re: Pelicans 121 Vs 76ers 105 / Final / Game Thread

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For me, it's similar to Les Miles and LSU. No matter how frustrated I may occasionally be, I really can't think of a lot of proven, can't miss coaches who definitely would be better.

Given our roster, it's going to take someone who can think outside the box.

Another thing, and I'm not saying this is the best reason in the world, is that Karl would create immediate excitement among the fan base.

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Yes to all of this.

The real interesting thing, and what I think is the cause of so much angst, is Monty's unusual tenure. I can't think of any coaches that start their first year with a playoff run, then go in the toilet (an organizational move and the right one- THANKS DAVID!) for 2 years, then have their FO make massive moves in year 4. The entire organization has changed from ownership to the name and uniforms to the roster and mascot. Except for the Basketball Operations and coaching staff. Not that it can't work, but just weird.

Here is some interesting work from Dave Berri on Freakonomics

LINK

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But it appears that teams that win 25 or fewer games have a hard time joining this elite. Of the teams that won 25 or fewer games since 1984-85,
2.3 percent won 54 or more games the next year
3.9 percent won 54 or more games two years later
5.7 percent won 54 or more games three years later
10.1 percent won 54 or more games four years later
10.6 percent won 54 or more games five years later
In sum, nearly 90 percent of teams that win 25 or fewer games are not contenders five years later. This suggests that “tanking” is a strategy that is very unlikely to lead to NBA success.

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So are teams better off avoiding the “mediocrity treadmill”? Let’s define a mediocre team as one that wins between 34 and 49 wins. Of the teams in this group,
9.1 percent won 54 or more games the next year
13.9 percent won 54 or more games two years later
14.8 percent won 54 or more games three years later
16.5 percent won 54 or more games four years later
19.8 percent won 54 or more game five years later
In sum, a team that is mediocre is much more likely to contend in the near future than a loser. And that means if your team is actually trying to build a loser (i.e. avoid the mediocrity treadmill), they are reducing their chances to contend.

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But let’s imagine these players (ED: Wiggins, Randle, Parker, etc) are like LeBron. It is important to remember that LeBron never won a title with the teams that acquired his services on draft night. In fact, in the lottery era (since 1985) only the San Antonio Spurs (with David Robinson and Tim Duncan) have drafted a player number one and won a title with that player. Every other number one pick failed to bring a title to the team that “won” the lottery.

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AD will be #3