re: SI Offseason Grade: Pelicans...B-

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Your math is off.

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LINK

I get $43.5 MIL for the 4 Pelicans, $40.3 for the 4 Spurs this season. Not that far off.

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I'm have to bring up the talent difference of the greatest PF of all time, a top 3 PG and maybe the greatest 6th man ever, combined 20+ all-pro and all star appearances or the fact they have all never missed the playoffs and were just in the finals versus one combined all star game, 2 guys that have never played on a winning team much less made the playoffs and two guys that weren't even top 3 guys on playoff teams... It's a bad comparison.

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You said the Pelicans had killed their cap with these signings. Have the Spurs killed their cap by signing old and declining Manu and better than average 28 yo Splitter? Manu/Tiago will get $17.5MIL combined this season, Holiday/Evans will get $21MIL combined. Is that reckless?

Haven't you also said that you think the Mavs will be better than the Pelicans? They signed Monta Ellis (27) for 3/$25 and Jose Calderon (31) for 4/$28. Ignoring max salaried Dirk and Gordon, this season the Mavs are paying $24MIL for Marion, Ellis, and Calderon to be their 2-4 best players. The Pelicans are paying $28MIL for Holiday, Evans, Anderson to be their 2-5 best players. Which would you rather?

The Pelicans are still in line to receive luxury tax compensation and (to my knowledge) have all of their exceptions available. We just got to watch firsthand how malleable the cap is during the Oden Affair. You're wrestling with shadows here.

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Rivers is really the most attractive asset and what could he really bring back right now?

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This is where you lose me.

You say you want youth and that the team should give Davis time to develop. The best 5 players on the team are under 25 and locked up for the next 2 years, guaranteed at market rates (other than Gordon). Anderson has come the closest to reaching his ceiling, but he can still get better and the other 4 can get much better.

But then you say the team is a failure because they can't flip anyone RIGHT NOW. Why do they have to move guys immediately? What happened to waiting to see how things develop? We can wait if a guy is 19, but not if a guy is 23? The big contracts on this team (save an injury prone Gordon) are easily moveable given the age and talents of Holiday/Evans/Anderson if you recognize that they will not be looking to trade anyone (except maybe Anderson) before the deadline this season and perhaps not until after next season. They didn't make these moves so they could blow up the roster 6 months later because the team is 8 games below .500.

The team has the best of both worlds at the moment. They have a young core under contract, so they can be patient and see how guys develop/play together. But they aren't so young that they will be awful and miserable to watch. After looking at the team for a season or two, they can adjust to whatever flaws they see. The contracts will be moveable when the team wants to move them.