The New Orleans Pelicans are in an all-or-nothing situation from here on out. They need to be able to make significant progress in the 2017-18 season or the front office might begin to implode sooner rather than later.
After the organization announced that both GM Dell Demps and head coach Alvin Gentry would be retained, it’s become clear that the team will need to keep that nucleus together and it all starts with Jrue Holiday.
“Re-signing Jrue Holiday is a number one priority.” Gentry said when asked about what the Pelicans need to do this offseason. There is some logic to this because when he is healthy, they can really do some big things. Look at how they performed at the start of the season when Holiday took time off to help take care of his wife Lauren Holiday after she had a tumor in her brain removed. If his family hadn’t dealt with this, odds are the Pelicans might have won a few more games at the start of the season.
However, this isn’t the only thing the Pelicans will need to focus on during the offseason. They will need to figure out what it will take to get Boogie Cousins to stay beyond the 2017-18 season. Getting him during the break was one of those moves that might have wound up saving Demps’ job. One thing that could keep him aboard is because he’ll have the same coach he ended the season with for the first time. If he can buy into what the Pelicans want to do, then expect him to sign on the dotted line before October. Getting Cousins to sign on long-term could also help in terms of keeping Holiday around because there’s finally a nucleus that is needed for a team to make a run in the playoffs.
-Clint Domingue