Hardwood Paroxysm Presents: The NBA Holiday Gift Guide
Tis the season. The holidays are right around the corner, and the Hardwood Paroxysm crew is here to hand out gifts to some of our favorite NBA teams, players, and coaches.
I would give Anthony Davis the gift of a patient owner and front office (ideally retroactively)
By Daniel Leroux
In the two drafts since they took Anthony Davis (and Austin Rivers), the New Orleans Pelicans have not used a first round pick and that run will continue for another year unless the pick falls outside the unusual 4-19 range.
While giving up picks for Jrue Holiday and Omer Asik can be justified in some circumstances, Dell Demps and more importantly Tom Benson have not shown the patience necessary to build a contender around their budding star. Since drafting Davis, the Pelicans have given up assets to acquire the aforementioned Holiday and Asik along with Tyreke Evans. All three of those players will hit unrestricted free agency between now and 2017, meaning they will have the leverage to get overpaid right around the time the Brow will get his raise.
Astonishingly, New Orleans’ transactions have created a roster where the only players on the books with team control beyond next season are Davis, Holiday, Evans, Russ Smith, Jeff Withey (restricted next summer), and recently signed Gal Mekel. While a more patient owner and a time machine would be more useful for Davis, I will leave the science fiction for Knicks fans.