When you have an on-the-rise superstar who may be the best player in the league soon, with equal parts Kevin Garnett, Hakeem Olajuwon and Mr. Fantastic, you can rest easy knowing you’re a team on the rise. No matter who else is on the New Orleans Pelicans at the moment, this team has an exceedingly bright future with 22-year-old Anthony Davis already playing the role of superstar.
The question is, how long will it take for this team to realize its fullest potential, and how much longer after that will it be before the front office builds a championship contender around the Brow?
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The makings of a great team are there. The Brow will be the best player in the NBA in a few seasons and the addition of Alvin Gentry as head coach is a step in the right direction. But after a busy offseason of locking in their own free agents to contract extensions, it’s difficult to make out who has (and who should have) a long-term future with the Pellies.
New Orleans has nothing to be ashamed of coming off a first round sweep at the hands of the eventual NBA champs. But looking ahead to this 2015-16 trial season, it will be important for the Pelicans to not only improve and last a bit longer in the playoffs, but also to evaluate who deserves to stick around and help Davis turn this team into a legitimate title contender.
2014-15 Vitals
45-37, 5th in Southwest Division, 8th in Western Conference
99.4 PPG (16th)/98.6 OPPG (12th)
108.2 Offensive Rating (8th)/107.3 Defensive Rating (22nd)
Team Leaders
Scoring: Anthony Davis, 24.4 PPG
Rebounding: Anthony Davis, 10.2 RPG
Assists: Jrue Holiday, 6.9 APG
Steals: Jrue Holiday, 1.6 SPG
Blocks: Anthony Davis, 2.9 BPG
Honors
All-NBA Team (1st): Anthony Davis
NBA All-Defensive Team (2nd): Anthony Davis
Next: 2015-16 Roster