Top 10 Pelican's Developments That Will Decide the 2026 Season | Zion's Mindset

Welcome to another episode of New Orleans.Basketball! I'm your host Raphael Rattler, joined by my brother Garrick "G-Money" Rattler, breaking down everything happening with the New Orleans Pelicans.

We also rank the 10 biggest player and coaching developments that could determine whether the Pelicans take a major step forward during the 2026 NBA season.

Do you think Zion Williamson is the biggest X-factor this season, or is another Pelicans player more important to the team's success?

👇 Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

————————————————————————Follow us on Twitter, Instagram & TikTok: @nobasktball (No "E")👍 Like the video🔔 Subscribe for weekly Pelicans coverage, NBA analysis, trade discussions, game breakdowns, and offseason updates.

#Pelicans #NewOrleansPelicans #NBA #ZionWilliamson #DerikQueen #JeremiahFears #TreyMurphy #HerbJones #JordanPoole #JamahlMosley #NBAPodcast #PelicansPodcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hey Vitno, get no, they know.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

What up, what up, what up? Welcome to another episode of New Orleans.basketball. I am your host, Raphael Rattler, joined by my fellow Gary G Money Rattler.

SPEAKER_01 0:33

What's my bro? What up, what up, bro? It's all good on this side, man. Enjoying. Uh, as we wrapping up to to the main, the best part of the sports world when you get you know the NBA and the NFL, the W still going, college football is going. Uh, this feels like the warm-up. We got uh we got a little taste of it in the hall of fame game, man. Let me tell you something, Raf. I know this is a basketball podcast, okay, but this is a New Orleans podcast. All right, I love my city. Um, you know, if you you if you're from here, if you've been here, then you know you know. And I gotta say, man, got a little teary-eyed this weekend. Got a little teary-eyed this weekend with Drew Brees, man. I know that's I know that's a special part of your your life as well. Um, but yeah, man, it was it was real emotional to see Drew talk about the city, man, and his love for the city, and it it really does kind of it hurts to to not have that kind of like basketball beacon, right? And as far as like the historical in the historical sense, right? Like Chicago always will have Mike Jordan, you know what I'm saying? Like Golden State, San Francisco, Oakland would always have Steph, San Antonio always have Tim, you know, things like that, and on and on. Yeah, like you know, like there's guys all over Cleveland with LeBron, like there's places, so you never really had that in basketball, but it for the city of New Orleans, you know, outside of maybe Chris Paul, if like you really loved Chris Paul at that point in time. Um, but it also shows it, should show, you know, athletes that's in the city that is that are on the team right now, just how much like that is a very rare air to get in this city. Um, but you see how when you get there, like how much it means and how cool it is, like this, how this city will go crazy over you, and you will fall in love with the city the same way Drew Brees did. So I just thought it was really cool to see him speak about the city, right? Talk about the city of New Orleans and the people of New Orleans because the Saints are kind of their own entity, as like they're part of their their identity is the city, but like the Saints in is totally different from them people living in the ninth ward, those people living you know, across the canal and all of those different places. So it was good to see him talk about the city of New Orleans. So so big shout out uh to New Orleans and the city and and Drew uh for being on the map so much and giving me a teary eye, uh a teary eye weekend. Um, but yeah, man, outside of that, obviously, you know, the the NBA dropped their schedule. We got a two o'clock central time tip off for opening week. I kind of like it. I kind of I kind of like it as somebody who sits at a desk who I can prop that bug up right there. I kind of like it, but I I say all that to say, uh, bro, it's been good. And I I I'm gonna I'll give you before I throw it to you, I've seen a lot of like workout videos from Pelicans players and things, a lot more than like I'm used to seeing in right offseason. And I'm interested to get into that a little bit. Um, but like it doesn't seem like that to you. Like, there's a lot of like workout videos and pictures and people in the gym. Uh it seems like there's a lot of that going on, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

I mean, again, I'm not one that necessarily subscribes to that. Like, if you're working, right? Like, whether you're showing the world or whether you're keeping it to yourself, it is what it is. But you're right, like you've seen it, they've been more visible, and it leads into the main topic of the show and the growth of the Pelicans. The Pelicans made no moves, they're gonna have to get better. Like, they're each player is going to have to grow and develop this summer, and the organization is gonna have to grow and develop as well. Um, and and before we get too far into the show, make sure you guys are following us on Twitter, on X, on IG, on TikTok. That's in no basketball, no e. Make sure you're liking the episode below. And if you're not already subscribed to the channel, as far as like the Drew Brees piece goes, because you're absolutely right. Um it's funny that it's not funny, my son is not old enough to have seen the Saints winning season, and so like I was at a wedding. Shout out to my boy DJ. I was at a wedding, and I started catching clips of the Drew, and like my eyes start tearing up. Yeah, everybody said their eyes were like, You watching the speech. I was like, Oh I was like, you know what, I'm gonna watch the whole thing by myself. So I came home watching my son, and it's funny that you know the Pelicans uh media account went and tweeted out the picture of Drew Brees and Zion, and Drew Brees' kids were all young and now they're all grown up, and him having that moment. Wild deceit, by the way, insane, right? Him having that moment of Drew Brees saying, you know, to your point, you know, if you love the city, you'll love you back. I text you this like, what better time than you look at that picture like, damn, man, Zion was really in the league at that point, and then you remember he's 26 years old. Like I look at that situation and I say, okay, well, if if if Zion has all of this workout videos, we'll get to it. He has all this hype going into the season, you got the muscles, you shoot the jumper. Well, we'll talk about all that. Coming off the heels of a ceremony where Drew Brees knocked it out the park and gave the love to the city. What better time to accept that mantle that was being given to you? So I look at that and I say, what a better example of how to be a superstar athlete in the city of New York. Now, Amy Davis, on the other hand, he had some other crazy things to say. None of them were accurate at all. So it was an insane, it was just again, the Pelicans are never boring. Whether they're it's the off-season, it's the in-season, they're in the playoffs, they're not, they're always in the media there. So the topic of this pod, and this is the pod we love to do every year, is is the growth um conversation. Again, since Zion and you know Brendan Ingram at that time uh had arrived, each season you kept looking at the roster like, oh, this is a group of young players looking to take the next step. It's gonna come from internal developments. The same arguments and the same things being yelled at Joe Dumar's this offseason were yelled at David Griffin in previous offseason and yelled at Dell Dips in pre- and so like it's been things that have plagued the I don't want to say plague, but that have been attached to the franchise for quite some time, right? And so, in an offseason where you finished where you finished, and you're looking at the leagues looking at you like, what are you about to do? Joe Dumars gets on the mic before or at the end of the season and says, We gotta get tougher, we got to get better as a team. The only thing you do is re-sign a vet to a two-year contract, which was also controversial in terms of why you needed to do that, and change the head coach. Last week, uh Joe Dumars spoke with Rod Walker, and he talked about the this offseason how nothing has really happened. Uh, and he basically just said they tried, and none of the deals or none of the trades seem valuable to them. I'ma stop right there. Again, I think it's very easy to treat it like 2K and say, yeah, you know, if you could get off Jordan Poole's money, you could get off Jordan Hawkins' money, you might be able to go get Miles Turner, you might be able to go get, you know, whoever it may be, Ben Benedict Matherin, whoever it may be. But what do you always tell me? The other teams see those players play too, right? And so they have to want those players, they have to want those contracts. And so you trying to get off of players you don't want is the same thing that other play the other teams are trying to do as well. And so, like, trying to make a trade happen just for the sake of making the trade happen, I don't agree with at all, right? Like, you're you're just trying to change things, whether it's gonna necessarily make you better or not, from that perspective. So I want to stop there. Where do you fall on this meter? Like, what are your thoughts behind the quiet offseason or what do Mars had to say?

SPEAKER_01 9:04

I mean, listen, I I it it was very obvious that the Pelicans were working at a disadvantage both from a league perspective, right? And from a where your where your talent is versus like where you need to be. Um, because again, we I've always you know called this team unique since the Anthony Davis trade. I've this team has just been a unique team from then on, and it continues to now, where you're in this position where you have players who are valuable, right? They are they are good, um, and that other teams have called about over and over, season after season after season. Um, but you have this collection of those players who can't seem to put together you know enough sustainable winning uh to put together a winning season. And so you run into this situation where and I think you could kind of see it in how the Jalen Brown trade went, where you know, the the the thought of Jalen Brown and where fans think Jalen Brown is is obviously different from where the league and front offices are now whether the fans and everybody else is right or the front office and their you know their uh their analytics guys are right, you can debate that, but there's obviously two different thought processes between around Jalen Brown, right? Well, the same thing for a lot of Pelicans players as well, right? Like they told you out loud that they wanted three first rounders for Trey Murphy. Now, whether you believe that oh, Walker Kessler just got traded for three first rounds, so Trey Murphy better if he's gonna get moved, get at least three first rounds, or you look at it as well, Jalen Brown only got went for Paul George and one for uh you know first rounder. How could you possibly be asking for three for Trey Murphy? Regardless of where it was going, that's a stalemate, and so there just wasn't go. I just never thought, unless it was going to be you know Zion being traded, like if that was something that someone was gonna blow the Pelicans away for for you know to to trade away Zion. I never thought Trey Murphy was gonna be traded in the first place. Um, and then when you look down uh rah uh like everybody else, you gotta include like DeJounte Murray is coming off of an injury, nobody's ready to give up anything of substantial value to there. And then you talk about you know Sadiq Bey, who the Pelicans have said out loud that they want to keep Derrick Queen of Jeremiah Fairs aren't going anywhere, so you know, eat they told you, you know, who was trying to trade for Eve's Misi, and everybody agreed that yeah, they probably was just trying to fleece you out of Eve Messi the same way they were trying to fleece you out of Jose Alvarado, and so on and so forth. So it just it just never felt like this was gonna be you know the season and then now the Jordan Poole of it all, the Jordan Hawkins of it all, like you said just now, we aren't the only people watching those players, and so with 30 million on the books, 33 million on the books, and Jordan Hawkins eight million, they're just not an attractive pieces to be moved right now, and so you have to incentivize that. And we all know what happens when the Pelicans get to attach and stuff to people. That's not that's never a good thing, and so I understand and I I see it, I understand the frustration behind it as well. Like you just running this team back, um, you know, that wasn't successful neither the night, night like the past couple of seasons. Um, and so I get the frustration, but I also understand like you can't just pull a lever because the levers say pull, and then you fall from the ejected seat, and you fall from the bottom. So I I understand that. And so I I it was an inciting interview from Ryan Walker. I you know, he does great work uh with the Times Picking, but it's it wasn't really anything that I was like, Oh, this is new. I knew this was coming because it just if you looked at the T leaves, this kind of played out the way it was gonna play out.

SPEAKER_02 13:10

As far as like I agree with you, as far as like the end of season pressure goes, like when you really go watch it. To me, I understand how you can say, Well, the team needs to get tougher and you made no additions, except the coach, and then everyone's gonna say, Well, toughness is something you don't necessarily learn, you have innately. What do you always say on this podcast? Only at Sith Dills and absolutes. I think that there's a combination of both, right? Like you can look at examples where there were players that that were not considered tough players, but then got the right coaching and the right type of balance around them, that all of a sudden you're not looking at them as if they are incapable on the defensive end or unwilling on the defensive end. You're like, oh, they're serviceable in that degree. And so I look at a player, and or excuse me, I look like a look at a guy like Jamal Mosley and say, if you're going to bring anything, it would be just that. And so, like, yeah, I think there are probably some things that you could have maneuvered, but at the same time, if the deal's not there, I don't think you force it. I think you find your way through, see where you're at, and then you try to make a decision when options are better than where you are from that standpoint. And so, like, I think toughness can be learned, but I also think it's a mentality thing. And I think the captain of your ship often leads that, and you often reflect the leadership and what you're underneath. And when you don't have, you know, when you got a freaking fight and and and and and everyone's sharing the ball every night, and anyone's night, and you don't have a peck in order. I think it's easy for teams to to let go of the rope in some discretion. So, like, I look at those things, and I'm interested to see what Jamal Moore's can have. That being said, let's jump into this. Um, again, the roster's the same. There were some additional, let's start with our honorable mention. Caleb Houston shot 42 from three on the G League. Kobe Bufkin shot 42 from three in the G League. Uh Jerome Pierre shot 37 from three in college that share. They're my honorable mention. You want to know why, Garrett? Because if one of them, if one of them is capable of knocking down open threes and playing a decent level of defense, they're automatically important to this team. And so I've automatically put all those players that are trying to make the roster on my honorable mention of most important growth to this team. Because if there's anything outside of rebounding, it's floor spacing that this team lacked the most and is going to need the most. So I'll start with my number 10 and we'll work our way through snake draft. So my number 10. Here's my Jamal Mosley, and it echoes the point that I just made before. If Jamal Mosley literally just takes Jamal Mosley, puts in a box from Orlando, and brings it to New Orleans and is and opens the box and is the same coach, I think that by itself is gonna raise the floor of a team. Like if he gets no better on the offensive end, just has more offensive tools to play with, but his defense, his mentality is invoked on the team, and you see it night to night to night to night to night to night bases, you see that piece, that by itself is gonna raise the floor of this team. So I don't think necessarily the growth in his as a coach, now that's gonna show itself, right? Now, when you get into hopefully you get into playoff in in important situations, and it shows, hey coach, have you grown or not? But you gotta get there first. And so I look at him as if you come as you were from Orlando, I think that is enough to at least make the team better than what it is. I'm assuming you don't have Jamal Mosley at 10, but did you want to put uh put any words on that one?

SPEAKER_01 17:10

Yeah, no, I got I got Jamal Mosley, he's on my list, he's not at number 10. Uh, he's a little higher than that. So we'll we'll we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I I echo the sentiments. I think if you bring that defensive intensity and you see kind of that workmanship that he got these guys out in the fields and stuff running and things like that, um, I think that that's a positive step forward. So I I agree with you uh about having him on the list. He's uh he's a little higher on mine. So uh my number 10 is very interesting. I took a different approach this year. I got Jordan Poole at number 10. Okay, I got Jordan Poole at number 10, and here's why he's still on the team for now. Um, he's still a part of this Pelicans. He's been he was at summer league, he was part of the pitcher running up and down the field and stuff in Las Vegas. The Pelicans need Jordan Poole's archetype, they need a volume scorer who doesn't mind taking volume threes um and can handle the ball. They need that kind of archetype, regardless of who's the starting point guard or whoever the case is. How long have you known this podcast and fans all just asking for someone to be able to get a shot off who is not Zion or not Brandon Ingram and not CJ McCullum, who doesn't need to be passed the ball by the one of those guys, like you need that guy, and listen, Jordan Poole had an awful season last season. Um, you know, the contract is the contract, it's not a contract the pelicans gave, but it is a contract that the pelicans traded for. So it is it is laid at the feet of of you know Joe Dumas and Troy Weaver. But if he could if he could find it, because this is uh important for him as well as the Pelicans, for both of them to get his trade value up, to get his value in the league back up, um, and and and be able to be a guy that could get something of value in return, or you know, at least be amendable in the trade. Um, I think just if he's able to to kind of wash away last season as part of the weirdness, um, kind of rebuy into being on this Pelicans team, kind of very similar to the way that Sadiq Bey brought into being on this Pelicans team his first year here. I think that his growth, that that growth right there, just just kind of focusing in and locking back in, they need that kind of guy coming off the bench for them, regardless of who's in that starting five or whatever the case you may have. And so I think if he could come in and bring at least some of the energy that he bought in his Wizards year, other than his first Pelicans year, I think that that would benefit the Pelicans as far as being a good team for next season, because you need a guy who can be ignitable and can get shots off without having to rely on the big dogs to feed him and get them that because they won't be there all the time. And at some time that offense breaks down, you're gonna need guys to bail you out. And the Jordan Poole that was with the Wizards, who was able to have a career year, that kind of guy can service the Pelicans in a great way. So I got Jordan Poole at 10.

SPEAKER_02 20:15

I I I got you. I I would agree with that. I have Jordan Poole a little bit higher up on the list, um, from that end at number nine. Here's where I have Micah PV. He's on my honorable mention, so this is all you we have to have the Herb Jones conversation. Um, but I look at Micah PV a little bit different. Like if you see what uh Carter Bryant was able to do for the Spurs last year, even in a rookie role, and he's much younger and a different type of player, but the body size, right? Like, what do we talk about when you know now there's you know controversy? Dyson Daniels was ranked higher in 2K than Herb Jones, stuff like that. I look at it differently, right? I don't want Herb Jones necessarily going against the bigger body guys like Luca Donchis and things like that that can move Herb because he's not the biggest guy when it comes to that. I want another bigger body guy. I look at Micah Peavy and I say, why can't you play a similar role for the Pelicans, right? It's all gonna come down to what? His ability to shoot the three. Can you get to league average? Can you get to 36%? Can you get to 34%, right? Because then you can leave Micah on the court more. Like, I just think that from a player that showed a lot more than Herb did in in college offensively, I just think that there are certain things in his offensive game that if he can feel confident getting to and hot hitting the corner threes or whatnot, I think that's a player that can play in your rotation, and that's a player who, again, if he can hit open shots that can play in a playoff rotation. And so I'm looking at Michael P who again is not that much younger than a lot of these players because he played in college longer. And I look and say, okay, what's that next up? What does Year two look like for you? Everybody talks about fears and queen, but like I think that like the defense is real there. And I think if it can become three and or D and sometimes three at the very least, I think that that's a player that the Pelicans again stole out of that draft class. Like, if you want to take the last couple years draft class and like mold it into okay, let's move Derrick Queen to the next year and move Michael Peaver to I would think that's three years in a row that if Michael P can become a decent shooter, you got three players that can play in your rotation that fit on the timeline you're trying to build. So that's why I have Michael PV. Who you got at nine, who you got at eight.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

Yeah, yeah, man. I I I like the Michael PV pick. I I really hope that he can he can develop that shot because he has a lot of tools that can really help uh this team right now and in the future. So um at number eight, I have DeJounte. I have DeJounte Murray here. Yeah, I have DeJounte Murray here. I think that listen, the DeJounte Murray that was inserted to this team, um, you know, when he came back uh from his Achilles injury, that DeJounte immediately like changed this team. It changed the way the team played, it changed the it it changed the the the confidence you had as far as the ball handling uh opportunities and it changed the attitude, it changed the way that the how hard they played, and you know the the the standards felt a little higher when he came back. Now, again, it didn't let lead to a lot more wins, but the Pelicans played a lot better when DeJounte Murray came back, and that was right off of fresh off of returning from an Achilles injury. Right now he's had an offseason, now he's he's got he's had games underneath his belt after this Achilles, he knows where he can push his body, he knows what to expect after he plays, he knows the maintenance that he needs to take with this with this body with this, you know, with this injury and things like that. And I'm looking for him to come back and hit the ground running like off the immediately off the dump. And I think that if he can get even better than he was when he came back, I think his shot was he was still finding his shot and finding his win. Yeah, and I think he was his the game was a little quicker for him as he was trying to get back to his steps. Um, and I think again, just like Jordan Poole, like DeJounte got a lot to play for, uh, you know, this season moving forward, and so it it when you talk about internal growth, internal motivation has to play into that. And when you talk about guys on the team who should have that, DeJounte is is at the one at the top of the list, and so I think if he can just come back with that same mentality, but uh, but his body is now even further away from that injury, the game slows down for him, and he starts to be that guy that we thought was coming in and we kind of saw a little bit um before he went down with his injury. I think that he he is uh a key piece in this team being good uh this upcoming season and you know seeing where that goes moving forward. Um, and then at seven, it's gonna shock a lot of people, man. Hey, eight, eight. Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, at eight. I'm sorry, at eight, at eight. It's a long day. At eight, I got Zion, man. Okay, okay. I got Zion, I got Zion at eight, and here's why it's crazy. I thought I had okay, okay. Okay, all right. I like I like where we're going with this. Okay, so I have Zion here, and here's why. My first statement is comes from a uh a good J. Cole song, but it's it's it comes from from President George W. Bush. You you fooled me one time, shame on you. Fool me twice. You can't fool me again. That's what that's that that's that's what that's what that's what John Bush says. So listen, I know what to expect from Zion Williamson. I know what to expect from Zion with the ball in his hands, with the offense running through him. I have seen Zion has played not a lot of games. I understand, understandable. These last two seasons have been, you know, they've been a little better, but not a lot, okay. I know what to expect from him, and I'm not going to go into this season once again saying, well, if he could add a jumper, if he could add a pull-up, I'm not gonna do that because we are we are past okay, maybe he'll do it, maybe he'll do it. If he doesn't, I will be pleasantly surprised, I will be great, like you said. I've seen the videos, I've seen the the the you know the the clips. Shout out to Chris, shout out to Z for putting that work in, and that's what he should be doing. Would much rather be seeing being fed old Zion summer workout videos than not being fed them. So I will I will give him a pass for for these videos and these clips. But I know what to expect from him, I know the force that he is, I know how good he is, I know how good of an interior score is. We've always said on this podcast, you the results on the floor when he's playing, they speak for themselves. You can talk about the off-season stuff, the off-court stuff, the drama, all that you could talk about all that, but when he's on the floor, you can't you can't talk about you know, you you can't diminish those those you know, those those results, and so I know what to expect from him. And so I'm not really sure outside of the jumper what growth Zion could really have. Like, I he's a I think he's a good passer, I think he's a he's a uh a great scorer, he's never going to be a great rebounder. I think we can uh accept that. Can he be better? Of course, but I don't I just think you're you're asking somebody who is not they don't that's not something that they're wanting to do to do that, and so I I don't know how much growth he can give to the you know to this outside of the jumper. And I'm just tired of saying, Oh, if he adds the jumper, so I know what he brings to this team, and I think that if he when you talk about his growth, if he can just stay on the floor, like that's that's enough for me. That's growth enough for me. The jumper and stuff, I'll be pleasantly surprised if they if he adds it. I'm I'm here for it, I'm just not gonna bank on it. And so for me, Zion's growth, because I it's it's the jumper or nothing, and staying on the floor, that in of itself will make this team better. Um, you know, and and make this team a better team than if they did not have Zion playing, um, and and if they did not have Zion uh doing the things that he does.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

That's I thought I had Zion low on my list, but I have Zion a little bit further up from you. Um, and so I'll wait on that because I feel a little bit different on that. So my number eight, this is where I have Jordan Poole, but I'm gonna go back to my slash. Ah, I'm gonna go back to my my D-way slash, uh Jordan Poole slash Jordan Hawkins. So I got the slash on the Jordans. For all the reasons you just said about Jordan Poole and his ability, his skill set, right? Like, not even just his ability, like the thing he the things he does well, shoot the ball and be creative with the ball. The Pelicans need that in the worst way. And if he had a a decent level of every night, I know what to expect, that fills a huge hole in this team, right? Whether you just you decide to extend him or whether you decide to move him somewhere else and he goes get paid by someone else, to your point, it's in both the Pelicans and Jordan Poole's best interest to build his value up to some degree. Even if he is ready to move on and saying he what does want to play for the Pelicans, if any of that comes to light, it's in his best interest to play in a situation where you're not being asked Jordan Poole to be the one option, you're not being asked to be the two option, you're not being asked to be the three option, you're not being asked to be the four option. So, like you're not being asked to carry the load, very similar to how you were played in the at Golden State when you won a championship. You're not being asked to hold the brunt of the responsibility of the team. If you can excel in that role, I think that there are going to be teams willing to take a chance on him in a contract year where again the league may have rebalanced his expectations. And so, like, I think in that regard, the same thing applies to Jordan Hawkins. There is a specific skill set on the Pelicans that has been missing since JJ Reddick. The ability to movement shoot away from Trey's learned to relocate, and Trey has done better about being dangerous behind the arc, but the ability to shoot on the move is something that I think if you truly what do we always say, boil players down to what they really think. If you really asked Zion what you would value the most, it would be a movement shooter that I could always kick out to when I have four and five in the stands and the concessions all guard me at the rim. I think that's and so the same way why why it's a huge opportunity for Jordan, Jordan Poole to rebuild his value. I think the same thing for Jordan Hawkins. Whether it's with the Pelicans and you're ready to move on, or whether it's with another team and you're ready to start over, this is your opportunity because if not, both of those players could be looking at the league next year and being like, where do I fit in? Like, am I on a minimum? Like, am I in the G League? Like, what where where is next for Jordan Hall?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

Cam Cam Thomas averaged like 20 points a game and is out the league. He averaged fast. Right.

SPEAKER_02 31:38

And so those type of players are dying breeding in this league in terms of making big contracts. And so I I again hit him with the slash for both Jordans in that situation. My number seven is the curious case of Carlo Makovich. I look at Carlo. I look at Carlo Makavic.

SPEAKER_01 31:59

He's my seven, too. That's for Larry. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:01

I look at Carlo Makovich and I say, There's not another player on the team that offers what you offer. Miles Turner is not on the Pelicans. There is not another player that was drafted. He is the only big on the team that can say, I shot 42% for three last season. Again, small volume, but the ability and the and and the and the confidence in which he shot it was there more so than Derrick Queen or DeAndre Jordan or Ease Meese. He's the only one or Zion, right? And so I look at that and say, again, he's not he's the same age as Zion. Like, what why can't this player continue to get better and continue to grow? Why can't he be more consistent there? I think the biggest thing for Carlo is consistency in terms of his minutes. When you when he was playing consistently, you'd be like, damn, every other game, you'd be like, Carlo's the most athletic guy on the floor. He's making plays on the defensive bins, chase down blocks, he's putting people through the rim. Like the NBA just had their top 100 dunks, and Carlo was on it. And it's like, it's like with a guy with that type of ability, there has to be a place in your rotation, especially for a team that struggles with spacing, to use that skill set. And so, like, that's where I've got Carlo. Like, can you be more consistent on the boards so that when you are at the five, right? Or you are at the four, if someone else has to box out someone who's bigger because the Pelicans don't have any footers, are you the one that's aggressive consistently on the glass? I think that's the next step for him. And so I've got Carlo at seven. What are your thoughts?

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Yeah, no, I I same. I got Carlo at seven, and I think that Carlo has the ability to be the safety blanket for a lot of people on the on the roster, right? Jeremiah Fears and his live passes, you know, a guy that can help you roll into the rim. Jeremiah Fairs and his live passes, Derek Queen playing him at the five, uh uh uh at next to Derrick Queen at the four. Um, and having him be okay, that's my guy who's gonna go get rebound uh block shots for me and do those things. Plus, I can throw lobs to him as well. Pass out, you talking about movement shooting, having a guy that shoot Zion, another guy he could be the the safety blanket for. Oh, I got two guys on me. I know Carlos out there, he could hit a a three. So, like he can be the safety blanket for a lot of the Pelicans players, and I think to your point, what gets you on the floor, and when we talk about growth, is getting stronger, getting more aggressive, right? The he he has a he has a high flying kind of physical game, but he he feels like he's playing a European version of it, right? And so if there's a way to get him in there and and flying in for more rebounds and being more aggressive, standing people up defensively, coming over to help block, you know, more aggressively, the things that make you great just get more more aggressive in those rays. I think that's the kind of the kind of player that gets on the floor for a guy like Jamal Mosley. I think about Jamal Mosley and his Orlando days, a guy like Mo Wagner, like that is the kind of way that you could use Carlo Makovich, and Mo Wagner was a great piece for um his Orlando teams, could come in, play to five, play to four, stretch the stretch the floor, uh, you know, play pick and roll, be the initiator, and sometimes some passing because Carlo's a a decent passer, excuse me, as well. And so I think that there's a lot that you can unlock with Carlo, and he becomes the safety blanket for the team. Um, and I just think that like that, he his growth right now with his skill set is super important because he's unique from everyone else, uh in that big man room for sure.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

Who's got a six?

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Yeah, so that's that's seven. I'm with you on Carlo. At six, this might surprise some other people as well. I got Trey Murphy, I got Trey Murphy here. Okay, I got Trey Murphy here, and for some of the similar same reasons that I have for Zion, although I do think Trey does have a little bit more room to grow a little bit. So, again, I know what to expect from Trey Murphy. I've I've seen the constant growth and ascension, I've seen the places where he struggled. Some of the places where he struggled, it's the some of the same place that he struggled last season, some of the same places he struggled when he was younger, when he was first coming into the league. Now, there was a time where shot creation was like, Oh, okay, we're turning a corner, and then it you know it becomes more difficult as you get on more people's scouting reports, and people like, okay, well, we gotta guard the shot creation up a little bit now, and so you see what happens this season, it gets a little bit more difficult to do that. Um, and I think at some point throughout the season, we all came to agree that like Trey Murphy was a play finisher more than a play initiator, and so obviously, you want him to to work on that. Obviously, I've seen the you've seen the runs. I saw the video, Trey looked fantastic, incredible. It was a summer run, and Trey Young was there, and Michael Porter Jr. was there. There was no defense being played, however, Trey Trey Murphy looks he looked incredible, he looks even more jacked now. So he's been in the way room, and so can the shot creation take you to the next step? Because that's I think that that is the one thing that is keeping Trey from ascending to like that. Is he an all-star level? Can he rebound? We I don't know. Trey is launching from the three-point line almost every play, and so I don't expect and if he's at the room, it's because he's dunking, and so there's no in-between for Trey, and so I don't really know how much better he's gonna get with that. Would I love to see a better of it? Absolutely, but I think what what turns what separates like Klay Thompson from and not Steph Curry, but like that kind of player is the is the putting the ball on the ground shot creation. That's what brings you to that next level, right? That's what the the the the clay thompson to like a Jalen Brown, right? Like that's what puts you in that next level, that shot creation. Are you able to create your own shot? And just like I say with Zion, I feel like I've been asking this question over and over and over and over again. And when Trey comes out and shows that to me, I will be pleasantly surprised. But for now, if Trey could be an even more like killer play finisher, come out and be more aggressive, going to the rim, you know, go use your athleticism that that guy gives you. We've seen like really high highs of it, but not like consistency of it, of him being aggressive, getting to the rim, not playing around with the ball, one, two dribbles, go go with your move. If it's a shot, if it's a pass, whatever. That is what I need to see more from Trey Murphy. And I think again, I know what to expect from Trey Murphy, and so I know what a baseline Trey Murphy season will look like and what it does for this team, and so I'm okay with that, and so that's why I have him so low, as opposed to some other people who may have a higher ceiling, which could impact the team even more. But I think Trey's Trey's in internal development is super important for his career and for it being a selfish way, his career getting to that next step of being a fringe all-star, knocking on the door of all-star, all-stars, things like that. It helps the Pelicans for him to be that way because he needs to be the guy, the scorer for this team, the con consistent, constant 25, 23 to 25 a game. That needs to be Trey Murphy for this team. Um, and so that's why I have him number six on my on my list.

SPEAKER_02 39:53

That's fair. I got Trey a little bit higher. Um and and and we'll see why in a second. My number six is Jeremiah Fears. Here's why. If you just take the very end of last season for Jeremiah Fierce, and he just gets better there, if you just take that and you take that and put it in season two, that to me is a great sophomore second year for Jeremiah Fears. Obviously, not average, giving you 30 and stuff like that, but just the consistency and the confidence in which he was moving around on the court. Like, yeah, you want to look and say, okay, what can the shooting get to? You shot 33% as a rookie, he shot 28% from Oklahoma. I myself am never looking at Jeremiah Fears and thinking, can you get to 40% shooter? I just don't know if that's ever going to be the case for two reasons. One, I think he's gonna only shoot more as he continues to play more, and so I don't know if his percentage will follow with that. But two, I just don't think that's the thing that he does best. The the area that I'm looking the most gross for Jeremiah Fears is the decision making. Last year he averaged 3.4 assists and had 2.2 turnovers per game, and a lot of times it was him getting to the spot and then thinking about what to do next versus anticipating to have a plan before he went in. And so, like as the season went on, he went better and he got better and better. We talk about the off-season videos, and you know, he's a guy that is always in the gym and always seems to have somebody taking videos of him in said gym, right? From that's from that standpoint, but I don't ever see the passing piece. And what do we talk about in his first summon league with some of the passes that he hit eaves on, some of the roles that he he saw? I think when he talks about being, you know, the second best point guard of all time, I think the point guard part of that is the area that I would like to see him grow in. You mentioned, you know, how the team got better with DeJounte. I did not have DeJounte on my list. To your point, I think if DeJounte comes in and he's the exact same as he was last year for a whole season and with the offseason underneath his belt to Joe with his teammates, I think the Pelicans are better by themselves. If he gets no better, if there's any player I can say other than DeAndre Jordan, I'm confident with a player that they already are, and that if they get no better, that that is a player that I know what it is, it's it would be DeJounte Murray. And so if that is the case, like I'm taking DeJounte, who was an all-star, right? Like, I'm taking that player on my team. But like when it comes to Jeremiah Fierce, I don't think it was a coincidence that when DeJounte came back and Fierce went to the bench, Fears looked a whole lot better, not just because he was playing against second units, because he was watching an example on the court take place who plays a similar style, upbeat, high, long arms, active, a lot of speed, like DeJounte to say that's how I can play too. It's not just my speed to get to the basket. I have to know how to use my speed and how to see the court at all times, how to get my teammates involved. That piece started to get better as he saw an example on the court in front of him. And so I think that that by itself is the biggest area where I'm looking at the decision maker from a second-year point guard. How does that grow in year two? The third thing that I look for, and again, I think the weight and the fact that this seems to be a uh a kid who grew up playing against guys who are a lot stronger, stronger and older than him. The rim finishing last year was at 56.5%, which is not great. But I think for a guy who what how many times last season I say I don't feel Jeremiah's size? Like on the court, he's throwing and moving guys, even though those guys outweigh him by 20 30 pounds. Obviously, it looks like he's put on some weight, obviously, he looks like he's stronger, obviously, he's getting more craftier and understanding. I can't Get so deep underneath the basket that now I have no choice that now he's gonna block my shot. I think adding a little bit of of both expertise and knowledge, but also strength is gonna improve that rim rate. And so I'm looking at that area to see if it improved, but if I had to bet, I bet it would, right? Uh, in that standpoint. So, like, that's how I look at Jeremiah Fears again. Not can he make huge leaps? Because if the Pelicans are good, and I know people don't want to hear this, and this may sound like a hot take, but if the Pelicans are good, that probably means that Derek Queen and Jeremiah Fierce came off the bench for a significant amount of the time. And and or or they completely took over and became all all-stars. So it's either one of the other, right? If they're playing a lot of big minutes again, I something tells me the season didn't go the way that the Pelicans playing, right? In terms of internal growth being the thing. So that's where I got Jeremiah Fears. At five, here's where I have Zion. Here's where I disagree with your point. I agree with their four Zion's base level is incredible, and everyone knows that, including ESPN, including the media, including the Pelicans, including the NBA, which is why, for a player that has no playoff minutes in seven years, everyone's still like, yeah, I can understand why they're keeping Zion. Because what if, right? What we we're big Marvel fans on here. What if, right? With a guy like this, right? Let's go down that Marvel arc. Do you remember that season where for the Heat, I think that that shift took place for LeBron where LeBron was always like the lovable guy, the guy with all the charisma, the guy to come take the mantle from Jordan, the guy everyone's rooting for from Cleveland. Then he went to the Heat, and everyone's like, We hate that team. Boo and LeBron when he walks in. And it wasn't to LeBron got, you know, he got his nose broken, playing. Yeah, it was the second.

SPEAKER_01 45:58

It was the second year.

SPEAKER_02 45:59

Yeah, and he embraced that. You know what? If y'all gonna boo me, or yeah, y'all just gonna boot me. That is what he embraced the villain. And like, I think for LeBron, who's very charismatic and who has a lot of the I want to be liked in him, I think a lot of that goes to Zion with that. Me personally, Garrett, here's where I just I I on the offensive end, I agree with you. I think if he can shoot one or two threes again, if he can be comfortable in the mid-range, I think that would be phenomenal for him. But I also look at Giannis on the coupo, and I'm like, you know, sometimes he's got the three, but I'd be like, you know what, Giannis, just go take it to the rim again. Like, and I think that to like you, when it comes to Zion, Zion will figure out a way to be efficient on the offensive side of the floor if given the ball. And so I tend to think that's the baseline. Here's where I differ. I think there's a hell of a lot more of him on the defensive end, and I think the number one thing that has to change, I get the the workouts, I get the physique, I get the work that he's putting in. Joe Dumar's talking about him falling in love with the process and being addicted to getting better. I want to see that translate into his mentality. I disagree. I I do think that Zion is more of the mindset of a guard than he is of a center to go get the rebound every single time. But I also look at Shea Gilders Alexander, I also look at Luca Donchez, I also look at players around the league who are guards who are the size of Zion or smaller, who also get seven to eight rebounds a game. Oh, I I agree a thousand percent. I just don't think Zion gonna do it. So to me, this goes to my point. I think it's a mentality switch, right? Like we talked about there is everything going against Zion right now. The shoot money's taken away, you're not being talked about like a darling like that. Like time is quickly going past you. And so if there was ever gonna be a time to take the mantle and take the villain role and embrace that art, it's right now. But part of that comes with the mentality. Like, if you want the ball, you want to be the superstar. What do a lot of those guys, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, have in common? They're always around the ball. So if you're playing defense and you have the capability, like Zion has showed us, shout out to KG and Uncut Gems, like he showed us the ability to lock down at time versus the best players in this league. You need to do that from a consistent basis. It's a mentality thing. Because guess what? If you steal the ball, you're probably gonna score on the other end. If you get the rebound, you already have the ball in your hand. So no one you don't have to rely on someone passing to you on a team full of shoot first players. Like you don't need that because you were already there. What do we talk about when Zion first got in the in into the lead? His second jump, his ability to get back up on the offensive rebound. That is the place where he that's a rebound, right? Like that is a place where he can continue to excel, but it comes with the conditioning and having the motor, the mentality to constantly do it. So to me, it echoes my last point from the last five. Are you a guy that can get you 20? Are you Miles Bridge Bridges that can give you 20 points, five rebounds, you know, three assists, or are you the guy? And so I think that that is it's the it's not to me, it's not physical, it's a mental thing for Zion. That is the growth that I'm looking for out of Zion. Who you gotta follow?

SPEAKER_01 49:35

Yeah, no, I I I agree with you totally percent, uh, 100% on Z. Like he he he has to have that mentality to to lock in. Uh, so at five and at four, this is where I have uh Jeremiah Fears okay and Derrick Queen. So I have Fierce Five and Derrick Queen at four, and here's why I have those two right back to each other. Um, but I have them higher than Zion and Trave. I think that the things that Jeremiah Fears is good at, I think there is nobody on the team that can do what he does. There's no we saw the top 10 speed with ball handles on NBA 2K. Nobody else on the Pelicans is on there, but Jeremiah Fears is on it, yeah. And there's a reason why. And so I think that when you talk about Jeremiah Fares, you talk about speed, you think about quickness, and I think when you talk about his growth for the Pelicans and growth for him, I think that he has he has like he has a master speed, but he's on his way to mastering play with speed. I'd love to see Jeremiah Fares work on D cell because he's so fast. I think that him being able to switch gears, switch speeds would benefit him so much. We've watched guys like Luca do it. Luca ain't nowhere near as fast as Jeremiah Fiers, neither is Anthony Edwards, as big and athletic as he is. He's nowhere near as fast as Jeremiah Fiers is with the ball. D'Aaron Fox is good at at the D sell. I think that's a perfect, perfect person to watch for sure. That is something that he could master and and really put players in predicaments because you have to play off your back foot, because you have to guard him in his speed. But if he's able to stop and draw files because he's stopping it, some very similar, like how Trey Young would find ways to draw files in that mid-range game, he has a level of speed that guys like that don't have. This is I shoot 70 on this, 80 on this. This is my shot. I think Jeremiah Fares becomes uh an almost borderline, unstoppable uh offensive player. And so I think that is where I would love to see his growth, the slow game, the D sell, the mid-range game being your go-to shot because you'll be able to get to that shot whenever you want to, with your speed and the kind of guys that'll be around you, and the way that you'll be being guarded, you'll be able to get to that shot. So if you can master that, I think that makes his game that that bumps his scoring up five, six points. Um, because it also gets into the line, I think, as well. Um, but it also helps the Pelicans a lot. And going up to four is Derek Queen. And I think this is just because I think what what Derek Queen can be is something that is again unique to this team, and very similar to Jeremiah Fares. And again, this is something that is gonna have to have gonna have you talked about the Herb Jones conversation, like Zion hasn't signed his extension yet, and so you talk about DeJounte Murray being a guy that's like maybe he'll be here, maybe he won't, and maybe Jeremiah Fares helps with the answer that question. I think Derrick Queen has a lot. We talked about the pressure that's on on Derrick Queen. He has a lot of uh importance on his on his growth as well, because he needs to be able to come in and be effective on this team, um, in in ways that that he wasn't as effective last you know, last year, whether it be the coaching minutes and the the things, and or whether it be being in shape or effort or motor, in all of those things, he has to be better at all of that. And I think if he can step up and he becomes okay, this guy is obviously needs to be on the floor. Like he obviously, every time he's on the floor, they run the offense through him, or something good happens with him on the floor with other guys around. If he becomes that, I think a lot of the Pelicans, everybody's talking about direct the Pelicans are directionless, which I still don't think that they are. But if that's the narrative, I think if Derek Queen starts to emerge as like, okay, this is a guy that needs to be on the floor. I think that clears up at least some of the questions about directions, uh, as far as the team goes. Again, he can play with Zion. I still think that that's something that that can help. I think you need to build the rest of that lineup out around, and you need to make sure that that structure of that lineup is around a Zion and Derrick Queen lineup, uh uh uh line, uh led lineup. But I think that they can play together because they're both so so unique and they both can do things, uh, you know, that that kind of keep you off kilter a little bit, and so um I think Derrick Queen's at growth for this team is important because they're they're they're gonna need big bodies, they're gonna need rebounding, they're gonna need guys who are willing to pass the ball. Like, you're gonna need all of the things that Derek Queen is supposed to be really good at. You're gonna need it. It's not something last year where it was like, Okay, we just drafted this guy. I know they paid a lot, but like, where does he fit? What's good with his game and things? He's shown you enough that he's at least board uh at baseline and NBA rotation player right now. Now it's time for him to step up and demand the ball. So to take a more of an on court leadership when you get the ball, don't stand in the corners and threes. I know he's working on those threes, those trail threes, those are the things you want to see. Great, love to see it. But when you're on the floor, like you need to be a hub and you need to make sure your teammates know you that you are a hub because that's when you get the best utilization out of Derrick Queen. So for me, I think that that is that that is his growth, his the the area for his growth, and I think it is super important for this team because being good this season is one thing, but the the Pelicans need to have at least somewhat of a of an answer moving forward to what this team is going to be in the next three years, in the next four years, have at least one or two pillars to be building around that. And I think Derrick Queen and uh I think in a little bit of a smaller case because you have DeJounte in front of him, but in a little bit of a smaller case, Jeremiah Fitz, but both of them are just as uh just as important to getting on this floor right now and showing that growth this upcoming season.

SPEAKER_02 56:24

That's fair. I got Derek Queen a little bit higher. Um and so I will get to him. My number four, here's where I got Trey. Again, I understand what you mean by from an offensive standpoint. Like if you Trey was the same player offensively this year and last year, you would take it, right? If everything else is going on is better around him. Um, I just look at Trey, and you all always call him the conundrum because he can chew from the three-point line and he can put you put you through the rim, and he's six foot ten. And I say, for a guy that is that athletic, there has to be another level of defense to him. You talk about what's the difference between Klay Thompson and going to a Steph-like player or dame-like player, things like that, is your ability to create on your own. What's another difference? Klay Thompson was a hell of a defender, right? And so it wasn't just he was dominant on one, he also was guarding your second, your third best player. Right now, Trey's getting hunted on the on that side of the ball. And for a guy that athletic and that strong, I just I just think that that is an area that has to get better for him if he does want to be an all-star, right? Like, if you do want to get to that next level, it can't just be you catch and shoot, right? And you make threes, or you catch and shoot and score sometimes, but it doesn't lead to winning because we're giving up points on the other end so easily over and over another time. Like, I don't know if it I tend to think that Trey is more clay Thompson than he is Paul George, and that I don't think the best version of Klay or the best version of Trey is with the ball in his hand, attacking the rim. I do think there is opportunity for him to get better, and obviously he should continue to grow. But I think if Trey can get dangerous at moving without the ball, but then once he gets the ball, being able to get to the rim or get it to the midi, especially the midi where he feels first guy who is playing from the half-court line, there's a lot of space between then and the and the rim, right? And so, can you make a play between there and that where you can pull up and shoot because you're one of the best shooters in the league? It doesn't have to be get to the rim and figure it out and throw your hands up in the air or turn over, you can get confident get into your spots in between. And so I'm looking for that growth out of Trey, but more the biggest thing is the defensive side of the ball. Like, honestly, if Trey gets to serviceable there, I think he becomes an all-star because I think the Pelicans are a better team if one of your best players also is serviceable on the defensive end, and so I've got Trey at Furrow at three. I got Herb, bro.

SPEAKER_01 59:08

At three, too.

SPEAKER_02 59:11

Look, I think if the shot, I'm just trying to be realistic. If the shot can get to league average, like it doesn't have to be 40, and it can't be 30 and 29, but can you get somewhere in between where you feel decently comfortable that trade that Herb is going to hit a three? If that's the case, Herb Jones value to your team is Scott. Every team needs a Herb Jones, right? And you have one of the better ones who is still is should be ascending in terms of his growth. And so if Herb can take a level, and I don't know if uh was last offseason he was injured the whole time, and then he had to recover, and then you start the season in a funk, and then every you never get in the rhythm, he got hurt during the season, like you never get in rhythm. I don't know if it's that, but the same thing I talk about with Trey, I think applies to Herb as well. The thing that shouldn't define Herb Jones is the three-point line. The thing that that didn't define Draymond Green's entire career was not the three-point line. He found other ways to be serviceable on the offensive end of the floor that I don't want to say in this NBA you can hide, but you can at least be a threat in different areas. There was times Herb wasn't even looking at the basket if it wasn't a three-point line. And for a guy who's also 6'8, who's also very athletic, I will never forget the game versus the Cavs where Herb had 34 points and was going to the cup over and over and over because the worst defender on the floor was guarding him. Like, there's gotta be an element of that to Herb. There's gotta be what are your spots in the mid-range? What are the like he was he was getting a little comfortable in the mid-range a little bit last season, but like it wasn't going to it enough. And so, like, what is the offensive ceiling for for Herb Jones, right? Like, not asking you to be Steph Curry, but but are you serviceable on the offensive end so that you can leave our best defender on the floor when we need it the most? What are your thoughts on Herb?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:20

Yeah, Herb is number three for me. Um I I will say this uh I I understand the comparison with Draymond. Draymond also played with Steph Curry and Klay Town. That's true. Those guys are not on the Pelicans, and when he wasn't playing with him, Kevin Durant was there. Those guys are not on the Pelicans, and so it's easier to hide a Draymond when your best two players are the greatest shooters of all time, whereas it's harder to hide Herb when your best two players are Zion and Trey Murphy, like it's it's harder to hide that way, and so for me, listen, if you would have told me four years ago or three years ago that an outsider would come onto the Pelicans team and in his first year snatch Herb Jones's who should probably be starting chain, I would have called you crazy because Herb Jones got a day in Louisiana. But listen, they're gonna extend Sadiq Bay. There's a Sadiq Bay question to be had when it comes to Herb Jones. He isn't on Sadiq Bay was on my honorable mention because Sadiq Bay could just be the same player, just do that next year. I don't know the to do that next year, they're my hobby. However, there's been there's this man then came and snatched the chain, and so you there you have to uh and and listen, the game was different when Draymond was in his prime than it is now, brother. They are not going to guard you, and like I said last podcast, you can do you can put him in screens, have him screen so that you know his the space that they giving him is beneficial to the to the recipient of the of the screener. There's ways to do that. You can have him initiate offense, dribble handoffs, things like that. When the game I have seen it time and time again that it works in the regular season when the games matter, all that shit go out the way. I am going to stand right here, and he's going to be right there. And I've said multiple times the reason why OKC won the championship, 90% of it was Shea Gilge's Alexander being incredible. A great bit of that remainder part of it was that Lou Dort was a 40% three-point shooter because I could now leave my best defender who also helps Shay not have to guard you. I can leave him on the floor, and if you leave him, he will hit an open three. That is why okay, that is a conundrum. That if you can solve it, you you you have the easy way through. The same way with the Celtics and Drew Holiday. I can put him on your best player, but you also can't leave Drew Holiday open. It helps Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum keep up with their energy. We're asking for Trey and Zion to get better on defense. I echo that a thousand percent. You have to be better both both sides of the ball because that's who how you are paid. However, you also should not be tasked at carrying the offense and carrying the defense. Jalen Brown can do it, Anthony Edwards can do it. That's fine. That's still Trey Murphy and Zion Williamson aren't those guys as far as being in condition and being ready to take on that challenge all night in and night out over and over again. And even Ant has Jaden McDaniels. So you have to be able, Herb has to to to to make his value known because again, all of these years, he's been the darling of the NBA, the great, a great uh what up, Travis, a great uh contract, a great value. Brother, next year he is making 20 million dollars plus. That that honeymoon phase is over. You have to be able to knock down the shot. I don't have any questions about Herb's defense. I think there was weird stuff going on last year coming off of an injury. I I think that Herb will be a uh just fine on the defensive end, and Herb has the IQ to be just fine in other aspects of the offense to to to make it right. You have to be able to be league average at the three-point line because if not, there not only are you not helping the team, but there are other options that can be brought in now, and so it's no longer just oh, we'll just ride her, keep shooting herb one for eight, keep shooting, two for nine, keep shooting. Now we got Sadiq we can bring in and roll like that. So Herb Jones is at my number three. Number two, I'm sure I'm be interested to see where we add at number one. But this is where I have Jamal Moore.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:00

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:01

I got Jamal Mosley way at the top. And for two reasons. Number one, what we said last, what you said last week on uh last episode on the pod, brother, they made no changes other than you. So you yo you better have grown in some years because this uh they like you gonna fix this. So here you go, Jamal. Um, but secondly, listen, he can quickly disarm it at the press conference, he can laugh about it, he can address the elephant in the room. Brother, that elephant is still right there in the room. What will this offense look like? And I think for me, it's double on him because I saw what an all awful offense looked like last year. So it's not even that okay, I saw some stuff last year. Can you just kind of like have that same little thing going and just up the defense? No, brother, that offense was awful last year, too. And so what you you have to do the thing that like you aren't great at this team also needs structure in that way. Yeah, they got offensive players, but they don't have any structure. And Jay Barrego told people that on camera with in a mic with everybody watching. There's no structure, there's no hierarchy. We don't know what we're doing, we just kind of play it off. So you have to step in and come with your greatness uh on defense, the things, the things that make you who you are in this league, but you have to grow on that offensive side of the ball. Something has to has to change from what you've been doing the last four years, and it also in Orlando, and it also has to change from what the Pelicans did last year, which is totally separate from what you did last year, and y'all both were not great offensively. So I think that his growth he has to step in and change the mentality on the defense, but he himself has to change his offensive philosophy and then also change the offensive structure of this team, which is a tall task. And so I think his growth, if he's able, I think the defensive side of the ball, he's gonna change the mentality, he's gonna change, he's not gonna accept anything less. But if he doesn't come in with at least uh like an inkling or concepts of an offense, or at least have like offensive minds to step in and say, Okay, look, this is what we're gonna do on offense. Then I think the Pelicans will find themselves playing good defense and then also going, All right, you pass the ball, okay. You shoot the ball, okay, you shoot the ball. Whereas I don't I don't think you can win like that, and so his growth for me is the second most important on this team. Well, you got it as your.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:43

Um, I feel you on that. I guess I figure I this is probably wrong, but the way I look at Orlando, I'm like, you were giving Paulo the ball, he was being inefficient. You were like, here, go create magic. The way I look at Jamal Mosey is if you do the same thing to Zion Williamson and you give him the ball and say, Go create magic, I just have more faith in that than if not. So well, we'll see on that. But your your point is absolutely annoying. At number two, here's where I had Derek Queen. Now I have him a couple of spots higher. Jeremiah Fierce was at six. I got Derek Queen at two. It's the same reason why I had Derrick Queen last year. I just think that there's a higher ceiling with Derrick Queen. I understand the the the talent and the splash and the attributes on 2K are higher in the athletic department from from Jeremiah Fierce. But my favorite players ever when it comes to basketballs are the ones that are cerebral, the yoke, the ones that can the Luke, the ones that can outthink you on the court and always have the right play. And so I look at Derek Queen and I look, you're you're absolutely right. And again, it's the common theme. He has to be better on the defensive end, he has to be in better shape. I think to start the season at the very least, maybe in training camp, I don't know. I think his mentality, just like Zion, his mentality has to switch. That when I'm on the court, I am the best option, right? Whether I'm gonna shoot the ball or not, the ball coming to me, whether Fierce is on the court, whether DeJounte is on the court, no matter who else is on the court, the ball coming through me is probably the best way for us to generate a shot on this given possession. And that probably means I need to be aggressive as soon as I touch the ball to go score to create for everybody else. And so it's a mentality thing that I'm looking for him to change in year two, which I think honestly goes hand in hand with the conditioning part. The better shape you in, the more confident you're in, the more likely you are to get rebounds, the more likely you are to start with the ball. It's the same argument as Zion. And so, like, I do think how much better can you be as an off-ball uh option when you play next to Zion and Trey and DeJounte and all these players? Can you close games, right? Because the team needs to score and they may need to lean on you more than they need to lean on any other big in that scenario. Can you be service enough on the uh defensive end, but then be a plus on the offensive end versus whatever five is guarding you that probably can't guard you in isolation? Like, those are the things I look for out of Derek Queen. Like, can you be a threat off the ball? That being said, my number one Garrett is ease me. Same here. The way the the ease measy I saw at the end of last season, and the ease measy that again you keep saying, and it's like, well, the Pelicans need a rim running defensive lob threat that can be switchable and be left alone on the and you're like, is that not ease me? And so, like, I'm looking at another again, six months younger than Derrick Queen. So he or six months older than Derek Queen. So he's basically the same age. I'm looking at Ease Messi and saying, Can you go shut everybody up? Like, can you go be like when Eve was a rookie? We were like, What the what center is the Pelicans gonna get? This was three years ago. We haven't the same conversation in that season. He was the most reliable player on the team, right? Last year, his minutes went up and down, and I don't know what was going on in terms of rotation management. But for a young player that needs to be able to build confidence, I think playing to your point again with DeJounte Murray halfway through the season and seeing what it's like to play with a point guard that's looking for the lot, that's looking for the pass, like who's looking to activate your bigs. I just think that does a lot for a rim-running, athletic, youthful big. And so it's gonna be consistency on the boards, it's gonna be consistency in his mentality of constantly bringing the energy. When Ease is bringing energy, the team is alive when he's dead and getting thrown out the way for rebounds. All of a sudden it's deflating feeling over and over. And so I look at a player like Ease Measy on a gap that the entire league is looking at and saying, What are the Pelicans gonna do at the five? And said there's ain't no time like the president to assert yourself as a starting player on this team for years to come. What are your thoughts on Eaves Mesey's development going into the next season?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:23

Yeah, Eves is my number one option, my number one on this list as well. Um, I think his growth, which you saw glimpses of in the regular season last season, I think that Eves Messi. Um, if that Eve's Messi is available like every game, that is a the type of player that that can go have you go from the Pelicans have the worst center rotation to who the hell is that guy? Where did he come from? Is that the guy the Knicks were trying to trade uh three seconds in a in a in a hoagie for? Oh, that's who that's who he was. Okay, all right, that's who they were. So I think listen, you don't have to be an all-star to be one of the most effective players on your team. The reason the Celtics were as good as they were, Jalen Brown was incredible. Ask the Celtics fans about Nimi Nimi Kater this this past season and what he did for the season. Ask the New York Knicks about what Mitch Robinson means mean to their team and why the Celtics went and got Mitch Robinson from the Knicks. Like you can really contribute to a team um and be active in your role and be one of the most impactful players on your team. And I think Eve has that kind of capability with his brim running, block shots, switchability, all those things you mentioned. They just don't have anybody else on the team like that other than you know, Carlo. And Carlo is not the I would say not even like on the same planet as far as like the the type of side to side athlete that that he's. I think Eves is one of the best athletes in the league with his ability to get up and down the floor and his size and things like that. And so um, I just think that his growth can really turn this this this this team around and and really solidify that front court.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:03

Yeah, for sure. So that is our gross rankings for this year. To sum it up, my 10 in a row was Jamal Mosley at 10, Micah PB at nine, Jordan Poole slash, Jordan Hawking at eight, Carlo at seven, Jeremiah Fierce at six, Zion at five, Trey at four, Herb at three, Derek Queen at two, and Ease Messi at the one. Um I think that this team is is betting everything that this team is gonna grow internally, both as a as a collective and as an organization. And Garrick, you better work. It better work, or there will be uh a lot of unhappy people um looking at the Pelicans. With that being said, what you got left for the people, Garrick, as we get closer and closer to training camp.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:52

Yeah, as always, you never know what people are going through. So give someone a smile today. Appreciate everybody pulling up uh for this one. Yeah, man, it is it is gonna be uh gonna be a lot of uh of reverse feelings from this weekend. It might be some time, some, some, some teary eyes, but it won't be because they're happy about the city of New Orleans if they now if this bet doesn't have off. So uh we will see. The offseason is still among us, there's still time for things to happen. I know all the big moves are gone, but the Pelicans still have opportunities to change the roster, and we will see if they eventually pull the plug and see if they make a change. So, as always, follow myself at Garrett underscore rattler, follow my brother at Raphael underscore rattler, follow the page at NO underscore basketball no e. Most importantly, subscribe to New Orleans.basketball. We'll see you guys in the next one.