Prior to Sunday’s rebroadcast of New Orleans’ Dec. 28 win vs. Indiana, Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon joined Fox Sports New Orleans TV sideline reporter Jennifer Hale on the “Pelicans Playback” show. Here are three takeaways from Langdon’s appearance:
Imagine Brandon Ingram with a full offseason to get ready.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed such a fantastic debut campaign with the Pelicans that the story of the adversity he faced a year ago has largely been overlooked. Ingram sat out the final 19 games of his Lakers tenure due to blood clots in his arm; March 2019 surgery prevented him from experiencing anything resembling a normal summer.
“The one thing we all forget in him having an All-Star season is that one year ago he had surgery to correct that thoracic outlet problem he had,” Langdon said. “That left him with a whole summer of not being able to develop, not only basketball skill-wise, but also his body. He was rehabbing and resting all of last summer, and didn’t get to (play) any 5-on-5 until right before camp.”
Despite the less than ideal lead-up to this season, Ingram is a leading candidate for the NBA’s Most Improved Player award. Impressively, he made a historic jump in free throw percentage – one of the largest in the last 30 seasons, according to the Elias Sports Bureau – and upped his three-point percentage from below average (33.0) to excellent (38.7).
It’s difficult to tell exactly what the remainder of this year will look like for the NBA in general, but Ingram will certainly have a longer preparation period for the ensuing campaign than he did prior to his Pelicans debut.
Langdon: “I know he’s excited about the rest of the (2019-20) season, but also what 2020 can bring, going into next year.”
Zion Williamson’s team-first approach helped create a smooth transition.
There’s always an adjustment period when a team incorporates a key player at midseason, especially if it has already played 44 games. However, as Alvin Gentry pointed out in the days before Williamson’s unforgettable Jan. 22 debut, it was undoubtedly a great “problem” to have, one everyone welcomed with open arms. As it turned out, it didn’t take long for Williamson to excel and make other teammates better, particularly after an initial minute restriction.
“Zion is about team first, so that’s what makes it really, really easy for our coaching staff and teammates,” Langdon said. “He told the team, ‘Just fit me in seamlessly.’ When he came back, we were playing pretty good basketball, and he didn’t want to interrupt that. It speaks a lot to the character of the young man. He knew he could help; he just wanted to fit in the best way possible. He didn’t want anyone to change. He wanted Jrue (Holiday) to keep attacking and B.I. to keep doing what he was doing. Guys to keep taking the shots they were taking.”
New Orleans ranked 18th and 26th in offensive and defensive efficiency prior to Jan. 22, but after Williamson’s first action, the Pelicans jumped all the way to 11th and eighth in those categories.
Having a roster that’s one-third Duke has been fun.
It probably would’ve been quite the scene in the New Orleans locker room or during road trips if the 2020 NCAA men’s basketball tournament had been held this month, with one-third of the Pelicans’ roster glued to all of the latest Duke Blue Devils updates. Unfortunately, that will have to wait until 2021, because “March Madness” was canceled. Langdon discussed how enjoyable it’s been for him to be around a handful of fellow Duke products (Ingram, Williamson, JJ Redick, Frank Jackson, Jahlil Okafor) during Langdon’s first year in the Crescent City.
“It’s a lot of fun every day and they’re all really good guys, obviously all at different points of their careers,” Langdon said. “You know where they all came from. There’s a sense of pride with all of us and where we played our college basketball. It’s fun coming together, knowing there is a common thread there, with the Duke Brotherhood, per se. That’s a big reason we have the camaraderie amongst the team that we do have.”
