Baton Rouge New Orleans Acadiana Shreveport-Bossier Gambit Site search News Sports Sports Betting Entertainment Opinions Obits Jobs Homes Calendar Store Public Notices E-Edition Newsletters Pelicans coach Willie Green wanted to build a ‘program.’ This is what he meant.
Only nine months after the New Orleans Pelicans’ first-round playoff series sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers in 2018, Anthony Davis submitted a trade request. The Pelicans had won 48 games in 2017-18, the most in Davis’ New Orleans tenure. In the 2018 offseason, the team signed Julius Randle. According to Randle, Davis did not make it a secret he was headed out the door.
Julius Randle says Anthony Davis told him “I’m outta here” after New Orleans landed the #1 pick “I was like ‘I’m outta here too’” 😂😂😂(🎥 @Roommates__Show / https://t.co/2sf6HnZDTn) pic.twitter.com/CTttspyXEQ— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 21, 2024
Davis having his most success in a Pelicans uniform and then requesting a trade less than a year later was emblematic of New Orleans’ history as a franchise up to that point: brief success followed by long fallow periods.
Since taking over in 2019, executive vice president David Griffin has talked about building something sustainable. In 2021, the Pelicans hired Willie Green to be their coach. Green immediately began talking about wanting to build a “program.”
“A sustainable, winning culture,” Green said. “It feels like we are trending in a good way right now.”
Last week, the Pelicans picked up their 42nd win of the season in a beatdown of the Brooklyn Nets. That guaranteed the Pelicans consecutive seasons with a winning record for the second time in franchise history.
In 2007-08, Chris Paul finished runner-up in MVP voting and captained New Orleans to 56 wins. In 2008–09, Paul’s Hornets won 49 games. New Orleans hadn’t achieved back-to-back winning seasons since then until last week, when a team coached by Paul’s friend and former teammate joined the club.
“We are trying to build starting with our foundation,” Green said. “It starts with the people we bring into our building. That contributes to having a healthy program. High-character people who bring a ton of energy. Who are hard workers. That’s a program we are trying to build.”
Drafting well and developing talent in-house is critical to program-building. The 2021 draft was a turning point for the Pelicans. They swung a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies that involved them moving back from the No. 10 selection to No. 17. New Orleans chose Trey Murphy at that spot. In the second round, the Pelicans
