re: KOC: League sources "expect" Pelicans to be aggressive in trade market

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What I don't understand is that the players we keep naming that we missed on -- Brunson, Maxey, etc. - all got immediate playing time to find out what they actually have with them.. Meanwhile we put training wheels on every draft pick we make except for Herb, who coincidentally is in the running for DPOY and making big strides this year..

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Why do you think that is?

When you can play, it’s obvious from the get go. It doesn’t matter if you are playing on a lottery bound team or a contender, if you can ball as a rookie you will play. It’s as simple as that.

Maxey isn’t better than Kira b/c he was given more of a chance. He’s better b/c he’s better.
I said it after a few games that it wasn’t a good sign that Kira wasn’t playing, or that he was always playing off ball. The signs were obvious that he wasn’t impressing anyone on the staff.
NAW got plenty of playing time early on, despite struggling at times he kept getting playing time. He played in the first 15 games of the season. Kira didn’t play in our first 4 games of the season, and was one of the last rookies in the league to make his debut, and the only reason he played a game in the first 10 games is b/c we lost a game by 30 in that 5th game where he got in.

It was obvious the coaches saw something in NAW that they didn’t see in Kira. I know Hawkins didn’t play as much down the stretch, but I think it’s obvious they see something in him as well. I know all of us do.