THE FLATS – With the elimination of the New Orleans Pelicans from the NBA’s bubble at Disney’s Wide World of Sports, all of the former Yellow Jackets in pro basketball are again in off-season mode. The NBA playoffs continue with opening round games.
Derrick Favors and Thaddeus Young have seen their coaches both fired in the last two weeks, making their off-season plans even more uncertain. Even Josh Okogie has been the subject of some trade talk in the media,
This week’s #ProJackets Report compiles more of the latest news, stories and social media posts on former Jackets and their activities of the past week.
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PELICANS HAVE TOUGH DECISION TO MAKE AT CENTER
From the New Orleans Times-Picayune: The drop-off between the production the Pelicans’ starting center offered and what the team’s reserves could give was steep enough to ski down. This season, the Pelicans went 24-27 when Derrick Favors played. When he was unavailable, they went 6-15.
New Orleans was arguably thinner at center than any other position, and it showed early in the season when Derrick Favors missed time with knee and back injuries, and then while mourning the death of his mother. The Pelicans did not have Favors in 10 of the 13 consecutive games they lost, a franchise record for futility.
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FIRING COACH LEAVES BULLS’ OFF-SEASON UNCERTAIN
The Chicago Bulls fired their coach, Jim Boylen, two weeks ago, leaving executive VP Arturas Karnisovas with decisions to make with both his coaching staff and roster. From NBCSports.com:
“Firing him should have been obvious, especially once the Bulls hired Arturas Karnisovas as team president. Let Karnisovas hire his own coach.
“Chicago’s roster is lacking, though not necessarily hopeless.
“Zach LaVine is more near-star than All-Star – not an ideal centerpiece – but the 25-year-old could continue to improve. Youngsters Coby White, Lauri Markkanen and Wendell Carter Jr. have had too many downs to feel great about their futures, though enough ups to at least be intrigued. Veterans Otto Porter, Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky have underwhelmed but have prior records of success.
A new coach will have pieces to work with.
Karnisovas has more work ahead to upgrade those pieces.”
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TIMBERWOLVES RECEIVE FIRST PICK IN NBA DRAFT
Josh Okogie’s team has a chance to draft and add a young star to its roster or use the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft in a trade to acquire a proven player to join the Timberwolves’ two stars, Karl Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell.
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BOSH SHARES EMOTIONS IN REMEMBRANCE OF BRYANT
Chris Bosh had recently shared how Bryant was able to push both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to levels that they had never reached before in their careers. Bosh was a beneficiary of that, as he, James and Wade won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013.
Bryant was one of the most beloved players in the history of the NBA. A Hall of Famer and 18-time All-Star, Bryant played his entire career with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning five NBA titles.
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