Pelicans include in ESPN's five offseason moves that could backfire

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New Orleans Pelicans

Moves: Pelicans bring together Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Eric Gordon

I've written about the Pelicans' collection of talent several times this summer: I called them the second-best collection of under-25 talent in the league, and said that Anthony Davis has a strong chance of being one of the top five players in the game in the not-so-distant future. I also applauded the signings of Anthony Morrow and Greg Stiemsma as two of the most underrated moves of the offseason. But basketball is rarely a case of simple addition, and I have serious doubts about the potential efficacy of New Orleans' three high-priced guards (Holiday, Evans and Gordon). Here are some potential issues:

- The combination of three guards who are used to having the ball in their hands and being main playmakers brings an element of tension. Each player is talented in his own right, but together their talents do not complement one another ideally, leading to a situation in which someone (or maybe all three) has to concede minutes and touches. It's not unlike what the Miami Heat had to go through with combining LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, a dynamic that was described eloquently by Steve Kerr to Brian Windhorst in a recent ESPN the Magazine piece:

"I see frustration on Dwyane's face all the time during games," says TNT analyst Steve Kerr, who was a teammate of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with the Bulls. "He overcomes it. Winning overcomes it. Losing pushes it to the surface."

Much like Kidd's dilemma in Brooklyn, if the Pelicans aren't immediately successful, the strain of sacrifice could cause cracks.

- If the trio is to be successful, it will have to be within the context of an uptempo system that allows for more possessions (in turn, giving the team more opportunities to consume possessions). Although the Pelicans have been able to do just that in the preseason, coach Monty Williams has historically used a slow-down, control-the-clock playbook. If the uptempo attack is not executing to his liking, can he resist the temptation to revert back to the slower-pace style?

- It can be considered incredibly optimistic to believe that three young, ball-dominant guards, who have just one above-.500 season on the professional level among them, will easily accept sacrificing their comfort zones. Again, I don't question the individual pieces at work in New Orleans; I question their fit, and that incongruence could reduce the impact of the clear talent upgrade that took place this offseason.

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I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment. I mean, the risk is obvious. They all love to have the ball in the hands. None of them are that big, so guarding down the stretch could be an issue.

Hopefully, that quote rings true. We have a soft schedule to start the season. It should allow them to hit the ground running and build confidence of a solid start.