In the span of precisely five months, the New Orleans Pelicans have undergone a metamorphosis unlike one I’ve ever witnessed in the league — and I’ve been paying attention since before Michael Jordan turned the Chicago Bulls into a consistent winner.
At the end of January, the Pelicans were widely considered second class citizens to the city’s favorite collection of athletes, the Saints, and they were facing the inevitable loss of one of the single best young talents in the league. Every prominent media member wrote them off. The future of basketball in New Orleans was bleak, at best!