position for almost a decade and in his watch, the Pelicans have lost Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, Boogie Cousins, Rajon Rondo and now Anthony Davis. The team has never seriously chased an NBA Championship and has little-to-no hope for chasing one in the immediate future.
He fired a coach who made the playoffs and replaced him with a journeyman coach with a career losing record — a guy in Alvin Gentry who has come to New Orleans and guess what? He’s lost.
Demps has built a roster full of pieces no one wants — mostly overpaid role players who the team gambled on and failed.
That Demps is still employed is beside me. That executives within the organization are allowing him to make the preliminary calls on the Davis trade is even more insane to me.
Dell Demps has had one job over the past three or four years — build a roster around Anthony Davis and keep him happy.
He’s failed — period, end of story.
That ineptitude (signing Solomon Hill, Omer Asik, trading draft picks) is the single biggest reason why Davis wants out. He has no faith that the Pelicans can become a consistent winner — nor should he.
I could go on and on about the failures of the front office structure, but to stick to the theme of the column, I want to shift and talk about the status of basketball in New Orleans in the first place.
Make no mistake about it — we own blame for Davis wanting out of New Orleans, too.
By “we”, I mean the fans of the city who have anchored the Pelicans near the bottom of the NBA in attendance the past several seasons. By “we”, I also mean the lack of a strong-willed media covering the team. If a front office were this much of a mess in Los Angles or Boston, it would be covered ad nauseam until fans pressured ownership to make changes.
Here, there is no such pressure. Heck, there’s no such media. A story done during the NBA Playoffs last season said that the Pelicans had as small a media presence as any team in the NBA.
That’s embarrassing.
Whether Davis gets traded by the trade deadline, I have no clue.
My best guess is he will not.
That likely would mean that he’s moved in the offseason — likely to the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks of Boston Celtics.
When that happens, fans will be upset and hold anger to Davis — an almost inevitable scenario when a popular player leaves a city.
But I say that’s wasted energy.
There’s a lot of blame to dish out in this situation and very little of it goes to Davis.
The Pelicans, their ownership and the front office failed its fans mightily on this one.
This blood is on their hands more than it is on Davis’.
That’s not me “hating.” That’s me telling it like it is.
There is a difference. Fans just have to open their eyes sometimes and see it.
Follow Casey on Twitter for more.
https://twitter.com/casey_gisclair
