Elfrid Payton

[Boomer]

I agree with that. They moved the ball around much better once Rondo was on the point as the sole handler. Remember, before Cousins' injury, he would often take the ball up the floor and hold it in the half court. Guys like Rondo are almost useless in that situation as they are not great shooters. Rondo was playing about 20 minutes a game and was not a factor. Once Boogie got hurt, he ran the point and was the catalyst.

....Removed from the talent and strategy, I think it is a dream come true for EP.......can you imagine coming from a too young HS grad from NO to UL where nobody knew who the hell he was.....so he shows up as a possible starter for the hometown Pels....I know he had some Summer camps in NO, but I hope this helps UL!!!

[zephyr]

. Pelicans initially offered a lot more than that though it may have been informal. He changed his story from they never made an offer to they never made a serious offer. Apparently to him, anything less than the max was not a "serious" offer. Not enough attention has been paid to what Randle can bring in my view. Last year he 16 and 8 while playing in all 82 games. Right now they are better inside than the team that swept the Blazers. Point guard is a different matter. For the first time in his career, EP will have true pressure to perform. He never has played on a playoff team and was just playing out the year by late February. Elevation of his performance compared to past may be the key to another successful season.

Below is a link to just one of the many stories about the contract offer last year. Again, that was before the end of the season, not in free agency. Boogie had no real suitors a couple of weeks ago due to the nature of his injury and whether he would even play this year.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...contract-offer

[zephyr]

....Removed from the talent and strategy, I think it is a dream come true for EP.......can you imagine coming from a too young HS grad from NO to UL where nobody knew who the hell he was.....so he shows up as a possible starter for the hometown Pels....I know he had some Summer camps in NO, but I hope this helps UL!!!

Its a great story Boomer only if he succeeds. Like Mike said, there is a certain pressure for him to perform this year. I hope he's up to the challenge.

[zephyr]

Payton
Holiday
Randle
Mirotic
Davis

Not a bad starting five. Just need some quality depth on the bench with a shooter and veteran point guard to mentor Elfrid.

That won't be the starting five. Randle is not a SF and Moore started there later last year with Holiday and Rondo. Randle will likely come off the bench to spell Mirotic. The Pelicans need backup guard play in the worst way. Starters wise, they can play with anybody in the league, where they along with other mid level teams struggle is with the quality of the bench play. Frank Jackson and the rookie from Penn State are not going to be the answer.

[zephyr]

The Pels will have a good competitive team, but elfrid for Rondo and Randall for Boogie does not make them better. What Boogie signed for is ridiculous and shows the NBA has a major problem on its hands. It is hard to make fans sit through a 82 game schedule and 4 playoff rounds when you already know who will be the last 4 teams standing.
As for Elfrid, this is now his make or break year. If he can consistently link up with Davis and improve his defense he can reestablish himself as a starting NBA point guard. If not, he will become a journeyman.

What is the major problem for the NBA you speak of? Just curious. Boogie signed for nearly the league minimum and the Warriors are already in the luxury tax. They took a gamble when nobody else wanted to. Its a risky play on their part IMO. Boogie does not fit their system well at all and is a high usage player who wants the ball in his hands. A LOT. He would have to really sacrifice a lot of his game for the greater good and I'm not sure he's about that. This could be one of those one year rental experiments that doesn't pan out. Kind of like the Isiah Thomas thing.

[Balanced_view]

in addition to that, if boogie has a bounce year from the injury and proves he is still a player, the warriors can only resign him next year for less than 7 million per year, which boogie wont do at that point. so this is the closest thing to a lock to being a one year rental.

[zephyr]

in addition to that, if boogie has a bounce year from the injury and proves he is still a player, the warriors can only resign him next year for less than 7 million per year, which boogie wont do at that point. so this is the closest thing to a lock to being a one year rental.

Correct. It should also be noted that Boogie reached out to the Warriors and asked to meet, not the other way around. He had no leverage because I do believe the Pelicans were willing to move on without him.

[Cajunsmike]

That won't be the starting five. Randle is not a SF and Moore started there later last year with Holiday and Rondo. Randle will likely come off the bench to spell Mirotic. The Pelicans need backup guard play in the worst way. Starters wise, they can play with anybody in the league, where they along with other mid level teams struggle is with the quality of the bench play. Frank Jackson and the rookie from Penn State are not going to be the answer.

Ian Clark did well for them off the bench in their late season run. They are trying to resign him but NBA rules only allow them to pay 120% of his previous salary.

[zephyr]

Ian Clark did well for them off the bench in their late season run. They are trying to resign him but NBA rules only allow them to pay 120% of his previous salary.

I forgot about Clark. He was disappointing early on but settled in pretty well and ended strong. I'm still very concerned about Frank Jackson and the kid from Penn State. I don't have much hope for Jackson to be honest.

[Cajunsmike]

I forgot about Clark. He was disappointing early on but settled in pretty well and ended strong. I'm still very concerned about Frank Jackson and the kid from Penn State. I don't have much hope for Jackson to be honest.

Jackson will be tried at point but a college weakness was taking too long to get his team into proper sets in the half court. He is a good scorer however. Regardless they need a backup for Payton.