The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor article on Pels disappointing start and future

quote:

---

But the sad truth is that this team might not be any good yet. Williamson and Ingram need to be better defensively, but it would be foolish to put all the blame on them: The Pelicans as a whole rank a paltry 24th in the NBA on defense, with virtually the same defensive rating as last season. The roster around their young duo also requires significant changes. Perhaps too much might have been expected of a team that made its offseason decisions with an eye toward the future.

“We were very intentional this offseason. If you judge our offseason by our ability to win the championship this year, we failed,” Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told me over the phone in December. “But if you judge our offseason over the long haul with our ability to shape the team and change the mix, we’ve got a baseline that we feel really comfortable about.”

---

quote:

---

“Zion is so physically overwhelming in the paint that people just think he’s a freak of nature power forward, and that’s all he is,” Griffin said. “But he played point guard basically his entire life before he got to Duke. His stepfather raised him with the ball in his hand to make decisions like a point guard. He measures himself by his ability to make people better. This isn’t a kid who grew up putting himself on the post, trying to learn the Dream Shake. This was the guy who wanted to be a facilitating playmaker with the ball in his hands facing the basket.”

The Pelicans aren’t there yet, though. Griffin admitted they lack the shooting they’ll need in the future. “That’s the piece that I think takes the longest to really hone in on,” he said. For now, the surrounding pieces are there to set an example. “You don’t understand the value of real professionalism until it’s around,” Griffin said. “And then young players can buy into it and go, ‘Wow, I don’t know how I functioned before this was here.’ Steven and Bledsoe are cut from the same cloth that way.”

---

quote:

---

Right now, however, the Pelicans don’t look quite like a team that’s one piece away. They’re a roster reshuffle, some years of growth, and another go-to option away. The biggest area of concern is one New Orleans identified in the offseason: defense. As the season was ramping up, Williamson and Ingram preached about taking on a greater leadership role by setting a strong defensive tone. But their effort has declined to levels comparable to last season, when they were two of the league’s least impactful defenders. They aren’t the only ones to blame, but as the team’s two stars, it comes with the territory.

---

quote:

---

I asked Griffin how he knows when it’ll be the right moment to cash in his draft picks. He contrasted the unknowns in New Orleans to his experiences in Cleveland, where he oversaw the transition from an up-and-comer to a title team after signing LeBron. “I’ve never really been able to say unequivocally ‘go flip the switch.’ LeBron is the only player in the NBA whose presence alone makes you a Finals contender. So when LeBron came back to Cleveland, it was time to rock and roll,” Griffin said. “I don’t know if I do know when to flip the switch. But I know when not to. I hope that this group grows and develops in the way we anticipate and that it will become fairly obvious when we should cash in some of those chips. In the presence of a sound process, decisions often make themselves. I hope we’re able to bring that to fruition.”

---