Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry confirmed that Anthony Davis will be back in the lineup on Friday, but declined to go into further detail on the club’s plan for the All-Star big man beyond that game. New interim general manager Danny Ferry filled in those gaps later in the day, explaining to the media how the Pelicans will handle the Davis situation going forward, as Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst relay.
Sources tell Windhorst that there were discussions between Davis and the Pelicans during the All-Star break about adjusting their plan to have him keep playing in every game. However, as Ferry outlined on Thursday, Davis will continue to see playing time for New Orleans over the season’s final month and a half — his minutes will just be kept in check to a greater extent than they have been so far in 2018/19.
In 45 games this season, the former No. 1 pick is averaging 36.0 minutes per contest. That number figures to be in the 20-25 MPG range going forward, according to Ferry.
“League rules made it clear Anthony has to play,” Ferry said. “As we’ve done previously, we will continue to follow their lead but also be focused on the future of the team.”
Focusing on “the future of the team” means that Jrue Holiday‘s minutes are also expected to be cut back, per Ferry. The Pelicans will give more of those minutes to their younger players down the stretch, with Frank Jackson, Cheick Diallo, Kenrich Williams, and Stanley Johnson among the youngsters who should benefit from New Orleans’ new plan.
The ostensible goal will be to develop those players, though the Pelicans probably won’t mind if they drop a few places in the standings and improve their position in the 2019 draft lottery. Ferry added that he, Gentry, president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis, and owner Gayle Benson are all on the same page with regard to the organization’s plan going forward.
“Mrs. Benson is committed to building a successful organization and has promised the resources and willingness to do whatever is necessary,” Ferry said.
If they are really concerned with “the future of the team,” then shouldn’t they go ahead and start playing their home games in Seattle?
You came here, read this article, & commented to be petty. Hold your breathe until they move to Seattle.
This dude saw an article about a team, city, state and organization trying to get on solid ground and proceeds to say something about Seattle!!! You shouldn’t have even responded to his nonsense the moment it was clearly nonobjective
No. I came here, read the article, and commented with what I think is going to eventually happen to the franchise. Don’t like my thought, don’t read it.
If you think the Pels end up in Seattle then you know nothing of Gayle Benson or this franchise. Have fun waiting on basketball in the ☔
I ツ
how many home games have you been to this year? lol
It wouldn’t be the first location jump, probably a smart idea.
So let me get this straight. If a coach doesn’t like a player’s attitude or if he misses practice etc. the league won’t allow such player to be benched?
If the guy averages 28 a game and is healthy its just a little suspicious
No, what this means is you can’t bench a superstar for the whole year just because they requested a trade.
Again – What is the rule? How can the Enes Kantar register so many DNPs with the Knicks and the Knicks don’t get fined for not playing a healthy player, clearly in an effort to tank, but the Pelicans can’t sit a healthy AD? The rule seems to be about ratings if you ask me.
The rule gives the NBA to power fine teams in instances where teams sit healthy players, but it doesn’t mean that the league HAS to issue a fine in each case where a healthy player doesn’t play.
There have been a few instances this year where the rule theoretically could apply — the Knicks with Kanter, the Grizzlies with Parsons, the Kings with Zach Randolph, etc. In those cases though, the veterans being benched weren’t necessarily way better than their replacements — it made some sense that the Knicks would want to play and develop Mitchell Robinson over Kanter, for instance, since he’s a much stronger rim protector and defender.
As an All-NBA player, Davis is in a different class — there’s no situation in which benching him would make the Pelicans better. So while the NBA may have given teams the benefit of the doubt in those other cases, it has apparently decided it wouldn’t do so if the Pelicans sat AD.
Yes the rule is about ratings the league is about entertainment.
If they’re going to compromise, and they are per this announcement, then why be afraid to say it and address it and perfect it so that the result is optimal? This compromise falls flat with a splat because they’re blaming some set of rules which are actually variable. They should admit to the forces at play, which go beyond player and team, and work with the big picture. There’s no need for embarrassment for doing so.
target minutes for 23 games left at 20’@ =460′.
10 away games at 36′ = 360′, a 100′ gap.
3 home games at 36′ = 108′, fills the gap.
So 36′ at 10 away and 3 home games = 468′.
This satisfies the 20-25mpg rule.
The remaining 10 home games with no AD, no awkward booing or upsetting home fans, priceless
I like that idea but then Mr. Cheik Diallo doesn’t get those very crucial developmental minutes (sarcasm font).