New Orleans Pelicans executive VP David Griffin didn't hold back when discussing the disappointing season that his team had, one that ended after losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the West Play-In.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Griffin admitted that he's “angry” that the Pelicans didn't live up to their full potential. Injuries to Zion Williamson and several members of the team may have prevented them from succeeding and developing enough momentum to make the playoffs, but at the end of the day, they have no one to blame but themselves.
Despite the painful finish to the 2022-23 campaign, though, Griffin also shared his optimism that the Pelicans–as they are currently constructed–can achieve great things when healthy.
“The core and the nucleus of what we have here is very, very good. We haven’t seen it play enough minutes together to say, ‘Yes, this is a championship-caliber roster.' It's a really impressive group of players and human beings,” Griffin shared, per Nola.com.
“If I'm a fan of this team, I'm really disappointed. And I'm angry. And I feel like a lot was left undone. And yet at the same time, we have something very, very few teams have when you look at our ability to move forward and grow from here. We have a chance to be special good. What’s going to get us to this point is we have to learn from these moments from what we didn't do well enough.”
Health, of course, remains a big if for the Pelicans. Zion Williamson is at the core of the team, but if he can't stay on the floor, it will definitely be difficult for the Pelicans to achieve anything significant.
It remains to be seen what David Griffin and co. will do in the offseason to help New Orleans get over the hump, but they will definitely have to make some tough decisions.
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