re: Grantland: NBA 18-Day Warning: Here Come The Pelicans

quote:

---

A few important notes before we get started:

1. I promise to never write a story about the New Orleans Pelicans that doesn't lead with a photo of an actual pelican.

2. That Evil Pelican up there could be a fixture on Grantland all year long ...

3. ... because we're going to be talking about the Pelicans a lot. Because look at this team.

---

quote:

---

A lot of people murdered the Pelicans for dealing away a draft pick in the Greatest Draft in Human History next summer, but as bad as that trade looked on draft night, it's October now and the roster in New Orleans looks shockingly solid compared to the wasteland it was last year. If everyone stays healthy, the Pelicans will probably be a 6- or 7-seed, and the draft pick they gave up will end up being somewhere in the late teens. Are we sure that was such a bad trade?

---