Nine brand-new additions to the roster, including three rookies chosen during the June draft – two of them still teenagers. Just five NBA veterans with playoff experience. Only two players who’ve advanced past the postseason’s second round.
On paper, the 2019-20 New Orleans Pelicans appear to be the quintessential “rebuilding” team, a squad built largely around youngsters and relatively untested pros. Yet they don’t sound like a group thinking more about say, 2022, than the present. While others may have a much longer-term view of New Orleans’ timetable for success, Pelicans players believe they can add to the group’s collective postseason resume immediately.