Zach Lowe on Davis

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F/C: Anthony Davis, New Orleans PelicansDavis is the exception to my rule against second-year players. The Pelicans had a fascinating offseason, shifting into "win now" mode in the potentially franchise-defining trade (for both franchises involved) of Nerlens Noel for Jrue Holiday, as well as capping themselves out behind a high-priced trio of ball-dominant players. It was a fun peek at one version of the team-building process — a kickoff point for wonky NBA debates.

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But it obscured the obvious big picture: If Davis can become one of the top five players in the league, the Pelicans will someday find the surrounding roster of a title contender. Davis will miss Greivis Vasquez's distribution skills, but there are still plenty of handlers here, and Davis has already made huge progress in the little tricks of footwork that will get him open looks near the basket. He got better last season at cutting to the rim on pick-and-rolls, using the sort of change-of-pace ballet any big needs to secure those juicy lob dunks. And when the Pellies used Ryan Anderson or Robin Lopez in the pick-and-roll, forcing Davis's man to slide into help position, Davis learned to shift into open spaces along the baseline.

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He's going to be a devastating off-ball force on offense. But to make The Leap, he'll need to develop more skills with the ball and actually become the sort of defender everyone is certain he can be. He was unsteady on defense last season, lunging too soon or too far to try to contain point guards on the pick-and-roll, biting on pump fakes, and looking at times almost as if he were running around on ice. But the instincts and the raw potential are there, and Monty Williams, the team's coach, has told me he's optimistic the team can survive defensively with the Davis-Anderson combination — especially with Holiday in Vasquez's place at the top.

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Davis didn't do much productive stuff with the ball last season, though Williams allowed him to handle it now and then at the elbows. He settled mostly for jumpers, which he shot nearly as poorly as Bledsoe, but he also showed he can drive by slower players with both hands. He'll have more space to do that if he gets extended time with Anderson hanging around the 3-point arc.

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Davis is just 20. The Pelicans are playing the long game here, even if they need to hang around the playoff race this season — to please their owner, Tom Benson, and to minimize the pain of sending a 2014 first-rounder to the Sixers. But the long game with Davis starts now.

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