When the New Orleans Pelicans were gifted through the NBA Draft lottery to draft Zion Williamson with the first overall pick, the franchise thought they were set for a bright future of winning. Since drafting Williamson, however, things have not gone as planned for New Orleans.
While Zion has struggled with injuries, the Pelicans have been to the playoffs twice and have managed to win only two games in the playoffs.
This past season, the Pelicans finished the season with the second-worst record in the Western Conference at 21-61. Winning on the court hasn't been the only issue that has plagued the Pelicans as of late; culture problems and poor front office decisions have hurt the franchise's reputation.
Culture problems in New Orleans
In an interview with The Pivot, Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray talked about his struggles with the New Orleans organization in his first season. Murray played in 31 games before suffering a torn Achilles tendon, missing the rest of the season.
Along with injury struggles, Murray dealt with heartbreak off the court while he was injured, with his mother suffering a stroke, his uncle overdosing, and one of his cousins being killed. While dealing with grief and injury, Murray says the Pelicans organization wasn't providing him with the resources that he needed to recover from his injury.
Murray found it difficult for the Pelicans to provide him with training table time, lifts, and court time. Murray said in his interview on The Pivot, it affected his mental state.
"I'm stressed, I'm mad everyday, I'm sad, I'm angry, I don't want to be there at that time there's so much going on," said Murray.
Murray mentioned that he's never seen anything like what he's recently experieced with the Pelicans from an NBA franchise. Before being trade to the Pelicans last July, Murray spent his five years with the San Antonio Spurs and two with the Atlanta Hawks.
What does the future hold in New Orleans?
The Pelicans despite a poor season, have decided to keep Willie Green as head coach. Green was kept as head coach, while the Pelicans fired executive vice president David Griffin after six seasons with the New Orleans organization.
Joe Dumars, the former Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations, has a mess to clean up in New Orleans as the new head executive. Given Dumars' reputation in Detroit in his final years, things don't look bright for the Pelicans' future.