April 29, 2025 • 27 mins
Pelicans TV Studio Host/Reporter Erin Summers joins Jim Eichenhofer and Gus Kattengell on the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast to recap Kelly Olynyk's 2024-25 NBA season.
“His knowledge of the game as a vet was so beneficial, because he immediately saw how he could fit in, and help Zion Williamson. He sees the floor really well, and doesn’t get in the way. He really helped show how these other players can play around Zion, and also help the coaching staff and front office see what a stretch big can be for Z, and how beneficial a player like that can be for this team.” – Pelicans TV studio host Erin Summers on Olynyk’s impact in the second half of the season
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Welcome in to the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast, the official
podcast of your New Orleans Pelicans, a podcast dedicated to
everything you need to know about the squad here from players, coaches, broadcasters,
and those who cover the NBA on a daily basis.
It's time to flock up. The New Orleans Pelicans Podcast
(00:29):
starts right now.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hi, welcome back to New Orleans Pelicans podcast. If it's
a podcasts of your New Orleans Pelicans, because catin, Gil
Jimic andof repelicans dot com with you. The player profiles
continue this week. We're focusing on the reserves and one
of those players in particular, Kelly o'linnik. Aaron Summers Pelicans
team and silent reporter, will give her insight and a
little in.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Depth look into his season. But Jim, we'll start with this.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He comes over the Brandon Ingram trade, makes an impact,
makes almost an immediate impact, I would say, and more importantly,
kind of really gets you thinking about maybe next year
and why should I think about that with the way
he is in structures and all of that. But first
and foremost, man, do you think of Kelly since he
showed up? And why should I keep thinking about Kelly.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I mean, he's got a year left on his contract,
so when they traded for him in February, they knew
that it wasn't necessarily a lot of guys are kind
of a rental situation where you're gonna have him for
twenty five thirty games after the All Star break and
then you know who knows. So it's interesting though, if
you think about it Kelly in the context of the
team overall. That just for example, of the fourteen players
(01:39):
that were doing profiles, of which is everyone who finished
the season on the roster and logged at least five
hundred and four minutes Area code five oh four of
those fourteen guys, eleven of them are under contract for
next season. So the Pelicans are really in a situation
where obviously trades are always on the table. There's only
a couple guys in the whole league that have no
(02:00):
trade call clauses that can't be dealt. But I mean
this roster is somewhat locked in if you if you
set aside trades, the fact that you know, most of
these roster spots are kind of spoken.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
For, or a lot of them are.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Eleven of the you know, teams carry fifteen guys basically,
and then through three two way contract players. So, of
the fourteen players that we're profiling, though, like I said,
eleven of them are under contract. The only exceptions to
that are Brandon Boston has a team option, and then
Bruce Brown and Jeremiah Robinson Earl both are free agents.
So I mean you're looking at a situation where as
(02:35):
Joe Dumars comes in to take over that they're you know,
you're not in a situation where you're gonna have half
the roster as a free agent and you have to
make a decision on that. I mean, most of these
guys are, you know, set to be here. One thing
to last thing I would point out before we move
on to to the to Aaron Summers talking about Kelly Alynnock,
(02:55):
is that nom you know, I mentioned eleven guys under
contract for next season, That no actually dramatically drops the
following off season where you only have a handful of
guys that are under contract. There's several players that have
team options for I guess what would be two seasons
from now. So but yeah, it's it's definitely gonna be
the kind of thing where that number drops drastically from
(03:20):
eleven guys this this offseason, including Kelly Lennok to just
basically like four or five players the year after on
the books, sal.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I still remember when he came in and we chatted
here on the Pills podcast and he literally had a duck.
I don't know why. I'm surprised.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I mean I was.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We have we have a lot of tall basketball players,
but look, we've seen them on TV and play obviously
with Celtics and other players. But his size was something that,
as we've seen, not only at at the end of
the season, but now with Joe Dumar speaking, they're gonna
value size on this team.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And yeah, he's a big body for sure. So yeah,
he's uh, he definitely. You know, we need to get more.
If I think we need to get we need some
more guys in the studio.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
You'll be able to see up close how difficult it
is for them to duck their heads under the.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Door, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I guess when you have a pair of five seven
players in you and me in here, that's how it works,
all right. Well, Aaron Summers gets a up close and
personal look at a lot of the minutes that Kelly
was on the court, So here she is to talk
a little bit about Kelly Olynik Aaron Summers, sideline reporter
for your New Orleans Pelicans and of course over on
the Gulf Coast Sports Entertainment Network on the television side
(04:28):
of things. Aaron, I think it's safe to say you've
been around the team pretty much all season long, around
them at practice and everything. And when you take a
look at some of the players that we're going to
get into here as well with our player profiles, it's
one of those things where some players got a chance
to take advantage of opportunities, others had.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
To step in.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
We had Wes Johnson kind of talk a little bit
about Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynnock also coming in in the
trade with Brandon Ingram. What was it like just overall.
We'll get into specifics here in the but Kelly joining
this team, other than hitting his head almost in our
office when he walked in to do a podcast, what
stood out to.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
You with him?
Speaker 5 (05:07):
It took us a little while to get to talk
to him or see him on the court because he
had an issue getting his I don't know what it
is Canadian thing, right, But as soon as we were
able to speak to him. You could tell he had
already done his homework on this team. He wasn't just
sitting waiting to get cleared to play. He was watching film.
(05:30):
He was trying to understand the player's tendencies around him
so he could seamlessly fit in immediately. He was very
well versed in the team. He took to practice and
played extremely hard from the get go and fit right in.
And I think that that's what stood out the most
about him coming in here. He's an eleven year vet,
(05:51):
and he spoke so well. He understood the game at
such a high level, and he accepted and really realized
quickly what his role could be here to maximize his
time after the trade.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
From your position that I'm jealous of, where you sit
on the baseline at home games and you're very close
to the bench, and you can.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
See you want to hang out sometimes.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Now you invite me this season's over.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Just from that vantage point of where you get to
see the way the players interact with each other and
that kind of thing, and just from being around the team.
As Gus referenced, I mean, how would you describe Kelly
in terms of his leadership or how valuable he was
as a guy who's been in the league same number
of years as CJ. McCollum twelve years. They were both
drafted in twenty thirteen. I mean, how much of a
(06:39):
role did he have in terms of somebody that the
other players could rely on with his experience. And he
also seemed to me like a very positive guy in
terms of he had in some of the times that
he spoke to the media, which were several but he
was only here for the.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Last couple of months.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
He was very positive about a lot of the other
players and encouraging as far as some of the young guys.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
First of all, Kelly he was a vibe right like,
he was so cool. He had his long hair, he
has long shorts, his con versus, you know, look like
this skater dude that walks in like super chill, so nice,
so willing to talk answer any questions from the media.
So I can only imagine how available he was for
(07:21):
the players on his team, especially when you look at
these rookies that got thrown into the fire this year
with Eve me Ci and Carlo Mattkovich not really having
a big to learn from. And I think that's even
more valuable than what we saw from Kelly on the
floor was what he was able to show and teach
these rookies. I enjoyed working with him. I know the
(07:43):
players loved having him around. You know. He was always
interacting with people during the games, trying to help out, laughing,
you know, having a good time. And I really think
you fit in very well with this locker room.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
What did you think of just the people describe him
as the court as kind of a connector in terms
of I think that was one of the things that
people were the most excited about in terms of Zion
Williamson was that the type of center that Zion has
played with often has been a guy that plays around
the basket and sometimes there's spacing issues where it gets
(08:17):
a little crowded, whereas Kelly is a three point shooter
something I'm going to reference in a second here, as
well as a passer.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So, I mean, what did you think.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
I wish we would have gotten to see it more,
but just what those two guys playing together in the
way that he fed off other teammates.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, we can definitely get into the type of center
that Zion should be playing around. And I think going
into this season we were leaning into the small lineup
because that's what we had. But then as that changed,
eve me see, isn't your stretch big? But Kelly gave
us an opportunity to see how beneficial a stretch big
can be around Zion Williamson in creating that space because
(08:54):
of his three point ability, he has the size and
length to protect the rim, to defend the but then
on the other side, get out of the way and
pull people with him because people have to respect his
shot out there. I think that his knowledge as a
vet of the game was so beneficial because he immediately
(09:15):
saw how he could fit in and help Zion Williamson.
You mentioned the assists. You know, he was a part
of that game where four Pelicans had seven or more assists.
He sees the floor really well and he doesn't get
in the way. I think sometimes we saw some of
the rookies not exactly knowing where to be spacing wise,
whether it's under the basket, in the dunker spot, you know,
(09:37):
kind of hanging out around the elbow and not giving
z a lot of room to work. So he really
helps show how these other players can play around Zion,
and also I think it helped the coaching staff the
front office. See what a stretch big can be for
Z and how beneficial a player like that can be
(09:58):
for this team.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
It's time for pell stats.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Is this is this Paspeli stats conall.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
As a segment. Okay, so Aaron, this is your first
copyright it.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That type of Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
We can get Can we TRADEMARKT and use it on
the pregame TV show again?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
All right? Like that?
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So basically I should probably explain this for every guest
that we've had on so far. I'm throwing two stats
at them and then they can pick whichever one they
find the most interesting or one they want to talk
about the most. And you can if you like both
of them, and you say, Jim, you did a great job.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Here, you can talk about both. But anyways, you are
a great job. Thank you. Here here's the two stats.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
The first stat for Kelly Olynik is five point one
assists per thirty six minutes in the twenty games that
he played for the Pelicans this season. What's interesting about
that relative to the rest of the team is he
was fifth and assists per minute. The only four guys
ahead of him in that stat were all point guards.
Alfred Payton, Dejontay Murray, josel Varado, and then Zion, who
obviously we know had the ball in his hands a
(10:58):
lot and is a high usage player. The second stat
is that Kelly was second on New Orleans this season
in three point percentage at thirty eight point nine. The
only player who shot better than him was Antonio Reeves
and his rookie season was thirty nine point five, so
it's just slightly better than Olnic in percentage. And in
March and April, Olnic shot twelve for twenty seven from
(11:20):
three point range, which was forty four percent after he
started two for nine, so five point one assists per
thirty six minutes, which was fifth on the team and
second he finished in three point percentage this season.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
I think the three point percentage was huge and something
that this team absolutely needed was somebody who can hit
from the perimeter, especially when you consider all the injuries
that they had, and especially down the stretch when Trey
Murphy was off of the court as well. But I
think his ability to shoot from outside allowed his assist
numbers to increase because he can get out there, pull
(11:55):
people with him and then pass it off to somebody
if he has some close it in on him outside,
so it kind of is one and the same. Honestly,
is that part of his game opens up other parts
of his game for himself and for other people. And
again it goes back to how smart he is his
basketball IQ understanding that aspect of it. He was just
(12:18):
everything you needed him to be, because then you talk
about how he attacked the glass. He had almost five
rebounds a game, almost ten points a game. He had
a couple double doubles. There was that one game in
Utah where it was him and z scored fifty points
combined and Kelly Olenik had twenty six of them, team
high in nine rebounds, four assists, three threes. I mean,
(12:40):
you did a little bit of everything. And I don't
know if it's because he was back on his old
stomping grounds, you know, used to play in Utah. But
he didn't do too much. He did exactly what you
needed of him. And I think that's what I appreciated
about his game is he played his role and you
need players like that around, people like Zion who is
(13:05):
going to command the ball and attention, help pull attention
away from him, but also help support him in the
way that he needs, and once you get some of
these other players back on the court, I think it
also benefits you know, Jery Murphy, so Jim McCollum, Jontay Murray.
We'll see what it looks like next year. There's a
lot of options.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I mean the last thing for me on Kelly is
you kind of alluded to this a little bit already,
but what I was going to touch on was next
season in terms of what we want to see from him,
and you just see him as a kind of player.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
One of the things that makes.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Him valuable is that it seems like you can pair
him with so many different other types of players and
that he's going to be successful. He's going to be
able to kind of be a chameleon and just fit
into whatever you need from him.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
Well, if you look at it, he actually our starting
lineups were a mess obviously because of injuries, but he
started his first game that he played for the Pelicans,
and to have that faith in him, I guess, as
the first time you're playing with this team, you're gonna
put him in the starting lineup. And then he was
on the second most started line so eight times starting lineup.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Tra Zy Kelly and me see eight times to only
have that sets.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
It's good, it's a good nod to Kelly, but it's
also like the lineup that they used the second most,
they only could even use for about two months, and
they could only do it for two months because they
didn't get here till February.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
So yeah, yeah, that's that's tough.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Yeah, but at least, I mean that's what they thought
of him and what he was able to do for
this team. Yes, you needed it, but to the point
of that starting lineup, it was him and Mesi, and
that's when we started going into this dual big starting lineups,
when Carlo and mecI or Carlo and Kelly would start,
and we even saw a different component of what this
(15:03):
team can be. And I think that is helpful too.
When you start looking towards next season, how you want
to build things, what you want it to look like.
You can take examples of Kelly's game, You can take
examples of him and another big together and really decide
what you want to be next year after starting the
season thinking you're going to be a small ball team.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yeah, it's quite a difference, right from small ball to
maybe the importance of that, I think the one thing
that really stood out to me. We talked about it
in our radio round tables during the season right after
he showed up. It didn't take long, I want to
say a game or so and Zion postgame talked about
his basketball like you. And then there was another part
about a week or so later he was talking about
(15:45):
me see I used him and his sound to talk
about what he saw Neve me see and obviously the
year that he had this year Aaron, which surprised everybody in.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
A good way.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Right in that I think his I would I don't
know if it's presence or I guess Worth two is
he was almost like a coach on the court for him.
And yeah, he spoke about that day after practice about
things specifically Eve me c needs to work on him
like that guy's a coach, Like that's the guy that
this summer they need to pair him with. He'll fly
(16:16):
him together, get a place together to eat, breathe sleep,
and eat basketball. Because the way he spoke about it,
it was specific, and I love how he talked about
He's gonna be great if he does this, do this,
this is what he needs to look for when the
defense does this. I'm like, man, I was great. That
was a surprise, right, And that's probably something you don't
know until the guy shows up.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
Yeah, I think you know. Obviously, when new EVP Joe
Dumars was introduced, he brought up, you bring in two
people when you bring in somebody that walk through that door,
and it's the player and the person. And I think
Kelly Olennok embodies what you're looking for in both of
those aspects to a t. He knows his role on
(16:57):
the floor and he executes it beautifully. But off the floor,
the person that he is, the way that he studies
the game, the way that he works with the other
players around him to make other people better and not
only just focus on himself, shows the selfless person that
he is. The time that he gave to the media,
(17:17):
how he kind of just threw himself in there from
day one, like Okay, this is my new team, this
is what I got for you, and I'm going to
give you everything I have.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
By the way, Gus, you mentioned that he sounds like
a coach. His father actually is a basketball coach and
his mom was a referee and worked on the Toronto
Raptors stat crew. So I mean, you can't get more
of a basketball family than that.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, and Aaron, you've been around football and basketball players here.
I mean it's not easy to do. When you're a
veteran and you've bounced around hits in different spots. You
come in, you want to play, you want to be
that guy, and it's not easy to acknowledge or not
just to see it to be helpful, I mean, just
to do. It's just common nature and people sometimes, right,
I mean, you're here to do your job. But that's
(18:00):
the thing that stood out to me. I mean obviously
the basketball, like you, the fact that he helped fit
in immediately, but to see somebody that is so raw
and want to be that guide for them, I thought
that really stood up.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
And we harped on the chemistry that wasn't there a
lot this season because the people in and out of
the lineup. But Kelly never was somebody you brought up
in that regard. He just seamlessly fit in from day one.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Jim, it doesn't hurt when Zion, CJ. Tray all those
guys man talked about how great he was and how
he helped them in their games.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yeah, and I think you get to a certain part
of your career too.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
You're smart enough to realize that that you know, you
mentioned Gus, and I'm with you one hundred percent that
a lot of people want to just do their job
and they're just like, why am I helping somebody else
who's going to maybe take my minutes. But I think
certain guys get to a point in their career and
I think CJ's like this, Kelly's like this, that you
realize that part of what makes you valuable to teams
(18:54):
is that bringing that to the table as far as
somebody that the other the younger players can lean on
you for advice. And so, I mean it's they don't
look at it as something that takes away from what
they do. They look at it more as this is
one of the things that's going to keep me in
the league for a long time. Our guy Garrett Temple,
that's I'm sure that's a huge part of why he's
been in the league as long as he has. So
(19:15):
the the smart players realize that it's not about whether
I'm being unselfish or looking out for myself and some
of other guys, You're actually looking out for yourself by
in a way, by being somebody that the teams can say,
we want to bring this guy in because we know
that he's a good person and that he is going
to help help the other younger players. He's not going
(19:36):
to just hoard everything he's learned in his twelve years.
He's going to spread that out to the rest of
the roster.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
Yeah, comes down to ego too a lot though. It
is like some players don't want to accept that that
is their role now as they get older. And I
don't ever see him walking around like I need more
points or than making it about him.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
No, And look, I think it goes to even before
he shows up here. It's understanding and absorbing right to
the points you guys, are made and what you're seeing
in front of you. Guy played in Boston with two
players that are half a billion dollars, right.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I mean, I'm just being honest.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
I mean that they both sign extensions that are half
a billion dollars. So you're playing with uber stars, You're
playing with a championship caliber team that wanted championship. That
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
So he absorbed that. He took that.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
So when you come in, you drop him in and
you put them with design, you put them with c
Jim mccallmy put him with other stars. He already knows
how to work with those stars. He already knows how
to work with other guys. So I think a couple
of those players like that. They're all part of why
teams win championships, right.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Yeah, I was really pleasantly, I don't want to say surprised,
but just enjoyed him being here. In the addition of
him this season.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I feel like so many of our podcasters wrap up here,
Jim have been fit. You know, who fits around this
player or how this player fits around the system or scheme.
And yeah, so it's unique when a player can just
come into a new team and fits seamlessly. It just
really speaks volumes to what he did.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
And let's just hope that we get to see the
fit in much larger samples next season.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I feel like a lot of our fits are non
like almost shoehorn fits.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Yeah, their fits that we hope, their fits that we
dream of, that we envision, like Kelly with Herb Jones,
Kelly with de Jonte Murray. We never saw that happened
at all, So hopefully next year we will.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
No doubt, thank you, Aaron Summers team and Silent Reporter
for your New Orleans Pelicans.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Thanks to Aeron for stopping by and giving us some
insight there. The playoffs continue, you know, hard to I
guess be upset with some of these games and including
some of the finishes. I know you really enjoyed one
of the finishes in Minnesota recently, But what about one
of the finishes between a game that we're gonna focus
on here, Clippers and Nuggets. Can you get a closer
(21:54):
play at the buzzer the backboard lights up on a
shot that goes in via a dunk, right right?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
That's the interesting ass. Yeah, I'm yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
We got Clippers at Nuggets tonight, game five, nine pm
on TNT.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Yeah, that play.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
It was interesting because I saw a few people tweet
on Sunday or I guess it would have been Saturday.
Was the game game four? A lot of people said
it was the first buzzer beating dunk in NBA history,
and people were like, how could that be? How could
this be the first one ever? But if you think
about it, the only way that you can have a
buzzer beater that is a dunk is if the guy
releases the ball with er point one and then it
goes through the basket, you know, as the buzzer goes off.
(22:34):
So I mean, it's really kind of more of a
technical thing to say that it's the first buzzer beating
dunk in playoff history.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
But yeah, that was. It was incredible.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
I mean, this series, other than Game three, which was
a Clippers blowout and made people a lot of people say,
I think justifiably the Nuggets are in big trouble, this
series has been great. I mean, the first two games
in Denver went down to the wire, went down to
the last minute or two, and then Game four was
wild because Denver was up twenty two in the second
half and I'm thinking, okay, this is they got this
(23:05):
game in the bag, and then all of a sudden,
the Clippers make a huge run. I mean, it was
just such a roller coaster as far as the way
that game ended. Yokic made a huge basket in the
last minute to put them up to then Harden comes
down and misses a shot, but Zubats taps it back
in to tie the game, and then that sets up
that final possession where Denver won on the Gordon game
(23:25):
winner but it was funny because in real time I
thought it was late.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
I thought Gordon's basket was late.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
I wasn't really excited or jumping up and down or
thinking oh my goodness, because I was like, oh, that
shot was late. So it's not gonna matter. When they
go look at the replay, they're gonna see the light
came on. But that wasn't the case. And so, I mean,
I think so far, I think Lakers Wolves has been
a great series as well, but I think you could
probably make the case that Nuggets Clippers has been maybe
(23:52):
the most entertaining and interesting series so far. And it
does not feel like a first round series at all.
It feels more like a like a conference final. So
it's been really fun just to see the back and
forth and even here the kind of the narratives swing
back and forth between Oh, I think the Clippers got this.
I think Denver's in trouble now. Denver, you know, has
home court advantage back. So I'm fascinated to see what
happens that these last two or three games.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Got a team that won a title just a couple
of seasons ago, made some different interesting moves. The Clippers
are a team that have gone all in, you know,
to try to get that, and you almost kind of
tend to forget because of injuries. Jim and I know
here in New Orleans we talk about injuries a lot,
but I mean Kawhi Leonard was talked about at one
point in time before the injury started polling up here
as the best player of the NBA sure because he
(24:36):
was yeah right, he was yeah, went from one place
to another to Toronto, got them a title, like I
Clippers wanted to bring them to a title. I mean,
he's not just you know, some guy here. So if
he's playing well, and James Harden is a guy that
you know when he's locked in, focused healthy, those are
(24:56):
two pretty good guys that we could maybe be talking
about Hall of famers.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Yeah, I mean what Kawhi did in twenty nineteen is
one of the most impressive things that any individual player
has done in a long time in the NBA. I
think people get even more appreciation for it too. No
offense to Toronto that you see what's happened since then,
and you realize, like how far they are from being
a championship contender and maybe how long it's going to
take them to get back to that level. But I mean,
(25:20):
I think it's just been so long that since he's
made it through the playoffs healthy that you always have
kind of that thing where you're kind of looking around
the corner or looking over your shoulder and just being like,
anytime he falls to the court, you're like, oh.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
I hope he's okay.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
But yeah, it's been so long since he was at
that level that I do think I'll put myself in
this category. Two that you do forget that this guy
was just a one. He was first team All NBA.
He was one of the best. Maybe in twenty nineteen
he was the best player in the league, but he
also had a couple other years where he was in
the conversation in the top three to five players in
(25:54):
the league. And I mean he's been showing signs of
that a lot lately and throughout these playoffs. So yeah,
it's it's it's been It's gonna be really interesting to see.
I mean, because the Clippers I don't think went into
the season saying like we have to win a championship,
but now that they this is probably their best chance
to go deep in the playoffs in since you know,
(26:14):
maybe early twenty twenty one or so. But then you
have Denver too, I mean, with a new coach. It's
just it's just a really interesting first round matchup. I
think one of the best ones we've seen in a while.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Jamik and off Repelicans dot com again. Go check out
all of the work over on Pelicans dot com on
all of our player profiles if you miss it, and
there will be an accompanying link to go to a
podcast that goes within here as well as fourteen total
players get a little in depth Looksie. Thank you as
always for tuning us in. We'll see you next time
on the Pelicans podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Thanks for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast. Join
us three times per week on Pelicans dot com, the
Pelicans mobile app, the iHeartRadio app, or where you get
your podcast, and be sure to give Jim and Guss
of follow on X and Jim underscore I can offer
(27:03):
and Gcat Underscore seventeen. We'll see you next time right
here on the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast.
Welcome in to the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast, the official
podcast of your New Orleans Pelicans, a podcast dedicated to
everything you need to know about the squad here from players, coaches, broadcasters,
and those who cover the NBA on a daily basis.
It's time to flock up. The New Orleans Pelicans Podcast
(00:29):
starts right now.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Hi, welcome back to New Orleans Pelicans podcast. If it's
a podcasts of your New Orleans Pelicans, because catin, Gil
Jimic andof repelicans dot com with you. The player profiles
continue this week. We're focusing on the reserves and one
of those players in particular, Kelly o'linnik. Aaron Summers Pelicans
team and silent reporter, will give her insight and a
little in.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
Depth look into his season. But Jim, we'll start with this.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
He comes over the Brandon Ingram trade, makes an impact,
makes almost an immediate impact, I would say, and more importantly,
kind of really gets you thinking about maybe next year
and why should I think about that with the way
he is in structures and all of that. But first
and foremost, man, do you think of Kelly since he
showed up? And why should I keep thinking about Kelly.
Speaker 3 (01:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
I mean, he's got a year left on his contract,
so when they traded for him in February, they knew
that it wasn't necessarily a lot of guys are kind
of a rental situation where you're gonna have him for
twenty five thirty games after the All Star break and
then you know who knows. So it's interesting though, if
you think about it Kelly in the context of the
team overall. That just for example, of the fourteen players
(01:39):
that were doing profiles, of which is everyone who finished
the season on the roster and logged at least five
hundred and four minutes Area code five oh four of
those fourteen guys, eleven of them are under contract for
next season. So the Pelicans are really in a situation
where obviously trades are always on the table. There's only
a couple guys in the whole league that have no
(02:00):
trade call clauses that can't be dealt. But I mean
this roster is somewhat locked in if you if you
set aside trades, the fact that you know, most of
these roster spots are kind of spoken.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
For, or a lot of them are.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Eleven of the you know, teams carry fifteen guys basically,
and then through three two way contract players. So, of
the fourteen players that we're profiling, though, like I said,
eleven of them are under contract. The only exceptions to
that are Brandon Boston has a team option, and then
Bruce Brown and Jeremiah Robinson Earl both are free agents.
So I mean you're looking at a situation where as
(02:35):
Joe Dumars comes in to take over that they're you know,
you're not in a situation where you're gonna have half
the roster as a free agent and you have to
make a decision on that. I mean, most of these
guys are, you know, set to be here. One thing
to last thing I would point out before we move
on to to the to Aaron Summers talking about Kelly Alynnock,
(02:55):
is that nom you know, I mentioned eleven guys under
contract for next season, That no actually dramatically drops the
following off season where you only have a handful of
guys that are under contract. There's several players that have
team options for I guess what would be two seasons
from now. So but yeah, it's it's definitely gonna be
the kind of thing where that number drops drastically from
(03:20):
eleven guys this this offseason, including Kelly Lennok to just
basically like four or five players the year after on
the books, sal.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
I still remember when he came in and we chatted
here on the Pills podcast and he literally had a duck.
I don't know why. I'm surprised.
Speaker 3 (03:35):
I mean I was.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
We have we have a lot of tall basketball players,
but look, we've seen them on TV and play obviously
with Celtics and other players. But his size was something that,
as we've seen, not only at at the end of
the season, but now with Joe Dumar speaking, they're gonna
value size on this team.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And yeah, he's a big body for sure. So yeah,
he's uh, he definitely. You know, we need to get more.
If I think we need to get we need some
more guys in the studio.
Speaker 4 (04:00):
You'll be able to see up close how difficult it
is for them to duck their heads under the.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Door, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
I guess when you have a pair of five seven
players in you and me in here, that's how it works,
all right. Well, Aaron Summers gets a up close and
personal look at a lot of the minutes that Kelly
was on the court, So here she is to talk
a little bit about Kelly Olynik Aaron Summers, sideline reporter
for your New Orleans Pelicans and of course over on
the Gulf Coast Sports Entertainment Network on the television side
(04:28):
of things. Aaron, I think it's safe to say you've
been around the team pretty much all season long, around
them at practice and everything. And when you take a
look at some of the players that we're going to
get into here as well with our player profiles, it's
one of those things where some players got a chance
to take advantage of opportunities, others had.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
To step in.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
We had Wes Johnson kind of talk a little bit
about Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynnock also coming in in the
trade with Brandon Ingram. What was it like just overall.
We'll get into specifics here in the but Kelly joining
this team, other than hitting his head almost in our
office when he walked in to do a podcast, what
stood out to.
Speaker 4 (05:06):
You with him?
Speaker 5 (05:07):
It took us a little while to get to talk
to him or see him on the court because he
had an issue getting his I don't know what it
is Canadian thing, right, But as soon as we were
able to speak to him. You could tell he had
already done his homework on this team. He wasn't just
sitting waiting to get cleared to play. He was watching film.
(05:30):
He was trying to understand the player's tendencies around him
so he could seamlessly fit in immediately. He was very
well versed in the team. He took to practice and
played extremely hard from the get go and fit right in.
And I think that that's what stood out the most
about him coming in here. He's an eleven year vet,
(05:51):
and he spoke so well. He understood the game at
such a high level, and he accepted and really realized
quickly what his role could be here to maximize his
time after the trade.
Speaker 4 (06:04):
From your position that I'm jealous of, where you sit
on the baseline at home games and you're very close
to the bench, and you can.
Speaker 5 (06:10):
See you want to hang out sometimes.
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Now you invite me this season's over.
Speaker 4 (06:17):
Just from that vantage point of where you get to
see the way the players interact with each other and
that kind of thing, and just from being around the team.
As Gus referenced, I mean, how would you describe Kelly
in terms of his leadership or how valuable he was
as a guy who's been in the league same number
of years as CJ. McCollum twelve years. They were both
drafted in twenty thirteen. I mean, how much of a
(06:39):
role did he have in terms of somebody that the
other players could rely on with his experience. And he
also seemed to me like a very positive guy in
terms of he had in some of the times that
he spoke to the media, which were several but he
was only here for the.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Last couple of months.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
He was very positive about a lot of the other
players and encouraging as far as some of the young guys.
Speaker 5 (06:58):
First of all, Kelly he was a vibe right like,
he was so cool. He had his long hair, he
has long shorts, his con versus, you know, look like
this skater dude that walks in like super chill, so nice,
so willing to talk answer any questions from the media.
So I can only imagine how available he was for
(07:21):
the players on his team, especially when you look at
these rookies that got thrown into the fire this year
with Eve me Ci and Carlo Mattkovich not really having
a big to learn from. And I think that's even
more valuable than what we saw from Kelly on the
floor was what he was able to show and teach
these rookies. I enjoyed working with him. I know the
(07:43):
players loved having him around. You know. He was always
interacting with people during the games, trying to help out, laughing,
you know, having a good time. And I really think
you fit in very well with this locker room.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
What did you think of just the people describe him
as the court as kind of a connector in terms
of I think that was one of the things that
people were the most excited about in terms of Zion
Williamson was that the type of center that Zion has
played with often has been a guy that plays around
the basket and sometimes there's spacing issues where it gets
(08:17):
a little crowded, whereas Kelly is a three point shooter
something I'm going to reference in a second here, as
well as a passer.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
So, I mean, what did you think.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
I wish we would have gotten to see it more,
but just what those two guys playing together in the
way that he fed off other teammates.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
Yeah, we can definitely get into the type of center
that Zion should be playing around. And I think going
into this season we were leaning into the small lineup
because that's what we had. But then as that changed,
eve me see, isn't your stretch big? But Kelly gave
us an opportunity to see how beneficial a stretch big
can be around Zion Williamson in creating that space because
(08:54):
of his three point ability, he has the size and
length to protect the rim, to defend the but then
on the other side, get out of the way and
pull people with him because people have to respect his
shot out there. I think that his knowledge as a
vet of the game was so beneficial because he immediately
(09:15):
saw how he could fit in and help Zion Williamson.
You mentioned the assists. You know, he was a part
of that game where four Pelicans had seven or more assists.
He sees the floor really well and he doesn't get
in the way. I think sometimes we saw some of
the rookies not exactly knowing where to be spacing wise,
whether it's under the basket, in the dunker spot, you know,
(09:37):
kind of hanging out around the elbow and not giving
z a lot of room to work. So he really
helps show how these other players can play around Zion,
and also I think it helped the coaching staff the
front office. See what a stretch big can be for
Z and how beneficial a player like that can be
(09:58):
for this team.
Speaker 3 (09:59):
It's time for pell stats.
Speaker 4 (10:00):
Is this is this Paspeli stats conall.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
As a segment. Okay, so Aaron, this is your first
copyright it.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I'm sure.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
That type of Yeah, maybe.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
We can get Can we TRADEMARKT and use it on
the pregame TV show again?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
All right? Like that?
Speaker 4 (10:17):
So basically I should probably explain this for every guest
that we've had on so far. I'm throwing two stats
at them and then they can pick whichever one they
find the most interesting or one they want to talk
about the most. And you can if you like both
of them, and you say, Jim, you did a great job.
Speaker 3 (10:31):
Here, you can talk about both. But anyways, you are
a great job. Thank you. Here here's the two stats.
Speaker 4 (10:37):
The first stat for Kelly Olynik is five point one
assists per thirty six minutes in the twenty games that
he played for the Pelicans this season. What's interesting about
that relative to the rest of the team is he
was fifth and assists per minute. The only four guys
ahead of him in that stat were all point guards.
Alfred Payton, Dejontay Murray, josel Varado, and then Zion, who
obviously we know had the ball in his hands a
(10:58):
lot and is a high usage player. The second stat
is that Kelly was second on New Orleans this season
in three point percentage at thirty eight point nine. The
only player who shot better than him was Antonio Reeves
and his rookie season was thirty nine point five, so
it's just slightly better than Olnic in percentage. And in
March and April, Olnic shot twelve for twenty seven from
(11:20):
three point range, which was forty four percent after he
started two for nine, so five point one assists per
thirty six minutes, which was fifth on the team and
second he finished in three point percentage this season.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
I think the three point percentage was huge and something
that this team absolutely needed was somebody who can hit
from the perimeter, especially when you consider all the injuries
that they had, and especially down the stretch when Trey
Murphy was off of the court as well. But I
think his ability to shoot from outside allowed his assist
numbers to increase because he can get out there, pull
(11:55):
people with him and then pass it off to somebody
if he has some close it in on him outside,
so it kind of is one and the same. Honestly,
is that part of his game opens up other parts
of his game for himself and for other people. And
again it goes back to how smart he is his
basketball IQ understanding that aspect of it. He was just
(12:18):
everything you needed him to be, because then you talk
about how he attacked the glass. He had almost five
rebounds a game, almost ten points a game. He had
a couple double doubles. There was that one game in
Utah where it was him and z scored fifty points
combined and Kelly Olenik had twenty six of them, team
high in nine rebounds, four assists, three threes. I mean,
(12:40):
you did a little bit of everything. And I don't
know if it's because he was back on his old
stomping grounds, you know, used to play in Utah. But
he didn't do too much. He did exactly what you
needed of him. And I think that's what I appreciated
about his game is he played his role and you
need players like that around, people like Zion who is
(13:05):
going to command the ball and attention, help pull attention
away from him, but also help support him in the
way that he needs, and once you get some of
these other players back on the court, I think it
also benefits you know, Jery Murphy, so Jim McCollum, Jontay Murray.
We'll see what it looks like next year. There's a
lot of options.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:25):
I mean the last thing for me on Kelly is
you kind of alluded to this a little bit already,
but what I was going to touch on was next
season in terms of what we want to see from him,
and you just see him as a kind of player.
Speaker 3 (13:36):
One of the things that makes.
Speaker 4 (13:37):
Him valuable is that it seems like you can pair
him with so many different other types of players and
that he's going to be successful. He's going to be
able to kind of be a chameleon and just fit
into whatever you need from him.
Speaker 5 (13:48):
Well, if you look at it, he actually our starting
lineups were a mess obviously because of injuries, but he
started his first game that he played for the Pelicans,
and to have that faith in him, I guess, as
the first time you're playing with this team, you're gonna
put him in the starting lineup. And then he was
on the second most started line so eight times starting lineup.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
CJ.
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Tra Zy Kelly and me see eight times to only
have that sets.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
It's good, it's a good nod to Kelly, but it's
also like the lineup that they used the second most,
they only could even use for about two months, and
they could only do it for two months because they
didn't get here till February.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
So yeah, yeah, that's that's tough.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Yeah, but at least, I mean that's what they thought
of him and what he was able to do for
this team. Yes, you needed it, but to the point
of that starting lineup, it was him and Mesi, and
that's when we started going into this dual big starting lineups,
when Carlo and mecI or Carlo and Kelly would start,
and we even saw a different component of what this
(15:03):
team can be. And I think that is helpful too.
When you start looking towards next season, how you want
to build things, what you want it to look like.
You can take examples of Kelly's game, You can take
examples of him and another big together and really decide
what you want to be next year after starting the
season thinking you're going to be a small ball team.
Speaker 2 (15:24):
Yeah, it's quite a difference, right from small ball to
maybe the importance of that, I think the one thing
that really stood out to me. We talked about it
in our radio round tables during the season right after
he showed up. It didn't take long, I want to
say a game or so and Zion postgame talked about
his basketball like you. And then there was another part
about a week or so later he was talking about
(15:45):
me see I used him and his sound to talk
about what he saw Neve me see and obviously the
year that he had this year Aaron, which surprised everybody in.
Speaker 3 (15:54):
A good way.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Right in that I think his I would I don't
know if it's presence or I guess Worth two is
he was almost like a coach on the court for him.
And yeah, he spoke about that day after practice about
things specifically Eve me c needs to work on him
like that guy's a coach, Like that's the guy that
this summer they need to pair him with. He'll fly
(16:16):
him together, get a place together to eat, breathe sleep,
and eat basketball. Because the way he spoke about it,
it was specific, and I love how he talked about
He's gonna be great if he does this, do this,
this is what he needs to look for when the
defense does this. I'm like, man, I was great. That
was a surprise, right, And that's probably something you don't
know until the guy shows up.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
Yeah, I think you know. Obviously, when new EVP Joe
Dumars was introduced, he brought up, you bring in two
people when you bring in somebody that walk through that door,
and it's the player and the person. And I think
Kelly Olennok embodies what you're looking for in both of
those aspects to a t. He knows his role on
(16:57):
the floor and he executes it beautifully. But off the floor,
the person that he is, the way that he studies
the game, the way that he works with the other
players around him to make other people better and not
only just focus on himself, shows the selfless person that
he is. The time that he gave to the media,
(17:17):
how he kind of just threw himself in there from
day one, like Okay, this is my new team, this
is what I got for you, and I'm going to
give you everything I have.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
By the way, Gus, you mentioned that he sounds like
a coach. His father actually is a basketball coach and
his mom was a referee and worked on the Toronto
Raptors stat crew. So I mean, you can't get more
of a basketball family than that.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, and Aaron, you've been around football and basketball players here.
I mean it's not easy to do. When you're a
veteran and you've bounced around hits in different spots. You
come in, you want to play, you want to be
that guy, and it's not easy to acknowledge or not
just to see it to be helpful, I mean, just
to do. It's just common nature and people sometimes, right,
I mean, you're here to do your job. But that's
(18:00):
the thing that stood out to me. I mean obviously
the basketball, like you, the fact that he helped fit
in immediately, but to see somebody that is so raw
and want to be that guide for them, I thought
that really stood up.
Speaker 5 (18:12):
And we harped on the chemistry that wasn't there a
lot this season because the people in and out of
the lineup. But Kelly never was somebody you brought up
in that regard. He just seamlessly fit in from day one.
Speaker 2 (18:25):
Jim, it doesn't hurt when Zion, CJ. Tray all those
guys man talked about how great he was and how
he helped them in their games.
Speaker 3 (18:32):
Yeah, and I think you get to a certain part
of your career too.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
You're smart enough to realize that that you know, you
mentioned Gus, and I'm with you one hundred percent that
a lot of people want to just do their job
and they're just like, why am I helping somebody else
who's going to maybe take my minutes. But I think
certain guys get to a point in their career and
I think CJ's like this, Kelly's like this, that you
realize that part of what makes you valuable to teams
(18:54):
is that bringing that to the table as far as
somebody that the other the younger players can lean on
you for advice. And so, I mean it's they don't
look at it as something that takes away from what
they do. They look at it more as this is
one of the things that's going to keep me in
the league for a long time. Our guy Garrett Temple,
that's I'm sure that's a huge part of why he's
been in the league as long as he has. So
(19:15):
the the smart players realize that it's not about whether
I'm being unselfish or looking out for myself and some
of other guys, You're actually looking out for yourself by
in a way, by being somebody that the teams can say,
we want to bring this guy in because we know
that he's a good person and that he is going
to help help the other younger players. He's not going
(19:36):
to just hoard everything he's learned in his twelve years.
He's going to spread that out to the rest of
the roster.
Speaker 5 (19:41):
Yeah, comes down to ego too a lot though. It
is like some players don't want to accept that that
is their role now as they get older. And I
don't ever see him walking around like I need more
points or than making it about him.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
No, And look, I think it goes to even before
he shows up here. It's understanding and absorbing right to
the points you guys, are made and what you're seeing
in front of you. Guy played in Boston with two
players that are half a billion dollars, right.
Speaker 3 (20:08):
I mean, I'm just being honest.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
I mean that they both sign extensions that are half
a billion dollars. So you're playing with uber stars, You're
playing with a championship caliber team that wanted championship. That
that's what it's all about.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
So he absorbed that. He took that.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
So when you come in, you drop him in and
you put them with design, you put them with c
Jim mccallmy put him with other stars. He already knows
how to work with those stars. He already knows how
to work with other guys. So I think a couple
of those players like that. They're all part of why
teams win championships, right.
Speaker 5 (20:38):
Yeah, I was really pleasantly, I don't want to say surprised,
but just enjoyed him being here. In the addition of
him this season.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
I feel like so many of our podcasters wrap up here,
Jim have been fit. You know, who fits around this
player or how this player fits around the system or scheme.
And yeah, so it's unique when a player can just
come into a new team and fits seamlessly. It just
really speaks volumes to what he did.
Speaker 4 (21:05):
And let's just hope that we get to see the
fit in much larger samples next season.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
I feel like a lot of our fits are non
like almost shoehorn fits.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
Yeah, their fits that we hope, their fits that we
dream of, that we envision, like Kelly with Herb Jones,
Kelly with de Jonte Murray. We never saw that happened
at all, So hopefully next year we will.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
No doubt, thank you, Aaron Summers team and Silent Reporter
for your New Orleans Pelicans.
Speaker 5 (21:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Thanks to Aeron for stopping by and giving us some
insight there. The playoffs continue, you know, hard to I
guess be upset with some of these games and including
some of the finishes. I know you really enjoyed one
of the finishes in Minnesota recently, But what about one
of the finishes between a game that we're gonna focus
on here, Clippers and Nuggets. Can you get a closer
(21:54):
play at the buzzer the backboard lights up on a
shot that goes in via a dunk, right right?
Speaker 3 (22:04):
That's the interesting ass. Yeah, I'm yeah.
Speaker 4 (22:06):
We got Clippers at Nuggets tonight, game five, nine pm
on TNT.
Speaker 3 (22:11):
Yeah, that play.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
It was interesting because I saw a few people tweet
on Sunday or I guess it would have been Saturday.
Was the game game four? A lot of people said
it was the first buzzer beating dunk in NBA history,
and people were like, how could that be? How could
this be the first one ever? But if you think
about it, the only way that you can have a
buzzer beater that is a dunk is if the guy
releases the ball with er point one and then it
goes through the basket, you know, as the buzzer goes off.
(22:34):
So I mean, it's really kind of more of a
technical thing to say that it's the first buzzer beating
dunk in playoff history.
Speaker 3 (22:41):
But yeah, that was. It was incredible.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
I mean, this series, other than Game three, which was
a Clippers blowout and made people a lot of people say,
I think justifiably the Nuggets are in big trouble, this
series has been great. I mean, the first two games
in Denver went down to the wire, went down to
the last minute or two, and then Game four was
wild because Denver was up twenty two in the second
half and I'm thinking, okay, this is they got this
(23:05):
game in the bag, and then all of a sudden,
the Clippers make a huge run. I mean, it was
just such a roller coaster as far as the way
that game ended. Yokic made a huge basket in the
last minute to put them up to then Harden comes
down and misses a shot, but Zubats taps it back
in to tie the game, and then that sets up
that final possession where Denver won on the Gordon game
(23:25):
winner but it was funny because in real time I
thought it was late.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
I thought Gordon's basket was late.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
I wasn't really excited or jumping up and down or
thinking oh my goodness, because I was like, oh, that
shot was late. So it's not gonna matter. When they
go look at the replay, they're gonna see the light
came on. But that wasn't the case. And so, I mean,
I think so far, I think Lakers Wolves has been
a great series as well, but I think you could
probably make the case that Nuggets Clippers has been maybe
(23:52):
the most entertaining and interesting series so far. And it
does not feel like a first round series at all.
It feels more like a like a conference final. So
it's been really fun just to see the back and
forth and even here the kind of the narratives swing
back and forth between Oh, I think the Clippers got this.
I think Denver's in trouble now. Denver, you know, has
home court advantage back. So I'm fascinated to see what
happens that these last two or three games.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
Got a team that won a title just a couple
of seasons ago, made some different interesting moves. The Clippers
are a team that have gone all in, you know,
to try to get that, and you almost kind of
tend to forget because of injuries. Jim and I know
here in New Orleans we talk about injuries a lot,
but I mean Kawhi Leonard was talked about at one
point in time before the injury started polling up here
as the best player of the NBA sure because he
(24:36):
was yeah right, he was yeah, went from one place
to another to Toronto, got them a title, like I
Clippers wanted to bring them to a title. I mean,
he's not just you know, some guy here. So if
he's playing well, and James Harden is a guy that
you know when he's locked in, focused healthy, those are
(24:56):
two pretty good guys that we could maybe be talking
about Hall of famers.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Yeah, I mean what Kawhi did in twenty nineteen is
one of the most impressive things that any individual player
has done in a long time in the NBA. I
think people get even more appreciation for it too. No
offense to Toronto that you see what's happened since then,
and you realize, like how far they are from being
a championship contender and maybe how long it's going to
take them to get back to that level. But I mean,
(25:20):
I think it's just been so long that since he's
made it through the playoffs healthy that you always have
kind of that thing where you're kind of looking around
the corner or looking over your shoulder and just being like,
anytime he falls to the court, you're like, oh.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
I hope he's okay.
Speaker 4 (25:33):
But yeah, it's been so long since he was at
that level that I do think I'll put myself in
this category. Two that you do forget that this guy
was just a one. He was first team All NBA.
He was one of the best. Maybe in twenty nineteen
he was the best player in the league, but he
also had a couple other years where he was in
the conversation in the top three to five players in
(25:54):
the league. And I mean he's been showing signs of
that a lot lately and throughout these playoffs. So yeah,
it's it's it's been It's gonna be really interesting to see.
I mean, because the Clippers I don't think went into
the season saying like we have to win a championship,
but now that they this is probably their best chance
to go deep in the playoffs in since you know,
(26:14):
maybe early twenty twenty one or so. But then you
have Denver too, I mean, with a new coach. It's
just it's just a really interesting first round matchup. I
think one of the best ones we've seen in a while.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
Jamik and off Repelicans dot com again. Go check out
all of the work over on Pelicans dot com on
all of our player profiles if you miss it, and
there will be an accompanying link to go to a
podcast that goes within here as well as fourteen total
players get a little in depth Looksie. Thank you as
always for tuning us in. We'll see you next time
on the Pelicans podcast.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Thanks for listening to the New Orleans Pelicans podcast. Join
us three times per week on Pelicans dot com, the
Pelicans mobile app, the iHeartRadio app, or where you get
your podcast, and be sure to give Jim and Guss
of follow on X and Jim underscore I can offer
(27:03):
and Gcat Underscore seventeen. We'll see you next time right
here on the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast.
Host
Jim Eichenhofer
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