It's All About The Benjamin's Bay-Bay! (Pels Presser)
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2020 8:56 pm
It pays to have that cash in the bank. You don't get the nickname "Max Malone" penny pinching. But what is it about the city of New Orleans that sets it apart from New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles? People will say the food, the rich cultural history brought about by the French that settled in the 1700's, or even Bourbon Street. Truth is, any city in America could become the next big market if it has the resources, economy, and climate.
A private jet lands on an empty tarmac in the middle of a desert.
So when you look at the NBA climate of SLOE, New Orleans has one championship to its entire franchise history. Less than a handful of division banners. A plethora of talent have certainly passed through the franchise in certain eras and stages. We've had a fine team but never to one that was dominant from beginning to end or ever the best team in our conference. You can spend years rebuilding, hoping each prospect that's drafted as a lotto pick pans out only to have TC cripple your hopes and dreams in one fell swoop of pain. You can slime newer GM's that are unaware of overtly nice gestures for future trade inquires and hope some are unaware of the bucket of basketballs off to the left of the shot. Or, you can spend your way to a heavy tax bill while producing results that are nice and adequate but never satisfactory of what the end goal should be every year.
To win a championship!
A 2037 Silver Maserati glides with ease off on the dirt, and sandy gravel, into the distance towards the desolate stretch of a grayish strip with markings for a tarmac. The wind barely moves the needles off the cactus as the sun is beating down on the waterless desert located somewhere in Arizona.
We tried our best despite difficult circumstances of dealing with an injury that was close to the post season. We lost in the first round unfortunately. No excuses and the Clippers were the better team. We've had a successful team over the last few years but with only 3-4 players under contract going into the offseason, we knew we had some restructuring to do. We held Deuce's team option and he's been an exemplary teammate and member of the Pels these last few years since coming over in a trade with Utah. Jordan Johnson was our big splash last offseason and he's been nothing short of amazing since ending his time in Phoenix. We valued Corey Brooks contributions to the club this past year and he was instrumental in helping us find a solution to an issue we'll address later in this moment in time.
The plane hangar door slowly opens up allowing the Pelicans front office to roll out of the private Jet. From the plane, the outline and shape of the Maserati come into focus. You can make out Jordan Johnson in the driver seat along with an agent, dressed in a professional looking suit, sitting on the passenger side.
So with that and some 50+ million in the bank, we looked at the draft and thought about possibly moving up. We put in a few calls but there really wasn't anything that fruitful or enticing to sacrifice future assets to move up a few spots. We liked Harland Cain as a potential 3 and D type guard that can grow and get some rotational minutes. At that point of the draft (#16) you're just looking for the right kind of player that can MAYBE be a decent at a few skills. You're just applying a different lipstick to the same pig and hoping he produces enough bacon for a feast. Cain could definitely be a valued defender off the bench after a few years and hopefully his offensive game will grow after playing with a few of the veterans on the team currently. So three turned to 4 after the draft.
The Maserati pulls up next to the Jet on the Tarmac. Jordan Johnson takes the keys out of the ignition and smiles as he finds Nick Malone with a few of the other front office staff standing in front of the Jet stairs on the Tarmac and the rest of the staff standing next to Malone. Nick looks at his watch and just laughs knowing Free Agency has now officially started.
We had Jarrett Allen's bird rights after a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. He was instrumental in being that second talent next to Jordan that helped give our team even a chance against the Clippers. We needed another big body in the paint next to Forte and he enjoyed his time in NOLA enough to come back on a short-term and favorable deal commiserate with his talent level and veteran leadership on and off the court. We filled out the rest of the roster with valued veterans looking to play a part in the depth mechanisms of this roster with the likes of AC Williams, Josh Hart, Darwin Novotny, Joseph McKnight, among others. But no FA signing had more of an impact that brining in Ben Franklin.
Coming out of the passenger side of the vehicle is Ben Franklin and his agent. Jordan puts his arm around his best friend and is giddy to have been apart of this arrangement. They approach Nick Malone and shake hands and exchange small pleasantries. Nick then grabs a briefcase being held by one of the front office staffers and opens up the briefcase to show Ben crisp 100 dollar bills in a multitude of stacks.
It's all about the Benjamin's, baby.
A private jet lands on an empty tarmac in the middle of a desert.
So when you look at the NBA climate of SLOE, New Orleans has one championship to its entire franchise history. Less than a handful of division banners. A plethora of talent have certainly passed through the franchise in certain eras and stages. We've had a fine team but never to one that was dominant from beginning to end or ever the best team in our conference. You can spend years rebuilding, hoping each prospect that's drafted as a lotto pick pans out only to have TC cripple your hopes and dreams in one fell swoop of pain. You can slime newer GM's that are unaware of overtly nice gestures for future trade inquires and hope some are unaware of the bucket of basketballs off to the left of the shot. Or, you can spend your way to a heavy tax bill while producing results that are nice and adequate but never satisfactory of what the end goal should be every year.
To win a championship!
A 2037 Silver Maserati glides with ease off on the dirt, and sandy gravel, into the distance towards the desolate stretch of a grayish strip with markings for a tarmac. The wind barely moves the needles off the cactus as the sun is beating down on the waterless desert located somewhere in Arizona.
We tried our best despite difficult circumstances of dealing with an injury that was close to the post season. We lost in the first round unfortunately. No excuses and the Clippers were the better team. We've had a successful team over the last few years but with only 3-4 players under contract going into the offseason, we knew we had some restructuring to do. We held Deuce's team option and he's been an exemplary teammate and member of the Pels these last few years since coming over in a trade with Utah. Jordan Johnson was our big splash last offseason and he's been nothing short of amazing since ending his time in Phoenix. We valued Corey Brooks contributions to the club this past year and he was instrumental in helping us find a solution to an issue we'll address later in this moment in time.
The plane hangar door slowly opens up allowing the Pelicans front office to roll out of the private Jet. From the plane, the outline and shape of the Maserati come into focus. You can make out Jordan Johnson in the driver seat along with an agent, dressed in a professional looking suit, sitting on the passenger side.
So with that and some 50+ million in the bank, we looked at the draft and thought about possibly moving up. We put in a few calls but there really wasn't anything that fruitful or enticing to sacrifice future assets to move up a few spots. We liked Harland Cain as a potential 3 and D type guard that can grow and get some rotational minutes. At that point of the draft (#16) you're just looking for the right kind of player that can MAYBE be a decent at a few skills. You're just applying a different lipstick to the same pig and hoping he produces enough bacon for a feast. Cain could definitely be a valued defender off the bench after a few years and hopefully his offensive game will grow after playing with a few of the veterans on the team currently. So three turned to 4 after the draft.
The Maserati pulls up next to the Jet on the Tarmac. Jordan Johnson takes the keys out of the ignition and smiles as he finds Nick Malone with a few of the other front office staff standing in front of the Jet stairs on the Tarmac and the rest of the staff standing next to Malone. Nick looks at his watch and just laughs knowing Free Agency has now officially started.
We had Jarrett Allen's bird rights after a trade with the Dallas Mavericks. He was instrumental in being that second talent next to Jordan that helped give our team even a chance against the Clippers. We needed another big body in the paint next to Forte and he enjoyed his time in NOLA enough to come back on a short-term and favorable deal commiserate with his talent level and veteran leadership on and off the court. We filled out the rest of the roster with valued veterans looking to play a part in the depth mechanisms of this roster with the likes of AC Williams, Josh Hart, Darwin Novotny, Joseph McKnight, among others. But no FA signing had more of an impact that brining in Ben Franklin.
Coming out of the passenger side of the vehicle is Ben Franklin and his agent. Jordan puts his arm around his best friend and is giddy to have been apart of this arrangement. They approach Nick Malone and shake hands and exchange small pleasantries. Nick then grabs a briefcase being held by one of the front office staffers and opens up the briefcase to show Ben crisp 100 dollar bills in a multitude of stacks.
It's all about the Benjamin's, baby.