The Pelicans have learned from the mistakes of the Anthony Davis era
The last time the New Orleans Pelicans (then the Hornets) drafted a generational superstar No. 1 overall, it was Anthony Davis. The team’s general manager, Dell Demps, proceeded to execute a fairly unique plan: build a high-end team around Davis over the ensuing years without staying in the NBA Draft lottery. He’d surround Davis not with similarly young players who would rise together into a beautiful cake of realized talent, but with so-called “young veterans” — established, decent-to-good players who could get Davis into the playoffs early and often in the Pels’ quest to convince the eventual superstar to eventually stay in town after his second contract concluded.