If Anthony Davis‘ season was confined to the middle part, he’d be in the running for league MVP.
However, it wasn’t so simple. He started slowly, to the surprise of many, and then his 2015-16 season ended abruptly Sunday when the Pelicans shut him down, citing his knee and shoulder injuries. With New Orleans all but mathematically out of the running for the playoffs. Alvin Gentry huddled up with management and the consensus was that it didn’t make sense to put Davis in any jeopardy, even with a long off-season approaching.
Thus marks the end to a season that never materialized the way New Orleans, 18 games under .500 and Davis imagined. They made the playoffs on the final day last season, and Davis emerged as a real talent, and then they added Gentry in the off-season. Also, the Pelicans began the season with decent health, which they never fully enjoyed since drafting Davis.
Well, they lost 10 of their first 11 games and that was that. Injuries socked them again, and at one point Gentry was giving 30 minutes night to role players, and the makeshift team never managed to jell or adapt to Gentry’s system. Lost in the shuffle was Davis, who wasn’t named an All-Star starter. He will finish with decent statistics — 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, two blocks — but they don’t tell the full story.
Davis also made the All-Star team and left a good enough impression that he should be selected to the All-NBA first, second or third team, which would trigger the Derrick Rose Rule and more money for Davis. More good news: New Orleans will be able to shed some contracts this season, Eric Gordon‘s for sure and maybe Ryan Anderson‘s, and will have dollars to spend on help this summer. That said, so will other teams, with the cap ready to rise.
The Pelicans are at least thankful that Davis is under contract for five more seasons (with the Rose Rule) and also that he loves playing in New Orleans. That gives them time to build, provided the right decisions are made. And speaking of that, will they bring back GM Dell Demps, whose contract expires this summer?
There’s plenty ahead for Davis and the Pelicans, and in a sense, their off-season begins now.
