The New Orleans Pelicans basketball team of the NBA has had a pretty hard year in 2014 owing to some ill-timed injuries to key players. The team has been is sort of a transition mode ever since Saints owner Tom Benson bought the New Orleans professional basketball franchise and changed the name from the Hornets to the Pelicans. Mr. Benson also had new team colors brought in along with a new team spirit and pride.
Fans from outside of Louisiana might have been somewhat taken aback by the new team nickname, but the Pelican is the state bird of Louisiana and a well respected member of the local wildlife community along the Gulf Coast.
After the final game of the season, in which New Orleans beat the Houston Rockets without Anthony Davis, both head coach Monty Williams and general manager Dell Demps made statements about this past season and what Pelican fans can expect for the future.
The core of the Pelican’s team is solid…and young. The coaching is fine and the front office is supportive of the players and fans in the New Orleans area. Both the Saints and the Pelicans are more than just pro ball clubs down in the Big Easy, they are part of the culture. Just watch the fans in the stands during a game and listen to them.
Of course the bright spot for Pelicans fans is young Anthony Davis who in just his second year has blossomed into potentially one of the finest players in the league. Ryan Anderson, who missed the last part of the season with a neck injury, has shown again and again that he is as solid a player as anyone on the court.
The biggest need for New Orleans for next season is to acquire a first class center, either through the NBA Draft or by picking up a veteran through free agency. However, the Pelicans traded away their first round draft pick for this year to acquire Tyreke Evans who has worked himself into a starting role in New Orleans.
But the central core of a potentially very good basketball is already in residence in New Orleans and coach Monty Williams will try to bring it all together next year and take the Pelicans to the playoffs.
With excellent players like Anthony Davis, Ryan Anderson, Jure Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers and Eric Gordon, Coach Williams has the makings of a team that could well strike fear into the hearts of NBA teams who, up to this point, have not taken the Pelicans very seriously.
