The New Orleans Pelicans Still Stink
New place but same results for Cousins
Once the news broke out that Cousins would be traded, most believed that things would quickly change for the organization. People assumed the Pelicans would quickly change their position in the standings to get at least the last eight seed spot, but their play has shown otherwise. Sadly, the way the Pelicans are playing, they won’t even make the playoffs.
Head Coach
Alvin Gentry is on the hot seat to lose his job now since the trade. He just doesn’t seem like a good head coach with only two playoff appearances for his entire coaching career in the NBA. He does not seem like a leader and perhaps the assistant job seems like a better fit for him. His chances with this organization have run out.
No Perimeter Players
As soon as the trade was made, the media proclaimed this team had a ‘Big Three’ in Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, and Jrue Holiday. They were so wrong with that assessment. Holiday hasn’t seemed like a star player since he left the Philadelphia 76ers. Also, they have no other threat on the perimeter since not resigning Eric Gordon in the offseason and trading away Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans, and Langston Galloway.
Small Ball Over Power Ball
It’s good to see a modern-day twin towers to make us remember how effective it was for the San Antonio Spurs in the late 90s. Davis and Cousins made us feel like they can bring big man ball back to the NBA. They have the height, size, athleticism, and the perimeter range to shoot from the three. The thing is, guard play still rules in the NBA. It’s impossible for a big man to get their own now in scoring and most importantly get the team win.
Maturity
It’s too bad that once you get traded in the middle of the season, you can’t completely start over. Demarcus Cousins is still an easy target if you want to get under his skin as he keeps getting technical fouls each game. He has 18 technical fouls this season alone and must serve a one game suspension as penalty. This is truly unfortunate because this is his seventh year in the league and he still hasn’t shown any maturity yet. It makes him look selfish and impossible to build a franchise around him because you can’t trust him during games. Without a well-respected head coach and teammates, he’ll continue to be a loose cannon.
Final Thoughts
Even now, I do not blame the Pelicans for trading for Cousins because he was a problem for the Sacramento Kings and they quickly wanted to get rid of him. This move was made in order for them to make a push to make for the playoffs and show Anthony Davis that they are willing to give him more talent to work with. This season looks to be a complete failure for them, but they have Boogie for one more season to make a change with a better head coach and better players to put around those two superstars. They can’t afford any mistakes this upcoming offseason.
