https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1096452173532196864

New Orleans has parted ways with GM Dell Demps, league sources tell ESPN.

.

cause... Alvin Gentry can coach us next season if he really wants

He's more of a stage 2 coach no?

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1096454015003607041

Sure, tell the LAL to kick rocks, no doubt

But how could he not anticipate the problem of what to do with AD after you keep him?

Never made sense to play him.

for sitting him when healthy.

And the players association wouldn't have had it either.

I'm also pretty sure AD doesn't want to sit for 4 months either.

Should have just traded him.

Forced to play and risk injury of their most valuable asset

BRILLIANT!!!

about the fine. Gonna try to find it.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25954077/nba-stressed-rest-rule-100k-fine-pelicans-anthony-davis

After reviewing its rules, the league office informed the Pelicans that they would be expected to play Davis, starting with Friday night's nationally televised game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, sources said.

The league referred the Pelicans to rules put in place in 2017 that restrict teams from resting healthy players. The Pelicans, league sources said, were told that they would be subject to a fine of $100,000 per every game if Davis were benched.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-denies-threatening-fine-pelicans-100k-per-game-sitting-anthony-davis-234207328.html

as far as whether he should have taken the deal or not, i suspect the ownership weighed in on that. no way did they not have an opinion and no way did they allow him to act actively against their interests. i imagine he did their bidding and now they shitcanned him to bring in another set of eyes to oversee the trades talks and pending explosion of the roster. not exactly fair for him but then again he's been there for AD's whole career and they have done little of note. some shit breaks for him for sure (most guys getting hurt) but other things just didn't go well. Plus the foremost bad break (Cousins injury) didn't end up costing them that season, and then they kind of bungled the negotiations afterward. So in isolation I think Demps is being treated unfairly but in the picture it's not relevant and he had his chances over a long time.

Went from being owned by bargain basement Christian pervert George Shinn to being owned by the league to being the thing Tom Benson's family keeps forgetting they own. Last year the Saints fired a team doctor who misdiagnosed Delvin Breaux's fractured leg, but still let them work for the Pelicans. It's a basketball team owned and operated by people who think basketball is an afterthought.

If anything, AD was too generous to them.

https://twitter.com/davidaldridgedc/status/1096504026978545666

Make no mistake: no matter who becomes the GM in New Orleans, Mickey Loomis, the head of basketball operations for the Pelicans-and, not unimportantly, the GM of the Saints as well-has all the juice. Owner Gayle Benson trusts him and his opinion more than anyone else.

https://twitter.com/ScoutWithBryan/status/1096502751364767744

Something I just realized about this. I believe the Pelicans don’t have an MRI machine on site after football season. So while AD leaving early was brow-raising, remember: he needed to go to the hospital for it. He probably also already had a plane waiting to take him to CHA. /1

So just something to think about that makes me believe even more that this was just a “final straw” excuse they could use. If those circumstances both true (needed to leave to get an MRI/ plane waiting for him), makes him leaving far less inexplicable. /2 #Pelicans #AnthonyDavis

https://twitter.com/BruhReport/status/1096452559546376192

Everyone can't afford to be an a**hole in negotiations like Pop. The Spurs have multiple rings. The Pels didn't resign Cousins.

Lakers were giving them a young starting 5 and 2 first. They basically would have gotten to manage the Lakers young core until maturity while also getting a lotto pick this year.

Should have taken the deal then shipped Jrue and Niko out. Rolled out...Ball, Hart, Ingram, Randle, Zubac and Kuz for the rest of the season. Jrue could net a lotto pick by himself.

Trade Randle or Kuz over the summer for another pick/player and might have been ready to be a fringe playoff team come next season (that core won 35 games the year before).

Summer =
NO lotto pick (late top 10/early teens likely)
Jrue lotto pick return (likely similar)
Randle/Kuz pick (Top 20 likely)

And a gang of cap space.

Demps would have been gone before the trade deadline. As a fan of a team not involved in this situation I think it's fine to me that the Pels let agent Dick(head) Paul twist in the breeze and not let him strongarm the team and dictate terms.

Tatum is better than anyone the Lakers can offer IMO and someone the Pels want. Boston is on AD's list because of his friendship with Kyrie. Ainge can nail down both players allegiances with a trade. I think it gets done.

Ainge will damn sure not worry about keeping Tatum to have them both

you guys act like demps is in some subterranean layer operating in secrecy. if WE knew about the offer, they knew about it, too, and if they wanted it, they would have insisted he take it. in fact, i suspect strongly that they were the ones who decided to reject it. as a gm you don't make this kind of call without consulting the ownership. also it isn't like they will never get a good offer for AD again, they will be flooded with offers. maybe they won't get as much from an asset management standpoint but they could get close and get a better centerpiece. we are talking about the best big or second best big in the NBA here.

last night with Rich Paul after he hurt his shoulder. Apparently, ownership is PISSED.

this entire situation sucks.

But I suppose they could have said something. My thing is this. Either try to win every game or you should have traded him. You don't keep AD to tank and you can't sit him if he's healthy.

Demps got fired because this whole thing is stupid.

get hurt, get dressed and dip out with your agent? Gentry didn't even know he was gone, lol. Shit is a bit over the top.

They aren't playing him like they normally would. The team is actively quitting when he's out there because of the circumstances.

He and they both know he's out this summer. But because Demps didn't like the trade request going public (legit) he made it personal (stupid).

Nobody is giving them a starting 5 and 2 draft picks for Davis when he can dip next summer.

Should have taken the trade. I ain't with the way Rich Paul is advising AD nor him succumbing to it, but NO bought this on themselves. They continually do the opposite of what a successful franchise should do.

.

And while I would never side with an owner, the franchise at least tried to surround him with pieces. I (somewhat) understand their frustration and hesitancy with not wanting to blow it up right away.

AD is a generational talent who, in theory, should be able to compete with a core of Jrue (arguably a top-15 guy), Randle (very, very good). Niko (*was* a great fit). They just needed a wing. Otto P. or Middleton over the summer should've put them top-3 in the conference.

I don't have much sympathy for dudes situation and I'm surprised he's not catching any heat for the way he/Rich Paul have handled stuff.

>Should have taken the trade. I ain't with the way Rich Paul
>is advising AD nor him succumbing to it, but NO bought this on
>themselves. They continually do the opposite of what a
>successful franchise should do.

>AD is a generational talent who, in theory, should be able to
>compete with a core of Jrue (arguably a top-15 guy), Randle
>(very, very good). Niko (*was* a great fit). They just needed
>a wing. Otto P. or Middleton over the summer should've put
>them top-3 in the conference.

In the West? Maaaaaaaybe. Warriors still better. Rockets still better. OKC still better.

And low key, the Mavs, Jazz, Kings and possibly the Suns have more overall talent and could be just as good or better in 2 seasons. Lakers are gonna look to skyrocket this summer. Uphill battle IMO.

What they should have done is re-upped Cuz at the Max, given Rondo 2-3 more seasons and filled out the roster from there.

What a shit show

They still got an amazing trade chip

..not injury related.




*skatin' the rings of saturn*


..and miles to go before i sleep...

d'angelo did.

>d'angelo did.

he's better than any guard on the Pelicans not named Jrue.

Yeah... you're playing yourself.

You give to get. Hield's value was high but they got an all-star center back. Not Demps' fault he got hurt, though he did subsequently mismanage the contract talks if you hear it from Cousins

for nothing its an L.

Now the reality is the team actually got better when Cousins was hurt and it wasn't probably a good idea not to give him a long term deal it wasn't a good look. Boogie was a major gamble that he lost.

Long term New Orleans probably would've been better off keeping Hield and whomever that first round pick turned out to be.

wasn't the only reason Demps was fired