The Big Easy | A New Orleans Pelicans MyLeague | NBA 2K20

[the_kevstaaa]

Decided to give one of these a try since I usually do MyLeagues with various teams in an attempt to build them. First up, as suggested by my girlfriend (a huge JJ Redick fan), I'm starting with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Now, I'm currently at the All-Star Break so official updates will come then. I have typed out most of what happened in the league in preparation for this, so I'll recap what has gone on to this point.

I mostly sim though I play a few games from time to time. I often play with a friend who controls the other team for the fun of it. There are times when I'll join in a close game during simcast.

[the_kevstaaa]

October 2019

Games
10/22 - (1-0) New Orleans Pelicans 119 @ (0-1) Toronto Raptors 109 (Z. Williamson 20 points, 16 rebounds) (S. Ibaka 19 points)

10/25 – (1-1) Dallas Mavericks 107 @ (2-0) New Orleans Pelicans 121 (Z. Williamson 26 points, 14 rebounds) (K. Porzingis 30 points)

10/26 – (2-1) New Orleans Pelicans 107 @ (2-0) Houston Rockets 128 (Z. Williamson 21 points) (J. Harden 25 points, 14 assists)

10/28 – (3-0) Golden State Warriors 109 @ (2-2) New Orleans Pelicans 86 (Z. Williamson 24 points) (S. Curry 31 points)

10/31 – (3-2) Denver Nuggets 112 @ (3-2) New Orleans Pelicans 121 (Z. Williamson 30 points, 11 rebounds) (J. Murray 17 points)

Around The League
The Clippers signed Nikola Mirotic to a 1yr/$5.78M contract.
Free agent Zach Randolph inked a 1yr/$3.04M deal with the Utah Jazz.
Boston added athletic big man Marquese Chriss for 1yr/$5.76M.
Veteran guard Jamal Crawford signs a 1yr/$4.59M deal with the Charlotte Hornets.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry were the Players of the Week for 10/21-10/27.

[the_kevstaaa]

November 2019

Games
11/2 – (3-3) New Orleans Pelicans 98 @ (4-2) Oklahoma City Thunder 104 (JJ Redick 20 points) (C. Paul 23 points, 8 assists)
11/4 –(3-4) New Orleans Pelicans 123 @ (2-5) Brooklyn Nets 140 (J. Holiday 30 points) (K. Durant 42 points)
11/8 – (2-6) Toronto Raptors 95 @ (4-4) New Orleans Pelicans 122 (L. Ball 11 points, 15 assists) (S. Ibaka 22 points)
11/9 – (5-4) New Orleans Pelicans 109 @ (2-7) Charlotte Hornets 105 (JJ Redick 26 points) (M. Bridges 17 points)
11/11 – (8-2) Houston Rockets 115 @ (5-5) New Orleans Pelicans 110 (B. Ingram 20 points) (J. Harden 29 points, 15 rebounds)
11/14 – (8-4) Los Angeles Clippers 101 @ (6-5) New Orleans Pelicans 105 (Z. Williamson 31 points) (P. George 29 points)
11/16 – (7-5) New Orleans Pelicans 114 @ (4-8) Miami Heat 102 (J. Holiday 22 points) (D. Waiter 19 points)
11/17 – (8-6) Golden State Warriors 124 @ (8-5) New Orleans Pelicans 143 (Z. Williamson 38 points) (S. Curry 31 points)
11/19 – (8-7) Portland Trail Blazers 114 (8-6) New Orleans Pelicans 92 (Z. Williamson 20 points) (CJ McCollum 26 points)
11/21 – (8-7) New Orleans Pelicans 124 @ (8-6) Phoenix Suns 126 (L. Ball 24 points, 10 assists) (D. Booker 22 points)
11/23 – (8-8) New Orleans Pelicans 98 @ (7-9) Utah Jazz 108 (Z. Williamson 30 points) (R. Gobert 21 points, 14 rebounds)
11/24 – (8-9) New Orleans Pelicans 81 @ (11-6) Los Angeles Clippers 103 (JJ Redick 16 points) (M. Harrell 27 points, 20 rebounds)
11/27 – (16-2) Los Angeles Lakers 121 @ (8-10) New Orleans Pelicans 98 (L. Ball 15 assists) (L. James 33 points)
11/29 – (8-11) New Orleans Pelicans 95 @ (9-9) Oklahoma City Thunder 106 (JJ Redick 19 points) (S. Adams 34 points, 26 rebounds)

Pelicans Transactions
11/26 – The Pelicans dealt Josh Hart, Darius Miller, and a 2022 2nd round pick to Philadelphia for Trey Burke, James Ennis, and a $2.34M trade exception.

New Orleans has operated without a true backup point guard this season. Josh Hart was expendable due to the presence of JJ Redick, E’Twaun Moore, and rookie Nickel Alexander-Walker. Burke can slot in alongside Jrue Holiday and spell Lonzo Ball. Ennis also allows them to take Kenrich Williams out of the rotation due to his struggles (37FG%).

On the Philadelphia side of things, Burke had already expressed his feelings about a lack of playing time with Ben Simmons averaging nearly 40 minutes per game ahead of him.

Around The League
11/2 - Darren Collison reconsidered retirement and inked a 1yr/$5.76M deal with the Miami Heat.
Giannis Antetkounmpo (31.6ppg, 14.3rpg, 6.1apg, 2.6spg, 2.4bpg) and Russell Westbrook (27.0ppg, 9.1rpg, 8.7apg, 1.5spg) were named Players of the Month.
Darius Garland (15.1ppg, 5.7apg, 3.6rpg) and Zion Williamson (21.9ppg, 7.6rpg, 1.3spg, 1.4bpg) were named Rookies of the Month.

[RolePlayer]

I was debating on playing as these guys, could be a very interesting season. Do they Pelicans may sneak into the playoffs

[the_kevstaaa]

December 2019

Games
12/1 – (9-10) Oklahoma City Thunder 103 @ (9-11) New Orleans Pelicans 112 (J. Holiday 24 points) (C. Paul 20 points, 9 assists)
12/3 – (5-16) Dallas Mavericks 89 @ (10-11) New Orleans Pelicans 110 (D. Favors 20 points, 12 rebounds) (K. Porzingis 24 points)
12/5 – (11-10) Phoenix Suns 103 @ (11-11) New Orleans Pelicans 131 (J. Holiday 25 points) (D. Booker 29 points)
12/7 – (12-11) New Orleans Pelicans 100 @ (6-17) Dallas Mavericks 87 (JJ Redick 21 points) (K. Porzingis 24 points)
12/9 – (14-10) Detroit Pistons 99 @ (13-11) New Orleans Pelicans 118 (B. Ingram 23 points) (B. Griffin 25 points)
12/11 – (13-12) New Orleans Pelicans 104 @ (17-8) Milwaukee Bucks 120 (Z. Williamson 26 points) (Giannis 38 points, 20 rebounds)
12/13 – (14-12) New Orleans Pelicans 98 @ (14-11) Philadelphia 76ers 87 (T. Burke 19 points) (J. Embiid 25 points)
12/15 – (18-9) Orlando Magic 97 @ (14-13) New Orleans Pelicans 90 (D. Favors 16 points) (M. Bamba 20 points)
12/17 – (13-14) Brooklyn Nets 107 (15-13) New Orleans Pelicans 111 (Z. Williamson 34 points) (K. Irving 36 points)
12/18 – (16-13) New Orleans Pelicans 135 @ (8-18) Minnesota Timberwolves 104 (JJ Redick 22 points) (K. Towns 25 points)
12/20 – (16-14) New Orleans Pelicans 108 @ (19-11) Golden State Warriors 126 (Z. Williamson 26 points) (D. Russell 29 points)
12/23 – (17-14) New Orleans Pelicans 117 @ (15-16) Portland Trail Blazers 111 (Z. Williamson 27 points) (R. Hood 21 points)
12/25 – (17-15) New Orleans Pelicans 119 @ (18-12) Denver Nuggets 137 (Z. Williamson 22 points) (J. Murray 34 points)
12/28 – (16-17) Indiana Pacers 100 @ (18-15) New Orleans Pelicans 101 (JJ Redick 25 points) (M. Turner 25 points, 18 rebounds)
12/29 – (26-7) Houston Rockets 124 @ (18-16) New Orleans Pelicans 102 (Z. Williamson 28 points) (R. Westbrook 31 points)

Around The League
12/13 – Orlando traded Al-Farouq Aminu & a 2020 2nd round pick to Atlanta for a 2022 top 5 protected 1st round pick and Damian Jones.
12/13 – Cleveland swapped Matthew Dellavedova with Indiana for Doug McDermott.
12/16 – Indiana then moved Dellavedova and Naz Mitrou-Long to Charlotte for Cody Zeller.
12/17 – Atlanta shipped Vince Carter to Houston in exchange for Isaiah Hartenstein & a trade exception.
12/22 – The Knicks dealt Taj Gibson & a 2024 2nd rounder to Orlando for Amile Jefferson & Khem Birch.
12/29 – Milwaukee traded Kyle Korver & a 2023 2nd round pick to Portland for Gary Trent Jr.
12/29 – Atlanta dealt Evan Turner to Minnesota for Gorgui Dieng.

Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving (32.7ppg, 5.9rpg, 5.3apg) and the Lakers’ LeBron James (27.9ppg, 9.4apg, 8.0rpg, 1.4spg) were named Players of the Month.
Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter (17.1ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.4apg) and Memphis’ Ja Morant (22.4ppg, 7.4apg, 4.5rpg, 1.6spg) took home Rookie of the Month honors.

[the_kevstaaa]

January 2020

Games
1/3 – (18-17) New Orleans Pelicans 97 @ (28-7) Los Angeles Lakers 126 (B. Ingram 20 points) (A. Davis 39 points, 17 rebounds)
1/4 – (18-18) New Orleans Pelicans 112 @ (17-19) Sacramento Kings 120 (T. Burke 21 points) (B. Hield 22 points)
1/6 – (18-18) Utah Jazz 103 @ (19-18) New Orleans Pelicans 111 (Z. Williamson 26 points) (M. Conley 26 points)
1/8 – (15-23) Chicago Bulls 82 @ (20-18) New Orleans Pelicans 120 (B. Ingram 26 points) (Z. LaVine 26 points)
1/10 – (21-18) New Orleans Pelicans 123 @ (13-24) New York Knicks 119 (Z. Williamson 42 points, 10 rebounds) (RJ Barrett 26 points)
1/11 – (21-19) New Orleans Pelicans 98 @ (28-9) Boston Celtics 101 (Z. Williamson 21 points) (J. Brown 24 points)
1/13 – (22-19) New Orleans Pelicans 122 @ (23-18) Detroit Pistons 96 (Z. Williamson 32 points) (R. Jackson 27 points)
1/16 – (22-19) Utah Jazz 132 @ (22-20) New Orleans Pelicans 110 (J. Holiday 29 points) (D. Mitchell 29 points)
1/18 – (34-9) Los Angeles Clippers 129 @ (22-21) New Orleans Pelicans 116 (Z. Williamson 25 points) (L. Williams 33 points)
1/20 – (23-21) New Orleans Pelicans 111 @ (18-25) Memphis Grizzlies 107 (Z. Williamson 26 points, 13 rebounds) (Ja Morant 25 points)
1/22 – (18-25) San Antonio Spurs 126 @ (23-22) New Orleans Pelicans 125 (Z. Williamson 28 points) (L. Aldridge 31 points)
1/24 – (25-20) Denver Nuggets 106 @ (24-22) New Orleans Pelicans 111 (Z. Williamson 30 points, 12 rebounds) (M. Porter Jr. 23 points)
1/26 – (30-15) Boston Celtics 105 @ (25-22) New Orleans Pelicans 109 (Z. Williamson 32 points) (J. Tatum 37 points)
1/28 – (25-23) New Orleans Pelicans 101 @ (17-31) Cleveland Cavaliers 102 (Z. Williamson 25 points, 10 rebounds) (K. Love 23 points)
1/31 – (26-23) New Orleans Pelicans 117 @ (20-29) Memphis Grizzlies 97 (J. Holiday 17 points) (Ja Morant 19 points)

Pelicans Transactions
N/A.

Around The League
1/3 – Detroit signed Reggie Jackson to a 3yr/$33.32M extension.
1/4 – Toronto traded Norman Powell to the Knicks in exchange Reggie Bullock.
1/14 – Dallas shipped Boban Marjanovic & a 2023 2nd round pick to Indiana for Justin Holiday.
1/21 – Charlotte dealt Willy Hernangomez to Washington for Isaac Bonga & a 2023 2nd round pick.
1/28 – Detroit traded Markieff Morris to the 76ers for Kyle O’Quinn & a 2023 2nd round pick.

1/24 – Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox (18.3ppg, 6.7apg) has ankle sprain; out 4-6 weeks.
1/27 – Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns (25.0ppg, 12.3rpg) tore his ACL; is out for season.
1/28 – Cleveland’s Larry Nance Jr. (10.4ppg) has broken leg; out 4-6 weeks.
1/31 – Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton (17.4ppg, 10.5rpg) has knee tendinitis; out 2-4 weeks.

Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons (24.5ppg, 9.9rpg, 8.3apg, 1.8spg) and Houston’s James Harden (30.9ppg, 8.1apg, 4.6rpg) were awarded Player of the Month honors.
New York’s RJ Barrett (18.0ppg, 5.4rpg) and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson (24.2ppg, 9.3rpg, 1.4spg, 1.3bpg) took home the Rookie of the Month awards.

[the_kevstaaa]

Lonzo Unhappy?

Rumors are swirling that Lonzo Ball (9.2ppg, 9.6apg, 4.5rpg, 1.6spg) is unhappy in New Orleans. Though he's on a team contending for the Playoffs and currently leading the NBA in assists, reports say that he isn't planning on re-signing with the franchise this offseason. However, New Orleans does hold a team option for his contract. It's up to them if they want to keep him around and try to make him happy, or trade him to get assets in return.

[the_kevstaaa]

Trade Deadline Moves

New Orleans made two trade deadline deals.

Trade #1
The first move saw the Pelicans ship Nicolo Melli to Washington in exchange for Admiral Schofield and a $5M trade exception. This was mostly done on New Orleans' end to save money. Schofield is slightly cheaper at the moment and has a high upside if he can develop. Washington frees up space as Schofield was stuck behind Bradley Beal, Rui Hachimuri, and CJ Miles in the rotation.

Trade #2
This was a bigger cost saver for the Pelicans. They dealt veteran E'Twaun Moore and a 2024 2nd round pick to Orlando for Damian Jones and a $7M trade exception. They moved the $8.68M Moore was owed this season and took back just over $2M for Jones. With Moore out of the lineup, that means Schofield or fellow rookie Nickel Alexander-Walker will slot into his spot in the rotation. Orlando will most likely use Moore as insurance if Evan Fournier declines his player option for next season. Moore can also act as a mentor for young Markelle Fultz.