July 16, 2025 • 45 mins
On the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast for Wednesday, July 16, 2025, Jim Eichenhofer and Gus Kattengell are joined by Pelicans TV studio host/reporter Erin Summers to recap the team's performance against the Portland Trail Blazers in their third game at 2025 NBA Summer League.
Hear from Summer League head coach Corey Brewer as we get you ready for tonight's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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Episode Transcript
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(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.
Hear from players, coaches, broadcasters, and those who
cover the NBA on a daily basis. It's time to flock up.
(00:27):
The New Orleans Pelicans Podcaststarts right now.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the New Orleans Pelicans
podcast, the official podcast ofyour New Orleans Pelicans, the
summer league edition. Jim, I can offer Gus Cottongill
with you again. Game 3 is in the books as the
pels took on the Portland Trail Blazers camp.
(00:48):
A little short, 93 to 87, you'llhear from and coach Corey
Brewer. He had a chance to sit down with
team reporter and television host Aaron Summers.
You'll get that here in a quick second.
Jim's thoughts as well. And then we'll get you ready for
tonight's game. That's right, it's a
back-to-back in summer league. Because that makes a lot of
sense, doesn't it? Not sure who was in charge of
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the scheduling for summer league.
There's various teams that have back to backs.
I was talking to a few people from other teams.
It's not like the Pelicans are an outlier in that somehow
there's a bunch of teams that have a back-to-back but then
also have a stretch like the Pelicans just did where they
played Saturday and didn't play again till Tuesday.
So who knows? I don't know.
Maybe a future podcast on scheduling?
(01:32):
I thought we had the technology in 2025 to be able to avoid
this, but but what do I know? I hear you look at it, but it
had been a couple of days, right?
You had a couple of games late last week and over the weekend.
So there's there, there's the game last night and I'm watching
it in gym. Look up my quick overall
thoughts, my outline, my Cliff notes version.
Man, we got to see some things from the draft picks, in
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particular the first round picksthat make you go all right.
I like this, including one particular stretch here as well
that we'll get into with DerrickQueen when the team went had a
15-O run after a not so good start, but that was fun to see.
I thought PV had some nice plays.
You saw some, some plays from Keon Brooks and Antonio Reeves.
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They showed you they're vets. You know, they've been around
the calmness and helping them aswell as they had double digits.
But ejections. There were ejections, Jim, in
the game. People got tossed, including
Jeremiah Fears. Yeah, I mean, he's been into a,
he's been in a little scrap so far.
It seems like all three games inSummer League.
He's definitely plays with a little bit of chip on his
(02:33):
shoulder, a little bit of hostility.
I don't know the whole story behind some of these incidents
that have happened with him, butthere's been a couple of times
where it seems like he's had a word too.
And then somebody pushes him or gives him a little elbow.
And I think that happened again last night where somebody was
mad at him and reacted to that. So yeah, he's he's somebody that
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I guess we'll have to to watch when we get into the season in
terms of just he's he's been a bit confrontational, but we love
it because we want to see, you know, more of that attitude I
think then we saw from the team during the regular season last
year. Yeah, no doubt.
I think it's one of those thingsthat makes a lot of sense that
you want to see because again, either or that kind of player,
you're not right. And, and I guess one of the
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reasons that in the back of my mind, I like seeing that the
team that just won the NBA championship, OKC, they they're
physical. They try to take you out of
their game. You know, one of the teams that
have been around for a while, guys like Draymond Green and
stuff. You're seeing kind of the
copycat. I think teams are going to be
looking for quote UN quote, the hockey enforcer or somebody that
makes their three-point shootinguncomfortable.
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You're going to have to play through contact.
You're going to have to play through imagine is no calls
right against the Lakers. Say one of the complaints after
the game from coach Brew and stuff.
Well, you know, you you got to live with not getting calls.
I mean, how, how many post gamesdid you come in studio and we go
Jim 5 free throws. So the Pelicans, you know, it's
like, so I, I, I like that it doesn't affect some of these
(04:00):
young guys already, if that makes.
Sense and it's funny because oneof the plays that fears made
last night that I was going to say was and one where he had a
really nice driver on the left side and banked in a
right-handed layup. It would have been A and 1:00,
but they didn't call a foul. So he kind of got knocked to the
ground and then just kind of hadto dust himself off off and get
back up and run back on defense.But I, I, I mean, one of my
(04:22):
biggest overall takeaways from the game last night is watch the
three minute and 28 second videothat's on pelicans.com.
That's titled top plays from Pelicans versus Trail Blazers.
It's very heavy with Derek Queenplays as well as Jeremiah Fears.
You saw just some of the talents, something that we're
going to talk about with Aaron Summers in terms of just some of
the segments of the game where you watch these guys and you
(04:45):
say, OK, Fears was the 7th pick in the draft.
Queen was 13th, but we saw he was projected to be a top ten
pick. And so I thought there were a
lot of moments last night where you really saw the ability that
these two guys have. Unfortunately, the game was
crazy late and I think a lot of people missed it.
But do yourself a favor and watch some of the highlight reel
from the game and you can kind of see more, a little bit more
(05:07):
of what I'm talking about, yeah.Fear is 14 points in 22 minutes.
Derrick Queen 17 points, 10 rebounds, his third straight
double double. Aaron Summers had a chance to
catch up with head coach Corey Brewer after the game.
I know it's probably not the outcome that you wanted, but the
team definitely fought back several times within this game.
What did you like about that aspect of it?
My life that we stayed with, youknow, the first half we didn't
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play the way we should have played the way we wanted to
play. Second-half, we came out, we got
the lead, we had the momentum and you know, it's tough.
You know, both my ball handlers got kicked out the game.
Then after that they started playing a lot of pressure on us
and we we just couldn't get in the offense.
We couldn't make plays and it's tough, you know, but we fought
to then. Turnover seemed to be a problem
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even in game 3 here. What do you guys need to do to
clean those up? We got to figure out.
We got to figure a way out how to get in our offense.
You know, teams are pressuring us, you know, and team
depression, you got to go by theguy or you got to get off the
ball and have some ball movementand that's what we haven't done.
What did you like about Derrick Queen's game?
Because he really seemed like hewas showing different aspects of
what he can do. Derrick played great.
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You know, I was able to play himat the four, play him at the
five. He's he's a big time guy.
He's a playmaker. He had a great game and we got
to keep getting better. He got to keep that momentum,
come out tomorrow and play better.
What is your message to players like Fears and Hoggard and the
altercation that happened? My message was, you know, it's
basketball and you know, AJ, youknow he's probably shouldn't
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have pushed him, but he was taking up for his teammate.
And when you're taking up for your teammate in the heat of the
battle, things happen and got kicked out.
But I told everybody that stuff's going to happen a lot in
the NBA. He took our first teammate, he
got kicked out. We got to move on.
We got to win the game. We just couldn't win the game
and. That's some really wild schedule
here. You play it back-to-back.
How do you turn the page? What's got to be the main focus?
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Main focus is coming out and trying to get a win, but we got
to, we got to cut the turnovers,you know, turning over the ball
too much and we're getting killed.
Good to hear a little bit more from Aaron.
Somebody here to come up in a quick SEC.
Jim, if you ever get shoved in the pizza line in the cafeteria,
I got your back. I will make sure nobody ever
does that again. It's funny you say that, Gus,
because on Pelicans Plus last night in the live chat that we
did during the game, I mentionedthat I will.
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I am willing to buy AJ Hoggard lunch in the cafeteria.
Aaron, unfortunately, because she was not buying my
propaganda, pointed out that lunch is for.
Free. And so, but nobody knows.
She kind of indirectly called mea little bit of a cheapskate
there. But nonetheless, I I thought it
was great that as Corey Brewer mentioned too, that that Hoggard
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basically was protecting Jeremiah Fears, because I think
I'm, I'm trying to remember exactly what happened on the
play. I think he got Fears, got shoved
by a Portland player and then Hoggard just jumped in and
pushed the guy back. Like, dude, what are you doing?
And so that was good to see. Unfortunately, he got ejected
from the game and Fears also gotejected because that was his
(07:55):
Fears's second technical. But for AJ Hoggard, I mean, I
don't know if somewhere DraymondGreen is smiling, but if you
look at his his Hoggard's summerleague stats, he played 6
minutes last night. That was the first game that he
played in. He has 6 minutes played and one
ejection. So I mean, that's, that's a
ratio that that I can really kind of get behind.
(08:17):
But one other quick thing to that Corey Brewer mentioned that
I wanted to point out. He talked about how if you're
getting pressured in the backcourt that you have to go by
the defender. I I thought that was worth
noting because there were several times in the first
couple games where when I was out there in Vegas where I was
watching Fears and it seemed like a guy was up on him like
5060 feet from the basket. And having watched Fears the way
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his quickness in the way he can handle the ball, I kept
thinking, is he not going by theguy because he knows that they
want to run a play, they want torun the offense and he doesn't
want to break off the play or break off the offense.
So I thought that was interesting that Brewer said
that just from the standpoint ofthat, you know, if if you call
if the the coaches call a play and you take the ball out of the
basket and you're going the other way and all of a sudden a
(09:02):
defensive players up on you at the other free throw line.
Sometimes you just got to be like, you know, forget to play.
I'm going to just drive by this guy because that's the only way
that you can kind of, if you don't go by the guy, he's going
to keep coming up on you and making it even more difficult.
So that's something that they need to do better is if if
they're if you, you have to makethem pay for not respecting your
(09:25):
ability to drive and go by people.
But I think we saw fears do thata little bit more last night
where he was getting into the paint and trying to dunk on
people. In football, the term is off
schedule. That, that has become very, very
popular. You know, coaches, quarterbacks
are, they're good when they're off schedule.
In other words, when the play breaks down and you're
scrambling, right? I mean, people are listening
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now, obviously watch football. In basketball, I, I look at the
ability to create your shot or get a shot off or just attempt
to score. Just as important.
What I mean by that is to your point, you're saying there were
some things that I saw from Fears and Queen in particular
that really stood out. Fears, I'll be real quick.
(10:07):
You, you either all that guy that could attack and get it in
your feelers or you can't. And that missed dunk, that would
have been unbelievable. There was a hand at the rim.
I don't know if it got him or ifit got the ball, but it wasn't
like he missed a clean dunk. There was a guy trying to block
that shot. He still went at it.
That was still great. I love a guy that sees that
though, like that's what I'm doing.
(10:28):
That's I'm coming here I go. Anthony Edwards is a player like
that. Come heck or high water.
Watch out here. Your hands about to get broken
jaws like that. It can happen at any time with
queen man. He was taking on what Hanson
Yang, a big old guy right from China rookie, and he was
(10:49):
towering over him to an extent. And he found a way to shoot off
balance, leaning back on 1A turnaround, A fade, a kiss off
the glass. You saw a lot of different ways
to score and look at it. And I think that's kind of what
excites me about those two players in particular.
(11:10):
And I don't want to leave PV out.
There was a player to when the team went on A-150 run where he
has quick hands, he tipped the ball out of a defender that was
in the right block and he saved the ball from going out of
bounds, got it out quickly. One of Queens best plays was off
a rebound, immediately throwing it up the court.
That led to a fast break. You know, I think dunk and
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that's the kind of stuff that again, Jim, you either are that
player or you're not. You're heady like that, you know
what I'm saying? Like Queen got that board and
immediately the ball was out of his hand up the other end for a
bucket instead of dribbling, handing it off and PV like that
too. A little headiness and defensive
guy. So I enjoyed seeing that.
I thought Queen smartly understood when he was going
(11:53):
against Hun Sen Young. I think that's how you say it.
I'm not exactly sure. I thought he smartly understood,
OK, my advantage against this guy is that I have quicker feet
and that if he's going to come out, there's a play where he ran
out to him to guard Queen in theleft corner.
And Queen was like, OK, I'll just dribble by you and get to
(12:14):
the basket. And he had a couple plays where
he was. He couldn't, he knew that he
couldn't keep up with him, quickness wise, athleticism
wise, probably. So he scored that way a couple
times. So I mean, just like with fears,
I mean, a lot of what he's doingoffensively is just a really
good starting point as far as what you're projecting him to do
in his NBA career. And with fears, it's like how
(12:36):
many I I saw, I think it was RodWalker of the Advocate time
Swiki Yoon last night say something about one of his moves
where the play where he dunked it and or tried to dunk and
missed was Westbrook, like in terms of his aggressiveness.
And so to see a guy who's a six three-point guard who has that
level of athleticism that he thinks, OK, I'm going to just
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drive through the paint and dunkon somebody, It's something that
you can't teach. So once again, just like I said
with Queen, it's a really good starting point of the the mold
that you have of this kind of player.
And he has different things. We're talk about this Aaron as
well. He has different things that he
has to kind of clean up and tidyup as far as the turnovers and
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just specific details of the game.
But I mean, the the tools that this guy has is one of the
reasons why as we went up, LED up to the draft, everybody was
like this guy could be picked inthe top five and he ended up
getting picked 7th. 15 seconds. We'll get into Aaron's
conversation here, but I think that's what excites more than
anything else. Come the regular season when
these guys start working with a certain unit in Group, right?
(13:42):
That's going to be more interesting too, because they
can have a more level of a comfortableness too as to what
they can play because both theseguys primarily probably going to
be coming off the bench. And so it'll it'll be Kyle 4-5
guys routine. Like not to say that, you know,
DQ or fears won't play with Zion, but I'm talking about for
the most part, you know, there'sthat first unit, second unit at
(14:03):
practice. And we saw even in Nashville
last year, right, with Jose Alvarado kind of leading that
second unit. There was a group of guys that
was very competitive, but I'm interested to see, you know, the
more those guys play together with a certain amount of guy,
the three or four other guys with their Jose's in there or
whether other guys are in there,that's going to be interesting
to me because right now it's just, hey, go out and show us
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what you can do, Go do your bestthing.
They're not even used to playingwith one another and it's going
to get smaller in terms of who they're going to play with as
October, November, December. And in this multi month
progression where we're sitting here in the middle of July, but
we we're have our eyes on late September when training camp
starts and then October preseason.
(14:45):
I think we're looking for kind of small steps.
I think what they did, the cohesiveness on the offensive
end last night was a lot better than it had been in the previous
games. The assist numbers still need to
get better. So hopefully we'll see that
tonight against Oklahoma City that they they make another jump
in terms of not having as much ISO ball one-on-one play where
you end up against the Lakers with six assists and 0 assists
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in the second-half. So I mean, I think that's part
of what I want to see against the Thunder tonight is that can
we see just even a little bit more just take make another
little step in terms of playing off of each other, getting more
used to playing with some of theother guys on the court.
Because like you said, there's no doubt that when we get into,
you're playing with Trey Murphy and Zion Williamson and guys
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like that, that you're going to have to really think about what
your role is going to be. And it's definitely not going to
be you're taking twenty shots a game as a rookie all.
Right, Aaron Summers was courtside there for the game
last night. Here's a conversation about what
she saw up close and personal. Time now to welcome in Aaron
Summers, television studio host for Universalis Pelicans and
over in Las Vegas having a greatold time watching basketball
(15:53):
again. Let's just start there.
How nice is it to actually look at you, you you were there on
draft night. It it's nice to kind of see them
work out and get ready practice wise.
But it's a game. We're not talking about
practice, Aaron. We're talking about a game to
actually see basketball again. And even Zion was there watching
the rooks and some of those players here as well that we've
seen in the past, like Eve Meesey.
So just overall man, just being able to watch the Pels again had
(16:16):
to be nice. I think the most important part
of Summer League is seeing some of these rookies and their
ability to show you flashes of what they can do on the court.
I mean, that's what we were all looking for, right?
The Pelicans made a splash with a #7 pick Jeremiah Fears and
then trading up to get Derek Queen.
And you want to see those two players have moments where
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they're showing you why they were those high picks and
they're both lottery picks. It's fun watching them play,
watching them compete. Both of them talked about how
excited they were to come here and do it.
Some really can get long. It can be the second week, can
kind of start to drag. But in talking to Fears
yesterday before the game, I mean, he was just so excited.
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He was like, this is the best. Like I get to come here and play
basketball. That's what I want to do and I'm
taking every moment and making the most of it.
And you know, DQ, we're going toget into this, but some of the
stuff that he was able to do in the game last night against
Portland was very impressive andI think fans should be really
(17:21):
excited about that. So there are definitely some
things on the court with these players that's been fun to
watch. And yeah, it's great.
It's great watching basketball. It is summer league.
There are going to be some bumpsin the road.
There's not going to be like themost elite play at all times.
There's going to be some suspectcalls from the refs because this
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is summer league for them as well.
There are going to be some fights.
We've seen it. But All in all, it's it's good
to be around the game again and see a lot of familiar faces too.
It's been good seeing the front office here and as you
mentioned, Zion Williamson and some of the other players that
came through in in games prior. Aaron, you mentioned the
rookies, the guys that were drafted having moments or
(18:05):
flashes where you say like, OK, we, we see the potential here.
We see the talent. I mean, I, I guess we could
start with, to me the stretch that Derek Queen had at the end
of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter
where he scored 11 points out ofthe team's 15 during that span.
What what impressed you the mostabout that?
And also, I want to say too, I want to recommend to people, I
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feel like during the regular season when we have a home game
and the vast majority of the people who were listening to the
podcast were at the game or watching on TV, we don't have to
kind of recap. I feel like I want to recommend
to people in this instance, they'll go back and watch the
highlights and see the stretch that he had.
But what did, what did you, whatdid you like about what he did
during that span? His skill level is unbelievable,
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his footwork, his ability to take over the game.
He saw a moment where the Pelicans were struggling.
I mean, they were falling behindand they were in a moment where
they didn't figure it out. It was going to get ugly.
And that was early on in the game.
And DQ took over. He asserted himself inside.
He went to the hoop and he went hard through contact.
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He set up some of his other teammates.
Like he sees the court extremelywell.
He showed so many different areas of his game.
That gets you excited about whathe can do.
I think for him, that's what youwanted to see is that each game
he's improving. He's learning how to affect the
game. It's going to be faster.
(19:32):
There's the spacing. It's going to be different at
this level. The athleticism that you're
going up against is going to be different at this level.
So he's going to have an an adjustment period, especially
because he's playing a couple different positions on offense
and defense. He's had to play the four and
five, which is different for him.
So that in itself is going to take time for him to adjust to.
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So seeing the improvement each game is huge.
Seeing those flashes is big. The fact that he's had a double
double in every single game so far if that is the baseline for
him like. There are good things ahead.
The other thing that was interesting, I just kind of
wanted to check real quick too, is did y'all know he was a ball
(20:15):
handler? Because it almost looked like
Aaron didn't lie in that game. It was like point DQ, like he
was the guy bringing the ball upthe court and facilitating that.
That was kind of a bit of a surprise to me.
And I know though, you go back to the three days of training
camp practices that they had here.
And it was player after player that we kept playing on our
podcast that you guys were talking to after practice that
(20:37):
said this guy can do everything.He can do those things.
And I think yesterday was a goodexample of that as you're
talking about Aaron for the fivepoint, bringing the ball up.
I did not expect that. You know, in a lot of instances.
And again, this is just you're still trying to get your wind
and you're still trying to know how to play with these players.
I think it's really impressive. Yeah.
I mean, the fact that he has taken those strides in each game
(21:01):
is impressive. Yes, he has the passing ability.
He talked about it going into Summer League that he was given
the freedom to do that. That coach Corey Brewer is like,
yeah, if you see an opportunity you want to take the ball down
the court, go for it. I don't know if that's going to
be a big part of his role with this Pelicans team in the
upcoming season because Z is going to do that a lot,
(21:24):
obviously, and then you're goingto have your point guards as
well. So I think he'll be more of of
the somebody that sets players up and he talked about setting
up eve me see a lot. We haven't really seen that much
in summer league, them playing off of each other.
I so I think that's still a dynamic between the bigs that
(21:45):
needs to develop. But yes, he does have a lot more
to his game that I think people are aware of and it's good
because he was such a controversial pick.
I think he's showing the league that he can do so many different
things and almost being like, OK, I can see it.
Like I can see why they value this player so much.
(22:07):
You know, Gus, in terms of him off the dribble, his coach at
Maryland, Kevin Willard mentioned that that that was
part of his game that he showed a little bit in college that he
could take the ball from 1820 feet out, dribble by a guy, do a
little crossover and we saw thatlast night.
I mean at his size, that is a something that you don't see
with a lot of players. They can do stuff off the
(22:28):
dribble the way he did. He had some really good footwork
on like a left-handed hook in the lane over 1 of Portland's
bigs. He had a play in the left corner
where he had the ball and just kind of crossed over, dribbled
past Portland center and banked in an and one layup.
So I mean, he one of the things that you were just mentioning
Aaron, I think is interesting is, you know, there were a lot
(22:50):
of people talking about when thePelicans drafted him, like how
does he fit with Zion? How does he fit with Eve Meesey,
which, you know, that's valid. But I also think too, if some of
what I saw from him last night, as well as flashes in the
previous two summer league games, is maybe he's a guy that
you can bring off the bench and just inject your offense with
some, you know, play making and some ability to to create his
(23:13):
own shot. That maybe.
I mean, I think every team in the league needs that, that if
he's not in the starting lineup,he's a guy that you can say, OK,
the team is kind of the offense is kind of stuck in the mud,
which is what it was last night.They only scored 11 points in
the first quarter. And then all of a sudden he
comes in and it's like immediately he he made a huge
difference in terms of the effectiveness of the offense.
(23:34):
So I I see that also as a potential role for him as well
as like somebody that can be kind of a secret weapon off, you
know, scoring punch off the bench that, you know, when your
starters come out of the game, you don't lose a lot
offensively. And doesn't take a little
pressure off whoever that point guard is off the bench too, that
he doesn't have to be the creator.
(23:54):
So because he has a little help like that alongside along with
what Jim say. Yeah.
I think one thing that he's going to have to clean up though
is if he wants to be the primaryball handler or have the ball in
his hand a lot is the turnovers because we saw and have seen too
many of them from him. He's averaging 5.7 a game during
Summer League. That is an area that the team in
(24:16):
general this Summer League team needs to to try to clean up here
as we go into their fourth game tonight against OKC.
It's another thing that even Jeremiah fears is going to have
to figure out. But it is part of the game that
is going to be an adjustment because the speed's going to be
different. People are bigger, faster.
It's something that it is going to come with time.
(24:38):
But again, and that's why seeingthese flashes is so important
because you're like, OK, cool, it's there now.
Just over time, they're going todevelop and and get to the level
that we know they can play at. I mean, there's no doubt as you
said that turnovers have have been a a problem and something
that's been frustrating with what's happened so far in summer
league. But I think it it is kind of a
(24:59):
summer league issue overall. I mean, they definitely have
more than the average number so far that as a team.
I heard somebody mentioned, for example, the other day that
Toronto's defense created or 463turnovers in their first two
summer league games. Just for example, as as as just
to show you some of the numbers,like how preposterous Lehigh,
(25:19):
some of these numbers are that some of these games teams are
get are committing 30 something turnovers like we see 26 and it
just it blows your mind. But I mean it's been it's it's
kind of sometimes it's kind of an epidemic across summer
league. You mentioned fears also had
problems with turnovers and it'sbeen something that he's been
had an issue with. One of the things I've been
watching with him closely is I feel like other than maybe the
(25:44):
top 5% of rookie point guards that come into the league, they
all have problems with efficiency, whether it's
shooting efficiency, that from the field, from three-point
line. There's very few guys that come
in and do well in that area. I mean, even like Damian
Lillard, I think he had a great rookie year, but I don't think
his percentages were super high.So it's something that they all
have to learn. But in terms of what Fears did
(26:06):
last night, I mean, did you kindof see Aaron as kind of another
step forward that it seemed likehis finishing around the basket
was, was really good and I was laughing because he had to play
on. I don't know if you saw this
Aaron but I I on ESPN they must have showed his miss dunk replay
like 5 times. It was impressive even as a
miss. From like 6 different angles.
(26:28):
So which I thought, I mean, I thought that was encouraging as
well. But what what were your some of
your takeaways from what you sawfrom him last night?
I just love his level of competeand the fact that he is a little
fiery. He does not care who he's
playing against. He, true to his name, has 0
fears and that's a thing that you can't teach.
(26:52):
You know, you can't tell somebody to turn that up a
notch. You can tell him to turn it down
a little bit, right? So, and he's going to figure out
that line of how much can you talk and which players you don't
want to cross. Like Caleb Love is not the
nicest person. He kind of sucks.
So there's that. And this is coming from, yes,
Carolina grad who did not enjoy him on our team, but he is one
(27:15):
of the more chirpy players in the league.
And so when you go up against, and if you go up against people
like Draymond Green or whoever it is, you have to know because
fears like to talk to like how much can you push?
And he's going to figure that out.
But what I love about it is he is not scared to go up against
anybody. And you see it when he drives
(27:37):
inside, he'll go up against contact, draw contact to get to
the line. He was able to finish through a
lot of it last night and I thinkhe's going to figure out his
body a little bit more and spacing on the court now at the
NBA level. Think he might need to put a
little bit more weight on to be able to withstand some of that
inside and finish through it. Again, he's going to continue to
(27:58):
grow in a bunch of different ways, but seeing his ability to
get to the hoop like that, he's so quick.
He's going to be a lot of peoplethere and his athleticism, I
mean, he gets up and the way that he threw it down like that
was, but I was pretty insane like the the dunk like and of
(28:18):
course, Gus, I know how much youlove the dunk.
So now that we're starting to see them, you know, you're
getting excited. It's obviously something that
you need to do when shots aren'tfalling is just get to the rim.
And that's a lot of what they'vebeen preaching in these summer
league practices. Shoot around.
It's just get get to the rim or try to Kick It Out for a corner
(28:42):
3. And that's one area where I
think fears is going to still try to figure out the timing a
little bit better. I feel like he's just a half
second behind often times where he missed the window on some of
his passes. I'm I'm a little concerned,
slightly concerned about the fact that he's only averaging
one assist a game in summer league and he's supposed to be a
(29:04):
point guard. So I think he's going to have to
figure out that dynamic of how assertive to be versus when to
pass it off and if things are going to change when you have
players like Zion Williamson andTrey Murphy around you as well.
So again, flashes great moments,but there are some things that
(29:25):
all of like all of the rookies are going to have to learn and
adjust to playing at this level.I think so far Jeremiah in every
game has had one or two plays where I'm like, OK, I see why
this guy was the 7th pick in thedraft and he had a reverse
layup. Just for example, last night he
had a reverse layup where he hada really nice drive, a really
nice finish at the basket. And I was, I was thinking, you
(29:49):
just don't see that many rookie point guards be able to make
that play. So I mean, just across the
board, I mean, obviously there'sdifferent things that he needs
to clean up. His assistant turnover ratio
obviously is not great so far insummer league, but he keeps one
of the things they mentioned on the broadcast last night too for
ESPN was they said he the way he's playing is the way he
(30:11):
played in college, that he was ascorer.
And so they were basically saying what you know, we're not
surprised that he's been leaningmore towards looking for his own
shot than setting other up otherpeople.
But Aaron, I think you make a really good point in that when
you get to the regular season and the personnel that's around
you is so much different and hisrole will be different.
I don't think he's going to be in a situation where they're
(30:33):
going to say, OK, you're in the second unit and you're just out
there to get buckets and, you know, put you put the blinders
on and just look for your own shot.
Kind of same way with Eric Queen.
So it'll be interesting to see what happens during the regular
season that he will have to kindof go back and forth a little
bit more between scoring and distributing.
In terms of some of the other guys, I think that we could
(30:55):
mention that played well last night.
I thought Antonio Reeves was oneof the more valuable players
last night. Again, just like in the Lakers
game, I think without him, they probably aren't in the game.
They're they're probably not in a position where they had a
chance to win. But what have you seen so far
from him in in in summer league,the contributions that he's
made? I think he is very aware of what
(31:19):
his role on the team is and he can slide into being somebody
that needs to create for himselfversus helping space the floor
and moving around and get into the corner or finding an open
look for somebody to dish it to him.
I I think that for him it's justthe consistency because we saw a
(31:43):
lot of opportunities for him last night.
Yeah, he scored. I mean, he was a leading scorer,
I think 18 points, but he misseda lot of shots as well.
So it's just kind of continuing to find that consistency in his
shot. I think he could be more
effective if his threes, he's more efficient from outside.
(32:05):
I think that's going to be a huge part of his game going
forward. And then defensively, he's held
his own as well and I think that's been really helpful and
that's something that this team in general has done well.
On the offensive side, it's beenhard to come by, obviously with
the turnovers that doesn't help,but defensively it's been
something that they've all seem to to kind of have a good handle
(32:26):
on and been able to play at a higher level on that end of the
court. Yeah, I, I think almost, again,
kind of looking big picture and looking towards the regular
season, I think almost every player on this team pretty much
if you're looking at how can I help the team, especially if
you're a role player, if you're not maybe one of the primary
offensive weapons, you got to besaying like, what can I do
defensively to help the team improve from where they were
(32:48):
last season? How?
Because I feel like that's the pathway to getting more minutes
and getting a larger role in a lot of circumstances, including
maybe with Antonio Reeves. I thought, you know, he, he
definitely did some good stuff defensively last season as well.
To carry that over is important.Another guy too, I think that
versatility wise, I was, I really liked him last night was
(33:09):
Keon Brooks. What did you take away from the
impact that he made? Well, to your point about
finding ways to affect the game,I think KB does that.
He hustles, he plays hard. He's going to give you maximum
effort at all times on both endsof the court.
And when you play like that, you're going to find success.
And he did, you know, he was pretty efficient in his minutes
(33:32):
and what he was able to do. And it was across the board.
It was in his shooting, rebounding, steals, You know, he
affected a lot of different areas and kind of gave the team
a spark at times when they needed it.
And I talked to him after the game about it and he said, you
know, I'm just really trying to do the things that I've done my
(33:53):
whole career and what has gottenme here.
And that's playing hard and doing the little things.
And I think that that is going to bode well for him going
forward, wherever he ends up. He definitely was a fun player
for us to have at the end of theseason last year.
I mean, you definitely saw how hard he works and it pays off
(34:13):
for him. There's a bunch of guys on this
summer league team that played adecent amount, especially in
March and April with him being one of them.
One of the things that we talkedabout on Monday's episode
though, was the the different veteran players of the Pelicans
that have been either are still in Las Vegas right now like
Zion, or we're at some of the previous games.
(34:34):
There was a large group of players that sat together
Saturday in the game against theLakers.
Couple guys we wanted to to kindof discuss a little bit was
Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole. As you as you think about maybe
what their roles are going to beor what impact they're going to
have, what are some of the things that stand out to you
(34:55):
about those guys? Looney is somebody that brings
you durability. You can depend on him.
He has played through multiple injuries when he was with the
Warriors. 10 seasons, 599 regular season games, 89 post
season games. I mean, he shows up and he plays
and I think that that's something that this team needs,
(35:18):
right? I mean, we've dealt with
injuries from 2 various players.So bringing somebody that's
dependable to this team. He plays tough, he has that
edge, and he comes with an air of professionalism that's going
to be big because it is a young team and he's a vet that's won
the NBA championship three times.
(35:39):
And he was a huge part of why Klay Thompson and Steph Curry,
like they had success because hedid all of the little things to
help them on the side. So I think that his defense is
rebounding. His ability to finish the simple
plays and make the right play isgoing to be big for this team.
(35:59):
He said on his way out with the Warriors that he didn't feel
like they were valuing what he can bring to the table.
He didn't start as many games ashe thought he should, didn't
play as many minutes in the postseason as he thought he
should. And he has a chance here to come
in and be the starting center and play a lot of minutes.
And then I think in in that regard, he'll be more effective.
(36:23):
He averaged five points a game, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in
just 17 minutes played a game last year.
He's going to get more minutes. I think that's going to lead to
those numbers all increasing. And I mean, shoot, he shoots
nearly 60% from the floor 58, sohe's definitely a sure shot from
(36:46):
inside. I wasn't aware of those
comments. I did not hear that.
It did. It does seem though, from afar
that Golden State was kind of phasing him out over time over
the last couple seasons when they went to certain line UPS.
They won't, you know, they use Quentin Post a lot.
They use some of their other like Trace Jackson, Davis.
It does seem like some of those minutes we're going to some of
their younger players. And also too, I don't want to
(37:08):
speak for Golden State, but I think that I don't think that
they could afford to bring him back either with the cap
situation and the luxury tax andwhat the Pelicans were able to
sign him for. So I, I think that's
interesting. In terms of Jordan Poole, I
mean, one of my thoughts on him before I ask you about him,
Aaron, is it seems to me in general, like when people,
(37:30):
national people talk about the Pelicans outlook for next season
or they make predictions and they say the Pelicans are going
to be 14th in the West with onlyUtah behind them.
That in a lot of these things that I listen to or read, it
feels like Jordan Poole's barelybeen mentioned, which for a guy
that averaged 20 points a game, to me seems like a little bit of
an oversight that you're not even factoring in what his
(37:51):
presence will be. But I mean, what are you, what
are you looking for from him, expecting him to do this season?
Yeah, I think he's been, I don'treally want to say like a
controversial player, but he maybe a little hot and cold.
He's had some instances on and off the court throughout his
career. Earlier last year when he played
for Washington, I mean, we went to a team that for being honest,
(38:12):
looking at it, it wasn't gonna be a competitive team.
And he put his head down and he played hard and he was probably
the best player for them last season and really seemed to like
figure out his game. He had over 20 points a game,
played just under 30 minutes. But across the board, his stats,
his points, his rebounds, his steals, they were all career
(38:35):
numbers for him. And he was playing the fourth
highest amount of minutes. So like not even playing as many
minutes as he had in prior seasons, he was being more
efficient. I think that in this role here,
he has a really good opportunityto come in, be your point guard
and really help this team. Until Dejonte Murray is healthy,
(38:58):
I think he's going to be somebody that this team is going
to lean on because Jeremiah Fears is somebody that still has
some growth to do. And Jordan Poole kind of gives
you this the what is what's the word?
He gives you the ability to kindof wait and and not put so much
pressure on fears early, buy yousome time until Murray is
(39:22):
healthy. And I don't know, I mean, he's a
pool is a really talented scorer.
He has he provides like that ball handling depth that we we
talked about and doesn't turn the ball over a lot.
He's I think grown a lot over his NBA career.
He did come into the league really young.
So I think he's reached a level of maturity and he seems excited
(39:44):
about joining the Pelicans because again, Washington wasn't
the most productive team last year.
Obviously the Pelicans weren't, but I think we can put a lot of
that on the injuries. So I think coming in here, he's
looking at the roster and he's like, man, this team can be
competitive and it should be fun.
I am looking forward to playing alongside some of these players.
Got a game today? Got another game yet to be
(40:05):
played? We'll figure that out after
tonight's game and he got a little bit of a break and then
man, September's around the corner.
It's going to come a lot sooner than a lot of people maybe think
it's going to be guys, but then we're off and running, right?
Training camp, Australia pre season and the regular season
goes. What I find interesting is some
of the things we've talked aboutin this podcast and you're
starting to get to see in personhere, Aaron.
(40:27):
I think it's going to be a very competitive and fun camp because
there's only so many spots you can play.
I don't think it's been changingfive players at a time on the
court, right? So who's my starting five?
Who's the next two to three to come off of that?
You just kind of mentioned a little bit from Looney and Paul
as well. Joe Dumar spoke, right, I think
(40:48):
at draft night, Aaron specifically about how Paul and
Looney called him and said thankyou for bringing me over here
and coming over here. So you have guys that are coming
in from via trades or what have you, free agency that want to be
here. You have draft picks that play
with a little chip on their shoulder.
They want to prove themselves. You have vets that are eager to
play. We hadn't even really got to,
(41:09):
you know, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, you know, they can't wait
to kind of make up for lost time.
Last season stuff Z we saw towards the end of last year.
We saw him last night in Vegas. I'm, I'm not trying to put
lipstick on something. I just, I feel it's safe to say
it should be a competitive environment when it comes to
camp, and I think competition brings the best out of players.
(41:31):
I don't know how good this team's going to be, but at least
you're going to have a group of guys that, at least on the
surface, Aaron, seem like they're going to do what they
can to get on the court just to play.
And I think that might translateinto competitiveness at least.
I think I'm listening to Joe Dumar speak about what he values
(41:53):
being competitive and physical and playing tough is at the top
of it. And I think that you've compiled
a team that is going to be thosethings.
So now it's like you have all ofthese pieces, how do they come
together? And I think that's going to be
key for training camp for this team is figuring out how all
(42:13):
these pieces can work together the best.
I know they want to play fast. I know they want to get
downhill, I know they want to bephysical.
So we'll see how it all works come what, October.
But As for tonight's game against OKC, man, they you have
a chance to play upset because OKC is undefeated 3 and O coming
(42:34):
into this game, they got two players that have been playing
extremely well. AJ Mitchell, Brandon Carlson
combined for 50 points in their last game out.
So those are the two guys you got to rein in offensively.
Defensively, they haven't been that good.
So there might be an opportunityfor the Pelicans to find
themselves a little bit here on the offensive side and we could
we could have a good one. Yeah, they're the defending
(42:57):
champs and that's the team Jim, that we we talked about
throughout the year. When the starters go out, the
guys that get the next set of minutes, they play just as hard
and play just in it. So I, I think that's the
challenge of, of looking at it tonight and see how you match up
with. That, I mean, OKC knocked the
Pelicans out of the plane in 23 and then the playoffs in 24.
So why not spoil the Thunders Summer League unbeaten run
(43:20):
tonight? Try telling Todd tonight, this
is a summer league game, right? When it comes to it, Aaron,
enjoy your time. Thank you for joining us a
little bit here as well. Look forward to getting you back
in here and kind of recapping some more sights and sounds and
doing what you do best as a teamreporter, going around and
chatting and kidding. A sense and feel of where I
think this team thinks and maybebelieves it going to be
(43:40):
throughout the year. So we look forward to that.
Absolutely, thanks for having meand don't forget to join us on
Pelicans Plus for the in game chat tonight.
I'll be there with Jim and Andrew hanging out.
And hopefully we'll start close ish to 8:30 last night the game
was going to start at 9 and I think it was 945.
I, I, I fear a lot of people were like, hey, I'll catch, I'll
(44:02):
watch the first half and then they turn Tuned in at 9:00 and
the previous game was still going.
So hopefully we'll have a littlebit bit better luck.
The game will start at 8:30 and we'll be done by 10:30-ish.
Fingers crossed. Yeah, I'm all about.
That. Thank you, appreciate.
It thanks. Guys, all right now, thanks to
Aaron Summers, Jim is always funand we got one more summer
league edition of the New Orleans Pelicans podcast coming
(44:23):
up on Friday. Looking forward to that, to kind
of put a bow on things and kind of get us ready for training.
And by the way, breaking news, the game Friday against the
Indiana Pacers has been scheduled.
It is at 8:00 PM central time. The game will be on ESPN as
well. So among the teams that have
been kind of eliminated, I guess, from contention of the
semifinal round, that four teamswill be a part of this weekend.
(44:46):
The Pelicans and Pacers will play their final game on Friday.
And I'm imagining that a lot of people will be headed back this
way on Saturday morning or Saturday afternoon all.
Right, sounds good. We will see you then on Friday.
Enjoy the game tonight and we'llcatch you at the end of this
week. Let's see if I can offer.
I'm Gus Cottongill, thank you for listening to the New Orleans
Pelicans Podcast. Thanks for listening to the New
(45:08):
Orleans Pelicans Podcast. Join us three times per week on
pelicans.com, the Pelicans mobile app.
The. IHeartRadio app or where you get
your podcast and be sure to giveJim and Gus a follow on X and
Jim under score. I can offer and G cap under
score 17. We'll see you next time, right?
(45:31):
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.
Hear from players, coaches, broadcasters, and those who
cover the NBA on a daily basis. It's time to flock up.
(00:27):
The New Orleans Pelicans Podcaststarts right now.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the New Orleans Pelicans
podcast, the official podcast ofyour New Orleans Pelicans, the
summer league edition. Jim, I can offer Gus Cottongill
with you again. Game 3 is in the books as the
pels took on the Portland Trail Blazers camp.
(00:48):
A little short, 93 to 87, you'llhear from and coach Corey
Brewer. He had a chance to sit down with
team reporter and television host Aaron Summers.
You'll get that here in a quick second.
Jim's thoughts as well. And then we'll get you ready for
tonight's game. That's right, it's a
back-to-back in summer league. Because that makes a lot of
sense, doesn't it? Not sure who was in charge of
(01:09):
the scheduling for summer league.
There's various teams that have back to backs.
I was talking to a few people from other teams.
It's not like the Pelicans are an outlier in that somehow
there's a bunch of teams that have a back-to-back but then
also have a stretch like the Pelicans just did where they
played Saturday and didn't play again till Tuesday.
So who knows? I don't know.
Maybe a future podcast on scheduling?
(01:32):
I thought we had the technology in 2025 to be able to avoid
this, but but what do I know? I hear you look at it, but it
had been a couple of days, right?
You had a couple of games late last week and over the weekend.
So there's there, there's the game last night and I'm watching
it in gym. Look up my quick overall
thoughts, my outline, my Cliff notes version.
Man, we got to see some things from the draft picks, in
(01:52):
particular the first round picksthat make you go all right.
I like this, including one particular stretch here as well
that we'll get into with DerrickQueen when the team went had a
15-O run after a not so good start, but that was fun to see.
I thought PV had some nice plays.
You saw some, some plays from Keon Brooks and Antonio Reeves.
(02:13):
They showed you they're vets. You know, they've been around
the calmness and helping them aswell as they had double digits.
But ejections. There were ejections, Jim, in
the game. People got tossed, including
Jeremiah Fears. Yeah, I mean, he's been into a,
he's been in a little scrap so far.
It seems like all three games inSummer League.
He's definitely plays with a little bit of chip on his
(02:33):
shoulder, a little bit of hostility.
I don't know the whole story behind some of these incidents
that have happened with him, butthere's been a couple of times
where it seems like he's had a word too.
And then somebody pushes him or gives him a little elbow.
And I think that happened again last night where somebody was
mad at him and reacted to that. So yeah, he's he's somebody that
(02:53):
I guess we'll have to to watch when we get into the season in
terms of just he's he's been a bit confrontational, but we love
it because we want to see, you know, more of that attitude I
think then we saw from the team during the regular season last
year. Yeah, no doubt.
I think it's one of those thingsthat makes a lot of sense that
you want to see because again, either or that kind of player,
you're not right. And, and I guess one of the
(03:15):
reasons that in the back of my mind, I like seeing that the
team that just won the NBA championship, OKC, they they're
physical. They try to take you out of
their game. You know, one of the teams that
have been around for a while, guys like Draymond Green and
stuff. You're seeing kind of the
copycat. I think teams are going to be
looking for quote UN quote, the hockey enforcer or somebody that
makes their three-point shootinguncomfortable.
(03:37):
You're going to have to play through contact.
You're going to have to play through imagine is no calls
right against the Lakers. Say one of the complaints after
the game from coach Brew and stuff.
Well, you know, you you got to live with not getting calls.
I mean, how, how many post gamesdid you come in studio and we go
Jim 5 free throws. So the Pelicans, you know, it's
like, so I, I, I like that it doesn't affect some of these
(04:00):
young guys already, if that makes.
Sense and it's funny because oneof the plays that fears made
last night that I was going to say was and one where he had a
really nice driver on the left side and banked in a
right-handed layup. It would have been A and 1:00,
but they didn't call a foul. So he kind of got knocked to the
ground and then just kind of hadto dust himself off off and get
back up and run back on defense.But I, I, I mean, one of my
(04:22):
biggest overall takeaways from the game last night is watch the
three minute and 28 second videothat's on pelicans.com.
That's titled top plays from Pelicans versus Trail Blazers.
It's very heavy with Derek Queenplays as well as Jeremiah Fears.
You saw just some of the talents, something that we're
going to talk about with Aaron Summers in terms of just some of
the segments of the game where you watch these guys and you
(04:45):
say, OK, Fears was the 7th pick in the draft.
Queen was 13th, but we saw he was projected to be a top ten
pick. And so I thought there were a
lot of moments last night where you really saw the ability that
these two guys have. Unfortunately, the game was
crazy late and I think a lot of people missed it.
But do yourself a favor and watch some of the highlight reel
from the game and you can kind of see more, a little bit more
(05:07):
of what I'm talking about, yeah.Fear is 14 points in 22 minutes.
Derrick Queen 17 points, 10 rebounds, his third straight
double double. Aaron Summers had a chance to
catch up with head coach Corey Brewer after the game.
I know it's probably not the outcome that you wanted, but the
team definitely fought back several times within this game.
What did you like about that aspect of it?
My life that we stayed with, youknow, the first half we didn't
(05:27):
play the way we should have played the way we wanted to
play. Second-half, we came out, we got
the lead, we had the momentum and you know, it's tough.
You know, both my ball handlers got kicked out the game.
Then after that they started playing a lot of pressure on us
and we we just couldn't get in the offense.
We couldn't make plays and it's tough, you know, but we fought
to then. Turnover seemed to be a problem
(05:48):
even in game 3 here. What do you guys need to do to
clean those up? We got to figure out.
We got to figure a way out how to get in our offense.
You know, teams are pressuring us, you know, and team
depression, you got to go by theguy or you got to get off the
ball and have some ball movementand that's what we haven't done.
What did you like about Derrick Queen's game?
Because he really seemed like hewas showing different aspects of
what he can do. Derrick played great.
(06:09):
You know, I was able to play himat the four, play him at the
five. He's he's a big time guy.
He's a playmaker. He had a great game and we got
to keep getting better. He got to keep that momentum,
come out tomorrow and play better.
What is your message to players like Fears and Hoggard and the
altercation that happened? My message was, you know, it's
basketball and you know, AJ, youknow he's probably shouldn't
(06:30):
have pushed him, but he was taking up for his teammate.
And when you're taking up for your teammate in the heat of the
battle, things happen and got kicked out.
But I told everybody that stuff's going to happen a lot in
the NBA. He took our first teammate, he
got kicked out. We got to move on.
We got to win the game. We just couldn't win the game
and. That's some really wild schedule
here. You play it back-to-back.
How do you turn the page? What's got to be the main focus?
(06:51):
Main focus is coming out and trying to get a win, but we got
to, we got to cut the turnovers,you know, turning over the ball
too much and we're getting killed.
Good to hear a little bit more from Aaron.
Somebody here to come up in a quick SEC.
Jim, if you ever get shoved in the pizza line in the cafeteria,
I got your back. I will make sure nobody ever
does that again. It's funny you say that, Gus,
because on Pelicans Plus last night in the live chat that we
did during the game, I mentionedthat I will.
(07:13):
I am willing to buy AJ Hoggard lunch in the cafeteria.
Aaron, unfortunately, because she was not buying my
propaganda, pointed out that lunch is for.
Free. And so, but nobody knows.
She kind of indirectly called mea little bit of a cheapskate
there. But nonetheless, I I thought it
was great that as Corey Brewer mentioned too, that that Hoggard
(07:34):
basically was protecting Jeremiah Fears, because I think
I'm, I'm trying to remember exactly what happened on the
play. I think he got Fears, got shoved
by a Portland player and then Hoggard just jumped in and
pushed the guy back. Like, dude, what are you doing?
And so that was good to see. Unfortunately, he got ejected
from the game and Fears also gotejected because that was his
(07:55):
Fears's second technical. But for AJ Hoggard, I mean, I
don't know if somewhere DraymondGreen is smiling, but if you
look at his his Hoggard's summerleague stats, he played 6
minutes last night. That was the first game that he
played in. He has 6 minutes played and one
ejection. So I mean, that's, that's a
ratio that that I can really kind of get behind.
(08:17):
But one other quick thing to that Corey Brewer mentioned that
I wanted to point out. He talked about how if you're
getting pressured in the backcourt that you have to go by
the defender. I I thought that was worth
noting because there were several times in the first
couple games where when I was out there in Vegas where I was
watching Fears and it seemed like a guy was up on him like
5060 feet from the basket. And having watched Fears the way
(08:40):
his quickness in the way he can handle the ball, I kept
thinking, is he not going by theguy because he knows that they
want to run a play, they want torun the offense and he doesn't
want to break off the play or break off the offense.
So I thought that was interesting that Brewer said
that just from the standpoint ofthat, you know, if if you call
if the the coaches call a play and you take the ball out of the
basket and you're going the other way and all of a sudden a
(09:02):
defensive players up on you at the other free throw line.
Sometimes you just got to be like, you know, forget to play.
I'm going to just drive by this guy because that's the only way
that you can kind of, if you don't go by the guy, he's going
to keep coming up on you and making it even more difficult.
So that's something that they need to do better is if if
they're if you, you have to makethem pay for not respecting your
(09:25):
ability to drive and go by people.
But I think we saw fears do thata little bit more last night
where he was getting into the paint and trying to dunk on
people. In football, the term is off
schedule. That, that has become very, very
popular. You know, coaches, quarterbacks
are, they're good when they're off schedule.
In other words, when the play breaks down and you're
scrambling, right? I mean, people are listening
(09:46):
now, obviously watch football. In basketball, I, I look at the
ability to create your shot or get a shot off or just attempt
to score. Just as important.
What I mean by that is to your point, you're saying there were
some things that I saw from Fears and Queen in particular
that really stood out. Fears, I'll be real quick.
(10:07):
You, you either all that guy that could attack and get it in
your feelers or you can't. And that missed dunk, that would
have been unbelievable. There was a hand at the rim.
I don't know if it got him or ifit got the ball, but it wasn't
like he missed a clean dunk. There was a guy trying to block
that shot. He still went at it.
That was still great. I love a guy that sees that
though, like that's what I'm doing.
(10:28):
That's I'm coming here I go. Anthony Edwards is a player like
that. Come heck or high water.
Watch out here. Your hands about to get broken
jaws like that. It can happen at any time with
queen man. He was taking on what Hanson
Yang, a big old guy right from China rookie, and he was
(10:49):
towering over him to an extent. And he found a way to shoot off
balance, leaning back on 1A turnaround, A fade, a kiss off
the glass. You saw a lot of different ways
to score and look at it. And I think that's kind of what
excites me about those two players in particular.
(11:10):
And I don't want to leave PV out.
There was a player to when the team went on A-150 run where he
has quick hands, he tipped the ball out of a defender that was
in the right block and he saved the ball from going out of
bounds, got it out quickly. One of Queens best plays was off
a rebound, immediately throwing it up the court.
That led to a fast break. You know, I think dunk and
(11:31):
that's the kind of stuff that again, Jim, you either are that
player or you're not. You're heady like that, you know
what I'm saying? Like Queen got that board and
immediately the ball was out of his hand up the other end for a
bucket instead of dribbling, handing it off and PV like that
too. A little headiness and defensive
guy. So I enjoyed seeing that.
I thought Queen smartly understood when he was going
(11:53):
against Hun Sen Young. I think that's how you say it.
I'm not exactly sure. I thought he smartly understood,
OK, my advantage against this guy is that I have quicker feet
and that if he's going to come out, there's a play where he ran
out to him to guard Queen in theleft corner.
And Queen was like, OK, I'll just dribble by you and get to
(12:14):
the basket. And he had a couple plays where
he was. He couldn't, he knew that he
couldn't keep up with him, quickness wise, athleticism
wise, probably. So he scored that way a couple
times. So I mean, just like with fears,
I mean, a lot of what he's doingoffensively is just a really
good starting point as far as what you're projecting him to do
in his NBA career. And with fears, it's like how
(12:36):
many I I saw, I think it was RodWalker of the Advocate time
Swiki Yoon last night say something about one of his moves
where the play where he dunked it and or tried to dunk and
missed was Westbrook, like in terms of his aggressiveness.
And so to see a guy who's a six three-point guard who has that
level of athleticism that he thinks, OK, I'm going to just
(12:58):
drive through the paint and dunkon somebody, It's something that
you can't teach. So once again, just like I said
with Queen, it's a really good starting point of the the mold
that you have of this kind of player.
And he has different things. We're talk about this Aaron as
well. He has different things that he
has to kind of clean up and tidyup as far as the turnovers and
(13:18):
just specific details of the game.
But I mean, the the tools that this guy has is one of the
reasons why as we went up, LED up to the draft, everybody was
like this guy could be picked inthe top five and he ended up
getting picked 7th. 15 seconds. We'll get into Aaron's
conversation here, but I think that's what excites more than
anything else. Come the regular season when
these guys start working with a certain unit in Group, right?
(13:42):
That's going to be more interesting too, because they
can have a more level of a comfortableness too as to what
they can play because both theseguys primarily probably going to
be coming off the bench. And so it'll it'll be Kyle 4-5
guys routine. Like not to say that, you know,
DQ or fears won't play with Zion, but I'm talking about for
the most part, you know, there'sthat first unit, second unit at
(14:03):
practice. And we saw even in Nashville
last year, right, with Jose Alvarado kind of leading that
second unit. There was a group of guys that
was very competitive, but I'm interested to see, you know, the
more those guys play together with a certain amount of guy,
the three or four other guys with their Jose's in there or
whether other guys are in there,that's going to be interesting
to me because right now it's just, hey, go out and show us
(14:23):
what you can do, Go do your bestthing.
They're not even used to playingwith one another and it's going
to get smaller in terms of who they're going to play with as
October, November, December. And in this multi month
progression where we're sitting here in the middle of July, but
we we're have our eyes on late September when training camp
starts and then October preseason.
(14:45):
I think we're looking for kind of small steps.
I think what they did, the cohesiveness on the offensive
end last night was a lot better than it had been in the previous
games. The assist numbers still need to
get better. So hopefully we'll see that
tonight against Oklahoma City that they they make another jump
in terms of not having as much ISO ball one-on-one play where
you end up against the Lakers with six assists and 0 assists
(15:08):
in the second-half. So I mean, I think that's part
of what I want to see against the Thunder tonight is that can
we see just even a little bit more just take make another
little step in terms of playing off of each other, getting more
used to playing with some of theother guys on the court.
Because like you said, there's no doubt that when we get into,
you're playing with Trey Murphy and Zion Williamson and guys
(15:28):
like that, that you're going to have to really think about what
your role is going to be. And it's definitely not going to
be you're taking twenty shots a game as a rookie all.
Right, Aaron Summers was courtside there for the game
last night. Here's a conversation about what
she saw up close and personal. Time now to welcome in Aaron
Summers, television studio host for Universalis Pelicans and
over in Las Vegas having a greatold time watching basketball
(15:53):
again. Let's just start there.
How nice is it to actually look at you, you you were there on
draft night. It it's nice to kind of see them
work out and get ready practice wise.
But it's a game. We're not talking about
practice, Aaron. We're talking about a game to
actually see basketball again. And even Zion was there watching
the rooks and some of those players here as well that we've
seen in the past, like Eve Meesey.
So just overall man, just being able to watch the Pels again had
(16:16):
to be nice. I think the most important part
of Summer League is seeing some of these rookies and their
ability to show you flashes of what they can do on the court.
I mean, that's what we were all looking for, right?
The Pelicans made a splash with a #7 pick Jeremiah Fears and
then trading up to get Derek Queen.
And you want to see those two players have moments where
(16:39):
they're showing you why they were those high picks and
they're both lottery picks. It's fun watching them play,
watching them compete. Both of them talked about how
excited they were to come here and do it.
Some really can get long. It can be the second week, can
kind of start to drag. But in talking to Fears
yesterday before the game, I mean, he was just so excited.
(17:01):
He was like, this is the best. Like I get to come here and play
basketball. That's what I want to do and I'm
taking every moment and making the most of it.
And you know, DQ, we're going toget into this, but some of the
stuff that he was able to do in the game last night against
Portland was very impressive andI think fans should be really
(17:21):
excited about that. So there are definitely some
things on the court with these players that's been fun to
watch. And yeah, it's great.
It's great watching basketball. It is summer league.
There are going to be some bumpsin the road.
There's not going to be like themost elite play at all times.
There's going to be some suspectcalls from the refs because this
(17:42):
is summer league for them as well.
There are going to be some fights.
We've seen it. But All in all, it's it's good
to be around the game again and see a lot of familiar faces too.
It's been good seeing the front office here and as you
mentioned, Zion Williamson and some of the other players that
came through in in games prior. Aaron, you mentioned the
rookies, the guys that were drafted having moments or
(18:05):
flashes where you say like, OK, we, we see the potential here.
We see the talent. I mean, I, I guess we could
start with, to me the stretch that Derek Queen had at the end
of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter
where he scored 11 points out ofthe team's 15 during that span.
What what impressed you the mostabout that?
And also, I want to say too, I want to recommend to people, I
(18:28):
feel like during the regular season when we have a home game
and the vast majority of the people who were listening to the
podcast were at the game or watching on TV, we don't have to
kind of recap. I feel like I want to recommend
to people in this instance, they'll go back and watch the
highlights and see the stretch that he had.
But what did, what did you, whatdid you like about what he did
during that span? His skill level is unbelievable,
(18:50):
his footwork, his ability to take over the game.
He saw a moment where the Pelicans were struggling.
I mean, they were falling behindand they were in a moment where
they didn't figure it out. It was going to get ugly.
And that was early on in the game.
And DQ took over. He asserted himself inside.
He went to the hoop and he went hard through contact.
(19:11):
He set up some of his other teammates.
Like he sees the court extremelywell.
He showed so many different areas of his game.
That gets you excited about whathe can do.
I think for him, that's what youwanted to see is that each game
he's improving. He's learning how to affect the
game. It's going to be faster.
(19:32):
There's the spacing. It's going to be different at
this level. The athleticism that you're
going up against is going to be different at this level.
So he's going to have an an adjustment period, especially
because he's playing a couple different positions on offense
and defense. He's had to play the four and
five, which is different for him.
So that in itself is going to take time for him to adjust to.
(19:55):
So seeing the improvement each game is huge.
Seeing those flashes is big. The fact that he's had a double
double in every single game so far if that is the baseline for
him like. There are good things ahead.
The other thing that was interesting, I just kind of
wanted to check real quick too, is did y'all know he was a ball
(20:15):
handler? Because it almost looked like
Aaron didn't lie in that game. It was like point DQ, like he
was the guy bringing the ball upthe court and facilitating that.
That was kind of a bit of a surprise to me.
And I know though, you go back to the three days of training
camp practices that they had here.
And it was player after player that we kept playing on our
podcast that you guys were talking to after practice that
(20:37):
said this guy can do everything.He can do those things.
And I think yesterday was a goodexample of that as you're
talking about Aaron for the fivepoint, bringing the ball up.
I did not expect that. You know, in a lot of instances.
And again, this is just you're still trying to get your wind
and you're still trying to know how to play with these players.
I think it's really impressive. Yeah.
I mean, the fact that he has taken those strides in each game
(21:01):
is impressive. Yes, he has the passing ability.
He talked about it going into Summer League that he was given
the freedom to do that. That coach Corey Brewer is like,
yeah, if you see an opportunity you want to take the ball down
the court, go for it. I don't know if that's going to
be a big part of his role with this Pelicans team in the
upcoming season because Z is going to do that a lot,
(21:24):
obviously, and then you're goingto have your point guards as
well. So I think he'll be more of of
the somebody that sets players up and he talked about setting
up eve me see a lot. We haven't really seen that much
in summer league, them playing off of each other.
I so I think that's still a dynamic between the bigs that
(21:45):
needs to develop. But yes, he does have a lot more
to his game that I think people are aware of and it's good
because he was such a controversial pick.
I think he's showing the league that he can do so many different
things and almost being like, OK, I can see it.
Like I can see why they value this player so much.
(22:07):
You know, Gus, in terms of him off the dribble, his coach at
Maryland, Kevin Willard mentioned that that that was
part of his game that he showed a little bit in college that he
could take the ball from 1820 feet out, dribble by a guy, do a
little crossover and we saw thatlast night.
I mean at his size, that is a something that you don't see
with a lot of players. They can do stuff off the
(22:28):
dribble the way he did. He had some really good footwork
on like a left-handed hook in the lane over 1 of Portland's
bigs. He had a play in the left corner
where he had the ball and just kind of crossed over, dribbled
past Portland center and banked in an and one layup.
So I mean, he one of the things that you were just mentioning
Aaron, I think is interesting is, you know, there were a lot
(22:50):
of people talking about when thePelicans drafted him, like how
does he fit with Zion? How does he fit with Eve Meesey,
which, you know, that's valid. But I also think too, if some of
what I saw from him last night, as well as flashes in the
previous two summer league games, is maybe he's a guy that
you can bring off the bench and just inject your offense with
some, you know, play making and some ability to to create his
(23:13):
own shot. That maybe.
I mean, I think every team in the league needs that, that if
he's not in the starting lineup,he's a guy that you can say, OK,
the team is kind of the offense is kind of stuck in the mud,
which is what it was last night.They only scored 11 points in
the first quarter. And then all of a sudden he
comes in and it's like immediately he he made a huge
difference in terms of the effectiveness of the offense.
(23:34):
So I I see that also as a potential role for him as well
as like somebody that can be kind of a secret weapon off, you
know, scoring punch off the bench that, you know, when your
starters come out of the game, you don't lose a lot
offensively. And doesn't take a little
pressure off whoever that point guard is off the bench too, that
he doesn't have to be the creator.
(23:54):
So because he has a little help like that alongside along with
what Jim say. Yeah.
I think one thing that he's going to have to clean up though
is if he wants to be the primaryball handler or have the ball in
his hand a lot is the turnovers because we saw and have seen too
many of them from him. He's averaging 5.7 a game during
Summer League. That is an area that the team in
(24:16):
general this Summer League team needs to to try to clean up here
as we go into their fourth game tonight against OKC.
It's another thing that even Jeremiah fears is going to have
to figure out. But it is part of the game that
is going to be an adjustment because the speed's going to be
different. People are bigger, faster.
It's something that it is going to come with time.
(24:38):
But again, and that's why seeingthese flashes is so important
because you're like, OK, cool, it's there now.
Just over time, they're going todevelop and and get to the level
that we know they can play at. I mean, there's no doubt as you
said that turnovers have have been a a problem and something
that's been frustrating with what's happened so far in summer
league. But I think it it is kind of a
(24:59):
summer league issue overall. I mean, they definitely have
more than the average number so far that as a team.
I heard somebody mentioned, for example, the other day that
Toronto's defense created or 463turnovers in their first two
summer league games. Just for example, as as as just
to show you some of the numbers,like how preposterous Lehigh,
(25:19):
some of these numbers are that some of these games teams are
get are committing 30 something turnovers like we see 26 and it
just it blows your mind. But I mean it's been it's it's
kind of sometimes it's kind of an epidemic across summer
league. You mentioned fears also had
problems with turnovers and it'sbeen something that he's been
had an issue with. One of the things I've been
watching with him closely is I feel like other than maybe the
(25:44):
top 5% of rookie point guards that come into the league, they
all have problems with efficiency, whether it's
shooting efficiency, that from the field, from three-point
line. There's very few guys that come
in and do well in that area. I mean, even like Damian
Lillard, I think he had a great rookie year, but I don't think
his percentages were super high.So it's something that they all
have to learn. But in terms of what Fears did
(26:06):
last night, I mean, did you kindof see Aaron as kind of another
step forward that it seemed likehis finishing around the basket
was, was really good and I was laughing because he had to play
on. I don't know if you saw this
Aaron but I I on ESPN they must have showed his miss dunk replay
like 5 times. It was impressive even as a
miss. From like 6 different angles.
(26:28):
So which I thought, I mean, I thought that was encouraging as
well. But what what were your some of
your takeaways from what you sawfrom him last night?
I just love his level of competeand the fact that he is a little
fiery. He does not care who he's
playing against. He, true to his name, has 0
fears and that's a thing that you can't teach.
(26:52):
You know, you can't tell somebody to turn that up a
notch. You can tell him to turn it down
a little bit, right? So, and he's going to figure out
that line of how much can you talk and which players you don't
want to cross. Like Caleb Love is not the
nicest person. He kind of sucks.
So there's that. And this is coming from, yes,
Carolina grad who did not enjoy him on our team, but he is one
(27:15):
of the more chirpy players in the league.
And so when you go up against, and if you go up against people
like Draymond Green or whoever it is, you have to know because
fears like to talk to like how much can you push?
And he's going to figure that out.
But what I love about it is he is not scared to go up against
anybody. And you see it when he drives
(27:37):
inside, he'll go up against contact, draw contact to get to
the line. He was able to finish through a
lot of it last night and I thinkhe's going to figure out his
body a little bit more and spacing on the court now at the
NBA level. Think he might need to put a
little bit more weight on to be able to withstand some of that
inside and finish through it. Again, he's going to continue to
(27:58):
grow in a bunch of different ways, but seeing his ability to
get to the hoop like that, he's so quick.
He's going to be a lot of peoplethere and his athleticism, I
mean, he gets up and the way that he threw it down like that
was, but I was pretty insane like the the dunk like and of
(28:18):
course, Gus, I know how much youlove the dunk.
So now that we're starting to see them, you know, you're
getting excited. It's obviously something that
you need to do when shots aren'tfalling is just get to the rim.
And that's a lot of what they'vebeen preaching in these summer
league practices. Shoot around.
It's just get get to the rim or try to Kick It Out for a corner
(28:42):
3. And that's one area where I
think fears is going to still try to figure out the timing a
little bit better. I feel like he's just a half
second behind often times where he missed the window on some of
his passes. I'm I'm a little concerned,
slightly concerned about the fact that he's only averaging
one assist a game in summer league and he's supposed to be a
(29:04):
point guard. So I think he's going to have to
figure out that dynamic of how assertive to be versus when to
pass it off and if things are going to change when you have
players like Zion Williamson andTrey Murphy around you as well.
So again, flashes great moments,but there are some things that
(29:25):
all of like all of the rookies are going to have to learn and
adjust to playing at this level.I think so far Jeremiah in every
game has had one or two plays where I'm like, OK, I see why
this guy was the 7th pick in thedraft and he had a reverse
layup. Just for example, last night he
had a reverse layup where he hada really nice drive, a really
nice finish at the basket. And I was, I was thinking, you
(29:49):
just don't see that many rookie point guards be able to make
that play. So I mean, just across the
board, I mean, obviously there'sdifferent things that he needs
to clean up. His assistant turnover ratio
obviously is not great so far insummer league, but he keeps one
of the things they mentioned on the broadcast last night too for
ESPN was they said he the way he's playing is the way he
(30:11):
played in college, that he was ascorer.
And so they were basically saying what you know, we're not
surprised that he's been leaningmore towards looking for his own
shot than setting other up otherpeople.
But Aaron, I think you make a really good point in that when
you get to the regular season and the personnel that's around
you is so much different and hisrole will be different.
I don't think he's going to be in a situation where they're
(30:33):
going to say, OK, you're in the second unit and you're just out
there to get buckets and, you know, put you put the blinders
on and just look for your own shot.
Kind of same way with Eric Queen.
So it'll be interesting to see what happens during the regular
season that he will have to kindof go back and forth a little
bit more between scoring and distributing.
In terms of some of the other guys, I think that we could
(30:55):
mention that played well last night.
I thought Antonio Reeves was oneof the more valuable players
last night. Again, just like in the Lakers
game, I think without him, they probably aren't in the game.
They're they're probably not in a position where they had a
chance to win. But what have you seen so far
from him in in in summer league,the contributions that he's
made? I think he is very aware of what
(31:19):
his role on the team is and he can slide into being somebody
that needs to create for himselfversus helping space the floor
and moving around and get into the corner or finding an open
look for somebody to dish it to him.
I I think that for him it's justthe consistency because we saw a
(31:43):
lot of opportunities for him last night.
Yeah, he scored. I mean, he was a leading scorer,
I think 18 points, but he misseda lot of shots as well.
So it's just kind of continuing to find that consistency in his
shot. I think he could be more
effective if his threes, he's more efficient from outside.
(32:05):
I think that's going to be a huge part of his game going
forward. And then defensively, he's held
his own as well and I think that's been really helpful and
that's something that this team in general has done well.
On the offensive side, it's beenhard to come by, obviously with
the turnovers that doesn't help,but defensively it's been
something that they've all seem to to kind of have a good handle
(32:26):
on and been able to play at a higher level on that end of the
court. Yeah, I, I think almost, again,
kind of looking big picture and looking towards the regular
season, I think almost every player on this team pretty much
if you're looking at how can I help the team, especially if
you're a role player, if you're not maybe one of the primary
offensive weapons, you got to besaying like, what can I do
defensively to help the team improve from where they were
(32:48):
last season? How?
Because I feel like that's the pathway to getting more minutes
and getting a larger role in a lot of circumstances, including
maybe with Antonio Reeves. I thought, you know, he, he
definitely did some good stuff defensively last season as well.
To carry that over is important.Another guy too, I think that
versatility wise, I was, I really liked him last night was
(33:09):
Keon Brooks. What did you take away from the
impact that he made? Well, to your point about
finding ways to affect the game,I think KB does that.
He hustles, he plays hard. He's going to give you maximum
effort at all times on both endsof the court.
And when you play like that, you're going to find success.
And he did, you know, he was pretty efficient in his minutes
(33:32):
and what he was able to do. And it was across the board.
It was in his shooting, rebounding, steals, You know, he
affected a lot of different areas and kind of gave the team
a spark at times when they needed it.
And I talked to him after the game about it and he said, you
know, I'm just really trying to do the things that I've done my
(33:53):
whole career and what has gottenme here.
And that's playing hard and doing the little things.
And I think that that is going to bode well for him going
forward, wherever he ends up. He definitely was a fun player
for us to have at the end of theseason last year.
I mean, you definitely saw how hard he works and it pays off
(34:13):
for him. There's a bunch of guys on this
summer league team that played adecent amount, especially in
March and April with him being one of them.
One of the things that we talkedabout on Monday's episode
though, was the the different veteran players of the Pelicans
that have been either are still in Las Vegas right now like
Zion, or we're at some of the previous games.
(34:34):
There was a large group of players that sat together
Saturday in the game against theLakers.
Couple guys we wanted to to kindof discuss a little bit was
Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole. As you as you think about maybe
what their roles are going to beor what impact they're going to
have, what are some of the things that stand out to you
(34:55):
about those guys? Looney is somebody that brings
you durability. You can depend on him.
He has played through multiple injuries when he was with the
Warriors. 10 seasons, 599 regular season games, 89 post
season games. I mean, he shows up and he plays
and I think that that's something that this team needs,
(35:18):
right? I mean, we've dealt with
injuries from 2 various players.So bringing somebody that's
dependable to this team. He plays tough, he has that
edge, and he comes with an air of professionalism that's going
to be big because it is a young team and he's a vet that's won
the NBA championship three times.
(35:39):
And he was a huge part of why Klay Thompson and Steph Curry,
like they had success because hedid all of the little things to
help them on the side. So I think that his defense is
rebounding. His ability to finish the simple
plays and make the right play isgoing to be big for this team.
(35:59):
He said on his way out with the Warriors that he didn't feel
like they were valuing what he can bring to the table.
He didn't start as many games ashe thought he should, didn't
play as many minutes in the postseason as he thought he
should. And he has a chance here to come
in and be the starting center and play a lot of minutes.
And then I think in in that regard, he'll be more effective.
(36:23):
He averaged five points a game, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in
just 17 minutes played a game last year.
He's going to get more minutes. I think that's going to lead to
those numbers all increasing. And I mean, shoot, he shoots
nearly 60% from the floor 58, sohe's definitely a sure shot from
(36:46):
inside. I wasn't aware of those
comments. I did not hear that.
It did. It does seem though, from afar
that Golden State was kind of phasing him out over time over
the last couple seasons when they went to certain line UPS.
They won't, you know, they use Quentin Post a lot.
They use some of their other like Trace Jackson, Davis.
It does seem like some of those minutes we're going to some of
their younger players. And also too, I don't want to
(37:08):
speak for Golden State, but I think that I don't think that
they could afford to bring him back either with the cap
situation and the luxury tax andwhat the Pelicans were able to
sign him for. So I, I think that's
interesting. In terms of Jordan Poole, I
mean, one of my thoughts on him before I ask you about him,
Aaron, is it seems to me in general, like when people,
(37:30):
national people talk about the Pelicans outlook for next season
or they make predictions and they say the Pelicans are going
to be 14th in the West with onlyUtah behind them.
That in a lot of these things that I listen to or read, it
feels like Jordan Poole's barelybeen mentioned, which for a guy
that averaged 20 points a game, to me seems like a little bit of
an oversight that you're not even factoring in what his
(37:51):
presence will be. But I mean, what are you, what
are you looking for from him, expecting him to do this season?
Yeah, I think he's been, I don'treally want to say like a
controversial player, but he maybe a little hot and cold.
He's had some instances on and off the court throughout his
career. Earlier last year when he played
for Washington, I mean, we went to a team that for being honest,
(38:12):
looking at it, it wasn't gonna be a competitive team.
And he put his head down and he played hard and he was probably
the best player for them last season and really seemed to like
figure out his game. He had over 20 points a game,
played just under 30 minutes. But across the board, his stats,
his points, his rebounds, his steals, they were all career
(38:35):
numbers for him. And he was playing the fourth
highest amount of minutes. So like not even playing as many
minutes as he had in prior seasons, he was being more
efficient. I think that in this role here,
he has a really good opportunityto come in, be your point guard
and really help this team. Until Dejonte Murray is healthy,
(38:58):
I think he's going to be somebody that this team is going
to lean on because Jeremiah Fears is somebody that still has
some growth to do. And Jordan Poole kind of gives
you this the what is what's the word?
He gives you the ability to kindof wait and and not put so much
pressure on fears early, buy yousome time until Murray is
(39:22):
healthy. And I don't know, I mean, he's a
pool is a really talented scorer.
He has he provides like that ball handling depth that we we
talked about and doesn't turn the ball over a lot.
He's I think grown a lot over his NBA career.
He did come into the league really young.
So I think he's reached a level of maturity and he seems excited
(39:44):
about joining the Pelicans because again, Washington wasn't
the most productive team last year.
Obviously the Pelicans weren't, but I think we can put a lot of
that on the injuries. So I think coming in here, he's
looking at the roster and he's like, man, this team can be
competitive and it should be fun.
I am looking forward to playing alongside some of these players.
Got a game today? Got another game yet to be
(40:05):
played? We'll figure that out after
tonight's game and he got a little bit of a break and then
man, September's around the corner.
It's going to come a lot sooner than a lot of people maybe think
it's going to be guys, but then we're off and running, right?
Training camp, Australia pre season and the regular season
goes. What I find interesting is some
of the things we've talked aboutin this podcast and you're
starting to get to see in personhere, Aaron.
(40:27):
I think it's going to be a very competitive and fun camp because
there's only so many spots you can play.
I don't think it's been changingfive players at a time on the
court, right? So who's my starting five?
Who's the next two to three to come off of that?
You just kind of mentioned a little bit from Looney and Paul
as well. Joe Dumar spoke, right, I think
(40:48):
at draft night, Aaron specifically about how Paul and
Looney called him and said thankyou for bringing me over here
and coming over here. So you have guys that are coming
in from via trades or what have you, free agency that want to be
here. You have draft picks that play
with a little chip on their shoulder.
They want to prove themselves. You have vets that are eager to
play. We hadn't even really got to,
(41:09):
you know, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, you know, they can't wait
to kind of make up for lost time.
Last season stuff Z we saw towards the end of last year.
We saw him last night in Vegas. I'm, I'm not trying to put
lipstick on something. I just, I feel it's safe to say
it should be a competitive environment when it comes to
camp, and I think competition brings the best out of players.
(41:31):
I don't know how good this team's going to be, but at least
you're going to have a group of guys that, at least on the
surface, Aaron, seem like they're going to do what they
can to get on the court just to play.
And I think that might translateinto competitiveness at least.
I think I'm listening to Joe Dumar speak about what he values
(41:53):
being competitive and physical and playing tough is at the top
of it. And I think that you've compiled
a team that is going to be thosethings.
So now it's like you have all ofthese pieces, how do they come
together? And I think that's going to be
key for training camp for this team is figuring out how all
(42:13):
these pieces can work together the best.
I know they want to play fast. I know they want to get
downhill, I know they want to bephysical.
So we'll see how it all works come what, October.
But As for tonight's game against OKC, man, they you have
a chance to play upset because OKC is undefeated 3 and O coming
(42:34):
into this game, they got two players that have been playing
extremely well. AJ Mitchell, Brandon Carlson
combined for 50 points in their last game out.
So those are the two guys you got to rein in offensively.
Defensively, they haven't been that good.
So there might be an opportunityfor the Pelicans to find
themselves a little bit here on the offensive side and we could
we could have a good one. Yeah, they're the defending
(42:57):
champs and that's the team Jim, that we we talked about
throughout the year. When the starters go out, the
guys that get the next set of minutes, they play just as hard
and play just in it. So I, I think that's the
challenge of, of looking at it tonight and see how you match up
with. That, I mean, OKC knocked the
Pelicans out of the plane in 23 and then the playoffs in 24.
So why not spoil the Thunders Summer League unbeaten run
(43:20):
tonight? Try telling Todd tonight, this
is a summer league game, right? When it comes to it, Aaron,
enjoy your time. Thank you for joining us a
little bit here as well. Look forward to getting you back
in here and kind of recapping some more sights and sounds and
doing what you do best as a teamreporter, going around and
chatting and kidding. A sense and feel of where I
think this team thinks and maybebelieves it going to be
(43:40):
throughout the year. So we look forward to that.
Absolutely, thanks for having meand don't forget to join us on
Pelicans Plus for the in game chat tonight.
I'll be there with Jim and Andrew hanging out.
And hopefully we'll start close ish to 8:30 last night the game
was going to start at 9 and I think it was 945.
I, I, I fear a lot of people were like, hey, I'll catch, I'll
(44:02):
watch the first half and then they turn Tuned in at 9:00 and
the previous game was still going.
So hopefully we'll have a littlebit bit better luck.
The game will start at 8:30 and we'll be done by 10:30-ish.
Fingers crossed. Yeah, I'm all about.
That. Thank you, appreciate.
It thanks. Guys, all right now, thanks to
Aaron Summers, Jim is always funand we got one more summer
league edition of the New Orleans Pelicans podcast coming
(44:23):
up on Friday. Looking forward to that, to kind
of put a bow on things and kind of get us ready for training.
And by the way, breaking news, the game Friday against the
Indiana Pacers has been scheduled.
It is at 8:00 PM central time. The game will be on ESPN as
well. So among the teams that have
been kind of eliminated, I guess, from contention of the
semifinal round, that four teamswill be a part of this weekend.
(44:46):
The Pelicans and Pacers will play their final game on Friday.
And I'm imagining that a lot of people will be headed back this
way on Saturday morning or Saturday afternoon all.
Right, sounds good. We will see you then on Friday.
Enjoy the game tonight and we'llcatch you at the end of this
week. Let's see if I can offer.
I'm Gus Cottongill, thank you for listening to the New Orleans
Pelicans Podcast. Thanks for listening to the New
(45:08):
Orleans Pelicans Podcast. Join us three times per week on
pelicans.com, the Pelicans mobile app.
The. IHeartRadio app or where you get
your podcast and be sure to giveJim and Gus a follow on X and
Jim under score. I can offer and G cap under
score 17. We'll see you next time, right?
(45:31):
Here. On the New Orleans Pelicans
podcast.
Host
Jim Eichenhofer
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