Media Day
"Man, last season was difficult. Maybe the toughest of my career. I never lost the light though. Even with a broken arm, that just drove me to wanna get back faster.I never let the money define me. I just wanted to get back on that court and play. Take my anger out and score. I poured my heart and soul onto these bars that I collaborated with Nawlins' own, Lil Wayne."
"New Orleans is this place man that we could build and rise together. I love it here and I wanna see all the fans celebrate with passion. I know we've got some of the best fans in the world. This is bigger than us."
Wiped the slate clean with Dame and Mozzy. The draft lotto put us in position to draft the talented young wing, Jabari Parker. Parker demonstrates an excellent ability to penetrate the defense and score in a multitude of ways. We're blessed in a way to have a player the caliber of Jabari as a cornerstone of this franchise for many years to come playing with Dame. We were also fortunate enough to strike up a draft day deal to move up with the Miami Heat for point consideration to select Marcus Smart. We are hopeful that he can be everything we hope Jabari can be on the defensive side and just get inside a dudes face and force the situation. Marcus is going to be another important cog to our machine we are developing.
With the draft in the clear, we entered FA with 40 million plus in cap space that left us in a favorable position. To court a multitude of talented players. We had a hole at the 4 and the 2 entering FA knowing Marcus Smart was a few years away from being a regular contributor in the rotation. We traded for Tobias Harris, a guy that was just looking for an opportunity. We acquired him from Minnesota for a future first from the Golden State Warriors we got in the Ryan Anderson deal and Harris is a guy that thrives off competition. More on him later. We signed Gary Neal initially to a contract and he was so valuable to the Heat, they just didn't want to let him go so they matched his fair and favorable contract. All well and good and hope he succeeds in his future endeavors.
Moving onto UFA, we were fortunate enough to convince Greg Monroe and Randy Foye who played for the Kings last year to come to the Big Easy. Greg will be a pillar of our front court for many years to come. Another guy that wanted a clear and defined role and opportunity and he worked hard to succeed. Next up was bringing in a legend and maybe the best player this franchise has ever had in signing Zach Randolph aka ZBo. ZBo's skill around the basket still is a valued weapon. Even if he took a step back physically, he's still gonna be a menace in the paint next to Mozgov or Monroe which should open up space for Lillard or Jabari or Harris to exploit the defense. We are very excited to see how this team shakes out. This will probably be the most talented team we've had trotted out in the last few years and we can't see all the pieces come together and give the loyal fans of New Orleans something to be excited about again.
