Chris Dodson Articles - Page 20

“You are either all the way in or all the way out. There is no in-between.” Those were EVP David Griffin’s words after coming on to lead the New Orleans Pelicans. They were addressed to Anthony Davis in 2019 but apply to the front office now. Most of the team’s trade chatter concerns Brandon Ingram […]

There are two types of NBA players according to one particular scouting trope. In one box are the 82-game regular season guys and in the other are 16-game playoff-ready contributors. Some All-NBA talents have a reputation for waiting until the NBA Playoffs begin to ramp up their efforts. Jimmy Butler can get away with that […]

The NBA Draft tips off on June 24 but the New Orleans Pelicans were on the clock regarding a 2024 pick from the Los Angeles Lakers. The Pelicans could have either kept the 17th overall pick from the Lakers or deferred the last draft asset remaining from the Anthony Davis deal to 2025. The consensus […]

Officially, the New Orleans Saints are one of a handful of teams in the league that don’t have retired jersey numbers. Team representatives have explained several times to media members that the NFL frowns upon the practice of retiring jerseys. Eventually, the logic goes, franchises will run out of numbers. Young players will be limited […]

There are only two teams with their NBA Finals title hopes still alive. Everyone else is watching from home and waiting for the 2024 NBA Draft. Well, not waiting exactly. The NBA Combine has wrapped up but the private pre=draft workout season has just begun. The New Orleans Pelicans have been linked with a few […]

As the NBA class of 2024 begins taking part in private workouts ahead of the draft, the class of 2023 is already going into a contract year. Only the first two seasons of a player’s first NBA contract are guaranteed. Now, Jordan Hawkins will have his third-year option picked up, there is no doubt. However, […]

The New Orleans Pelicans do not have the first pick in the 2024 NBA Draft but the front office is definitely on the clock. EVP David Griffin is under pressure to build a contender around Zion Williamson. By most accounts that roster revamp starts with finding a point guard and a big man to replace […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were swept out of the NBA Playoffs after barely surviving the NBA Play-In Tournament gauntlet without Zion Williamson. The Philadelphia 76ers lasted six games with a hobbled Joel Embiid against the New York Knicks. The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the brink of elimination in a Western Conference Finals series against the […]

Four-point shot circles. A half-court setup. Three on three instead of five on five. An unfamiliar scoring system. A red “Fireball” bouncing around. When Ice Cube and Jeff Kwatinetz founded The BIG3, it was a cultural curiosity dependent on supposedly past-their-prime star players leaning towards entertainment and some quirky competitive innovations. Now it is one […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have been prioritizing having high-character human beings in the team since EVP David Griffin took over the organization’s leading role. Bringing in CJ McCollum to steady a young, inexperienced locker room was part of that process. After a few years in town, it’s safe to say that investment by the team […]

Smart front offices find ways to squeeze every drop of value out of every single asset that passes through the building. It is the only way for small-market teams allergic to the luxury tax to stay competitive. The New Orleans Pelicans are getting squeezed out of the Western Conference’s top-six conversation by the day though. […]

The NBA Draft Combine is a wrap and the postseason is down to the final four teams. Every other franchise is scheduling private workouts and starting to push for information to use in the trade market. The New Orleans Pelicans are in the middle of action with many league media members assuming Brandon Ingram will […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are holders of the 2024 NBA Draft’s 21st overall pick but the front office is most assuredly on the clock. The Western Conference is wide open for all takers next season and Zion Williamson will be back for another run. The front office is operating with an urgency to improve according […]

The New Orleans Pelicans were swept out of the NBA Playoffs largely due to injuries, sure. Brandon Ingram was not quite at 100% when returning from a knee issue suffered a month before the postseason tipped off. Zion Williamson went days just days before a possible NBA Playoffs debut, pulling up with a hamstring problem […]

The Chicago-based combine has produced a few storylines to follow before the 2024 NBA Draft (June 26-27) decides where the newest batch of prospects will start their professional adventures. The fates of many soon-to-be draftees depend largely on the trade market brewing up for All-Stars like Brandon Ingram. The New Orleans Pelicans may not have […]

The NBA’s traditional big-man role has been under attack since Steph Curry stepped into the league. Perhaps it was a bit before the 2009 draft class had their names called but the four-point line (The Curry Curve, if you will) is being implemented onto practice courts by practically every team. That has led teams like […]

The NBA is built on star players. Coaches cut down rotations during the NBA Playoffs as All-World talents take over the biggest stage in basketball. However, the role players that help buoy a franchise through an 82-game slog cannot be discounted. The New Orleans Pelicans have one of the most respected reserves in the business […]

The New Orleans Pelicans fought through a season of unfortunate, ill-timed injuries just to once again fall short in the NBA Playoffs. Now the front office is looking ahead with a bit of urgency to put together another Western Conference contender for the 2024-25 campaign. With a lack of top-end free agent talent and a […]

The NBA Playoffs are still the main attraction but the league’s silly season is heating up quicker than the summer temperatures. Now that the NBA Draft Lottery has set the selection order in stone, front offices around the league have a better understanding of what is available in any given swap. That does not mean […]

The NBA’s regular season is a distant memory for some franchises. A lucky few are still fighting for an NBA Finals berth. Teams like the New Orleans Pelicans, postseason qualifiers who fell short of internal expectations, are still licking their wounds. The frustrated fans are now nitpicking specific plays and games for evidence to back […]

The ping pong balls of fate have decided the NBA Draft Lottery once again. The last thing for the league to settle is the crowning of a champion but the NBA Finals are still weeks away from tipping off. Franchises and players no longer fighting for a title are starting to their hands and the […]

Executive Vice President David Griffin admitted that changes would be made to the New Orleans Pelicans roster this summer to remain competitive in the NBA’s Western Conference. That has led to the Brandon Ingram trade rumor industry ramping up to historic levels. However, the lead executive might have to team up with head coach Willie […]

The New Orleans Pelicans practice facility is practically a ghost town on the weekend after the team was swept from the NBA Playoffs. Most of the players have headed out on vacation and the front office is on the road nailing down the last valuable bits of information on NBA Draft prospects. Everyone else is […]

Willie Green did everything possible to push the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Playoffs but a lack of All-Star firepower once again doomed the franchise to an early postseason exit. A hobbled Brandon Ingram almost helped the underdogs steal Game 1 from the Oklahoma City Thunder but the eighth-seeded squad never stood a chance […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are headed into a pivotal offseason after being swept out of the 2024 NBA Playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The front office had the luxury — and the reasons — to stick with the status quo last summer. All signs point to a substantial amount of roster turnover in the […]

The New Orleans Pelicans and Brandon Ingram are at a crossroads. The team needs a player more willing to take three-pointers to space the floor around Zion Williamson. Ingram wants the security of a long-term contract extension this summer. Despite the ramped-up trade rumors to come, it would not be surprising to see the franchise […]

The NBA Playoffs is as much of an incubator for coaching creativity and adjustments as it is a platform for star players to assert their dominance. The Oklahoma City Thunder have an NBA MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but unfortunately, the New Orleans Pelicans are missing Zion Williamson. That has put more pressure on Willie […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder handled business on their homecourt to bring a 2-0 NBA Playoffs series lead into the Smoothie King Center on Saturday (April 27). The New Orleans Pelicans had a chance to steal a Game 1 win but a Game 2 blowout loss brought a dour mood into the locker room. The eighth-seeded […]

The New Orleans Pelicans can say they are not panicking, but actions speak louder than words. The eighth-seeded underdogs knew they allowed a golden opportunity to slip away in a two-point Game 1 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams were confident going into Game 2, but only one of them seemed prepared to […]

The price tags on, well, everything has been shooting up over the last few years. Sporting properties and media rights are no different, except they are very limited and cost billions of course. The pool of buyers for teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints are tiny but that never stops the biggest sharks […]

The New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder have been credited for building out deep rosters capable of weathering storms. Both small-market franchises have the feeling of young, upstart contenders after a tense Game 1 battle in the NBA Playoffs, Oklahoma City narrowly escaping with a victory. But those NBA Finals futures are looking too […]

There will be a lot of scouting tape getting watched this weekend in the Crescent City. Whether a fan or a front office employee, there is plenty of film to comb over this April. The New Orleans Pelicans and Oklahoma City Thunder’s first-round NBA Playoffs series will overlap with the 2024 NFL Draft. The best […]

The best players usually prove themselves in the NBA Playoffs and the same goes for coaches. Each postseason series is defined by big moments made by All-NBA stars and small adjustments by coaching staffs working the margins of every matchup. Willie Green’s New Orleans Pelicans are no different. They are also not being too secretive […]

Fans of the New Orleans Pelicans can be forgiven for getting their hopes up following an under-the-radar injury status update on Zion Williamson. The two-time NBA All-Star spoke a day before facing off against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second game of their first-round NBA Playoffs series. Williamson’s words immediately stoked the fires of […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are not looking for moral victories following a Game 1 road loss to open an NBA Playoffs series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Zion Williamson may be out with an injury and Brandon Ingram is still seemingly shaking off some rust but there are some silver linings to consider. Trey Murphy […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (115.1) and Oklahoma City Thunder (120.1) were both averaging above 115 points during the NBA’s regular season. Neither hit 95 points in Game 1 of their NBA Playoffs first-round series. Points are going to be at a premium in this matchup, so getting to the free throw line is more important […]

The eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans (0-1) had the top-ranked Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) on the ropes in Game 1 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series. The visitors from the Crescent City clawed back from a 10-point early fourth-quarter deficit to take a two-point lead with 3:34 on the clock. CJ McCollum had a chance to […]

The New Orleans Pelicans (49-33) and Oklahoma City Thunder (57-25) will forever be linked thanks to the 405 hosting the team from the 504 during Hurricane Katrina. The two small market franchises are on a similar championship-building timeline in 2024 with young rosters full of homegrown talent. Both teams are trying to take the next […]

It took a couple of extra games to get the job done, but the New Orleans Pelicans have officially qualified for the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Next up is a date versus the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. The first-round fight is missing some star power without an injured Zion Williamson, but the series still has the […]