Will Guillory talks Pels' Preseason Play | Pelicans Podcast

The Athletic's Will Guillory joins Jim Eichenhofer and Gus Kattengell on the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025 to discuss what he's seeing from the Pels during the 2025 NBA Preseason with games against the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic remaining before the start of the regular season. 

Catch an exclusive conversation with Zion Williamson as he discusses what vets like Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and Kevon Looney have brought to the team.

Episode Transcript

(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, official podcast of your New Orleans Pelicans.
The regular season. Well, the tips off on October
22nd in Memphis. In the meantime though, yeah,
actually our stateside Jim, I can offer pelicans.com.

(00:48):
The New Orleans Pelicans are back.
They've had a little time to rest.
They've practice rockets and magic before you really tip it
off for real. And based off the last practice
before they were here, Jim, headcoach Willie Green, couple of
players, they they were making sure that the team was locked in
because I don't know, maybe is this a good dress rehearsal

(01:08):
perhaps for what the season is going to be like, especially the
start of the year, man. I think these two teams are
interesting opponents between Houston that added Kevin Durant,
Orlando traded for Desmond Bayne, and basically both of
these teams kind of went all in on this season.
So yeah, I think these are goingto be interesting preseason
games. You know, one quick fact I'll
throw in there too. I think that adds a little bit
of interest to these preseason games and the 1:00 tonight

(01:32):
against Houston. The Pelicans are actually the
only team in the entire NBA thathas not played in preseason
against an NBA opponent because obviously they played the two
games against Australian teams at the very beginning of
October. It's been 10 days since they
played their second game overseas, but yeah, they this
will be the first time that theyplay against another NBA team.
So I'm looking forward to that part of it as well.

(01:54):
I mean, it was a great, it sounds like by all accounts, it
was a great experience for everyone both on and off the
court in Australia. But now getting a chance to play
against the the teams and players that you're going to go
against during the actual season, I think that'll be
interesting to see. You kind of have to take a
little bit, I think of a grain of salt with the stats and the
performance of what they did against the teams from the NBL.

(02:14):
No disrespect to them, but now you're going up against Houston
and Orlando. I think both teams are
projected, I think by most people to be top three, top four
and in each of the conferences. Defensively they're going to be
pretty good, right? And in terms of that and also an
offense, lots of people kind of focus on whether it's Pankaro
for the Magic and Wagner. I can, I'm sure graph has PTSD

(02:37):
calling his name out so many times.
They got size, Houston's got size and they added Kevin Durant
there as well. Again, I really good test on
ball movement. It's something specific coach
Willie Green talked about. Yeah, you know, I don't think
this was intentional, but I mean, you really couldn't
probably put together 2 better opponents to test your offense
because Orlando's been the one of the best, if not the best

(02:58):
defensive. Well, I should say, OK, C is the
best defensive team. I don't want to to mislead
people into saying that Orlando's better than them, but
I mean, they're one of the best defensive teams in the league
over the last couple of years, you know, in Houston.
I mean, their whole foundation was built on that with e-mail
Udoka coming in and saying we'regoing to be a hard nosed,
aggressive, confrontational typeteam.
I mean, these are two teams the Pelicans did not match up well

(03:20):
against in the regular season last year at all, specifically
to the Rockets last season. But Orlando over a period of
years, this has been a team that's been a problem for the
Pelicans, other than the years where Orlando really struggle.
I mean, they've had a difficult time beating the Magic.
So I mean, to your point, I do think that these are
specifically to two games that'll be interesting,
especially when the Pelicans have the ball, to see how they

(03:43):
can generate offense and to see if they can keep up a high level
of ball movement and efficiency against two teams.
That even if it's not the regular season version that we
see of the Rockets and the Magic, I still think these will
be games where you can come out of it saying like, OK, this is
what we need to do better. This is what we did well.
Yeah, no doubt. It's going to be interesting to
see how other teams kind of lookat and cover the Pells going

(04:05):
into this season. Obviously, look, we've talked
about where others see the Pellswhere where they rank in the
hierarchy of the Western Conference.
A lot of players were asked about that during media day.
We're going to bring in our conversation with Zion
Williamson when he was in here. You've brought this up in our
podcast earlier this week that was on on the Gulf Coast Network
about and Will Guillory, who we're going to hear here in a

(04:27):
little bit very visible, a little bit more than in the past
with Zion Williamson, a little more vocal, a little more, a lot
of different things, right. So I, I kind of wonder how teams
kind of look at us when they show up or, or see him on the
schedule because, you know, we just mentioned, oh, Kevin Durant
and, and the rest of the, you know, the Rocket tour Banquero
for the Magic Z is the name. Z is the name that comes up

(04:50):
first. And then, you know, people
wonder, OK, what about him? You know, when it comes to him.
And I think this year we've seena certain view of him and we
kind of got a little taste in media day, huh, As you set this
up. Yeah, and you know, honestly,
Gus, I hope the rest of the league views the Pelicans the
way a lot of the national media is, which is, you know, you just
show up at the arena and this will be easy game.

(05:11):
No problem. We don't need to lock in, We
don't need to be focused for this game.
Like, you know, Zion's good, butwhatever, you know, we can beat
these guys. But yeah, no, I, I think one of
the things that Zion talked to you and Todd Graffini about on
Media Day was just, you know, what you just touched on, which
is he needs to take on more of aleadership role.

(05:32):
Something we're going to get into as well later in the
podcast with Will Guillory in terms of just the different
approach that he's taking as faras even something as simple as
addressing the media and how much he's going to be talking to
the media this season as opposedto previous years.
So that's something that's important, especially within the
team concept, something that we'll talk about with Will.
But in terms of what he talked about in this six or seven

(05:54):
minute clip, he starts out talking about the his
impressions of the veteran guys that have been added to the team
with, you know, Kevon Looney coming over from Golden State,
Jordan Poole from Washington, Sneak Bay from Washington and
how Looney and Poole both were won championships with the
Wizards going back to 2022. Looney actually has three

(06:14):
championships. So Zion, he'll start, he starts
talking about just the impact ofthose veteran guys.
Yeah. And look and again in this
conversation, maybe you will hear especially towards the end,
there might be some players thatsay we, we don't listen to the
outside noise. Jim Zion absolutely has heard
and, and listen to continue to listen to the outside noise.
Listen to this conversation. It's interesting.

(06:36):
Having vests like that on this team, you know, pool Looney
especially, you know, those guyswon a championship.
They know what it takes. They've seen it and they lived
it. So, you know, with that type of
experience on our team, you know, especially with Pool going
to Washington, Looney being in that culture, you know, Iron
Man, you know, these are great vets to have around.

(06:59):
Siddique, love him as a teammatealready.
You know, got Dejonte. I said it since day one.
That's a solid dude. Like what you see is what you
get. You know, I really like, I
really like what the locker roomlooks like right now.
Todd kind of mentioned it a little bit ago, the good mix I.
Just I think again, now you're getting into a stage in your

(07:20):
career where you're an established veteran, but you got
a lot of young guys on the team too.
The mix of the young and the guys with a lot of experience,
the core guys that you and Trey and Herb And now you've got
these, you know, kids like fearsis 18 and queen.
How is that mixed to you and andyou now being looked upon as a

(07:44):
as a mentor now you were once Jeremiah fears coming in.
Tom definitely flies for sure. I remember my rookie year, my
rookie press conference rememberlike it was yesterday, JJ ready

(08:05):
got up there and you know, he made his joke about the playoffs
thing. And I remember just looking
around like, wow, this is the the NBA and here I am entering
year 7. And yeah, it's I'm guys do look
at me as that vet. Guys do look at me like as a

(08:25):
mentor, guys who look at me a certain way, you know, as a
leader, you know, it's a, it's dope.
I have no problem taking on that, that role.
I'm here for it. I'm excited for it.
And I mean, my only advice to the young guys at the moment is

(08:45):
have fun, work hard and have fun.
I thought something that really stood out to me yesterday and
Joe Dumars talking about where this team is going to be and
expectation all the day. Look, play hard every single
night, do some of those things. We had Coach K at the NBA
meetings last week and when he got done, I looked that graph on
my head to the NBA Commission. He just you can't help but not
hear what he has to say. And it was kind of similar in

(09:07):
terms of how Joe was talking about in that time, that piston
frame, man. I mean, you've talked about
being a basketball guy in its history to have one of those
guys there be there. And he mentioned, you know, you
sat with them to watch games andtalk to you.
The thing that stood out to me was he wants you to go up there
and talk to people when we lose 2 straight or something like
that. Take, you know, speak on behalf

(09:28):
of the team. That's different, right?
That's unique. Is that something you're you're
you're going? To embrace and you're running
here. Oh, I love it.
I love it. You know, like he said, you
know, me and Joe sat down, watchsome games together and me and
man have had some real man to man talks.

(09:49):
He's going to hold me accountable.
And, you know, he's going to be on top of me in the sense of,
you know, if I want to be a leader, if I want to be that
dude, I have to take what comes with that.
And you know, I like you said, I'm grinning as he was saying
this. I'm.
I have like this grin on my face.
Like I'm like, I'm like, I'm excited for it.

(10:12):
Like I'm like, OK, it's I'm really excited for it.
So, yeah, you know, if we have astand where we lose two in a row
or something, I have no problem going up there.
You know, when you're the leader, that's that's just what
come with it. Last one for me, I just to watch
you at the end of last year whenyou were playing and you were

(10:33):
playing the best basketball of your career.
Did you know that was the best that you were playing at the
time? I mean, and how well-rounded you
were not only getting the tripledouble, but playing, but playing
defense as well. I mean, again, I've watched
every game you've ever played here and just to see you in the
limited amount of minutes you were.
Playing. What you were doing, did you

(10:56):
know that was happening at the time and how do you take what
you were doing at the end of last year in transition to this
year? I started at the beginning of
summer. I just kept my momentum going.
And yes, at the time, the end ofseason last year, I, I could
feel it. I was, I was just having fun and

(11:17):
our record wasn't what it what we wanted it to be.
But you know, when you're when you deal with injuries, I think
your level of appreciation for the game itself blows up because
you have to sit on the sideline.Just you can't do nothing.
So when I got back out there, itwas, you know, our record is

(11:39):
what it is at this time. But like, I'm, I'm, I'm going to
make the most of this. So when I was out there, I was,
I was having fun. The game just felt different and
my body just felt great. And I felt like that it
definitely influenced my defensea lot, which just kind of led
straight on my offense. My teammates trusted me more to
find them and stuff like that. I just saw, I will say just to

(12:02):
answer the question, I, I felt it last year.
I definitely felt it. I.
Don't think for me man, we'll let you go.
Trey says he has a folder on hisphone for all the haters.
You know all the people picking y'all 14th out of 15th and
stuff. How much is that a motivation on
this team one year? Do you use it a little fun?
Do you you know this world man, everybody has to do a talk show
and and field time and all that stuff like when you guys have

(12:24):
been working for the last month and 1/2.
Is that something that he and I embrace, that you know, that
role of age? No one's talking about this
underdog thing or I don't know you personally.
How do you handle things like that?
You know, we all find motivationin our own ways.
I think there was a time frame where I definitely viewed it
like how the trade did with the folder.

(12:48):
But for me, it's, it's point blank simple for me.
Where you're at, when we get to what we get, make sure you stay
over there. There's no coming back over
here. I don't genuinely, I don't even
care for their praise. They just got to stay over
there. I, I don't need validation from

(13:08):
nobody but my teammates and his organization because we know
what we're doing. You know, we, we know the work
we put in, You know, we know we want to go.
So if somebody has this as the 14th or, you know, just not
making the playoffs, that's fine.
But when the time comes, when we're not that and we're up
there, they just got to stay over there.

(13:31):
So we'll have a receipt podcast.Our thanks to Zion Williamson
for sitting down and giving us aload of time and a little
insight, I guess, to how maybe he's approaching this and you've
seen it. We've seen it at practice,
right? Where if there's a Rep or a
drill that doesn't go their way or they lose it to the other
team and he does the, the Z kindof, you know, walk behind the
extension and all that in the bench and they, I don't know, I,

(13:54):
I just, I, I've seen a locked inZion, if that makes any sense.
Yeah. And I think it's at this, it's
at the stage of his career wherethat's what he it needs to
happen. I mean, if you think about it
too, it's it's interesting that Kevon Looney is actually the
oldest player on the team at 29.Zion's not that far from he's
only four years younger than theoldest guy on the team.
I mean, this this roster has really been reshaped to the fact

(14:17):
where there's now not a single player in their 30s on this
team. So I think he's six years in.
This is his seventh season. It's time for him to accept, you
know, more of the leadership stuff and take out take that
role on. If he was playing for the
Clippers, he'd be about the 12tholdest player on the team.
But playing here, I mean, this is this does not have a lot of
guys that have been have a ton of experiences, a lot of players

(14:39):
on this roster that are kind of in the mid part of their prime
as far as, you know, 4567 years to the their time in the NBA.
Yeah. It's going to be interesting to
see how vets like Looney, like Pool, like Sidique Bay, and then
you add the Dumars effect effector kind of maybe influence how
Zion approaches it. We're going to bring you now
Will Guillory as he not only covers the New Orleans Pelicans,

(15:00):
but also the Houston Rockets, which I will add something to
that here in a quick SEC. But a very cool conversation
with him. He got a lot to say.
He's excited. He's excited about this team.
You don't believe me? Give a listen.
Hello everybody, I'm Gus Catengall and welcome to the New
Orleans Pelicans Podcast, official podcast of your New

(15:21):
Orleans Pelicans. The final week of the preseason,
2 more games to go is here. Got to get you ready for it,
which means of course you bring in Jim.
I can offer pelicans.com and youcan see it right there on the
screen. Mr. Will Guillory batting lead
off here as we get your ready right?
Before the regular. Season starts gentlemen.
Always exciting knowing that we've got games this weekend.

(15:42):
Kind of really the start of whatis going to sort of feel like
once the season gets going, huh?Yeah, absolutely, man.
First of all, I just got to say shout out the guests for being
very hospitable. Let me use this office here to
record. I'm feeling very comfortable.
AC is nice, got a cold water next to me.
So yeah, I'm feeling very loved on the 1st episode.
We're excited to welcome you to the premises Will.

(16:05):
We're happy to have you on as a guest and looking forward to
talking for a nice half hour about the Pelicans.
Absolutely, Absolutely. It's fair to no expense when we
have, you know, stars and celebrities like you, Sir.
We got a lot to get into though,man, because look, I, I think it
was a little exciting. We got a little taste of the
team over in Australia. And Jim, after a couple days

(16:26):
off, we saw them back at practice over the last couple of
days. That was something, you know,
interesting to kind of see how how they they handle that Just
before we get into some topics and some things we want to get
into. Just your overall overview,
being at practice, seeing them for me, that first practice
back, I couldn't have told that they were literally on the other
side of the globe. You.

(16:46):
Yeah. I mean, it was good that they
had a few days to kind of get readjusted to Central time and
and get back to being here in Louisiana.
But I mean, I think my biggest take away from the practices so
far just been the intensity thatthey want to be the team that
pushes other teams around this season instead of vice versa the
way it was last year where therewere some games where you felt

(17:06):
like the other team was more physical than you were.
And the defense dropped off a lot last season from what we had
seen the two previous years. So I mean, I think the
physicality and the mentality are two things that are have
been really emphasized so far and hopefully will result in a
team that looks a lot more like what we're used to.
Prior to last season. OK, no doubt it's something

(17:29):
we'll keep an eye on to see how that continues with two teams
Will that we'll get into in a quick second that a pretty good
opponents. Obviously it's a preseason game,
but unlike the NFL, as we all know, you'll get to see some
players in this preseason. So it'll be a nice little test I
think this week with Houston andOrlando.
But look, it was the big topic going into Australia, during

(17:50):
Australia and out of Australia. Zion, man.
So let's just start there, Will,when you look at the
expectations for him, it always obviously starts with how's he
look literally in that aspect ofit.
How you feeling about Z going into this 20252026 season?
What a great thing is he's already checked that first box
immediately, right? We've all seen him walking

(18:11):
around, we've seen a practice. He looks to be in incredible
shape, you know, maybe the smallest he's ever been since
he's been with the Pelicans. And you hear reports from these
practices that he's moving incredibly well.
He's taking on more of a leadership role, speaking up
more in team environments. And I think, you know, he he
really understands the burden that's on him because I think,
you know, it seems like every year we always talk about this

(18:32):
is the biggest year ever for Zion.
Everything's falling on Zion. But I think this year really
more than ever, that's really, really true when it comes to,
you know, the pressure is on himto really lift this team up.
But he also understands that, you know, that there's no safety
that under him anymore. There's no CJ McCollum, There's
no Brandon Ingram on his team nomore.
So it's really on his shoulders and not just perform to not just

(18:53):
be healthy, but be a voice in the locker room to help these
these younger guys out. He's got rookies like Jeremiah
Fears and they're queen underneath him.
He understands that he's got to play a very big role for this
team in order for them to be successful and I think he's done
a really good job of responding to that and and providing what
the team needs. Now, obviously whenever we talk
about Z, he's got to be healthy.He's got to be there once the

(19:15):
games begin. But I think up to this point,
he's done just about everything,right.
He checked all of those boxes that you would want to see from
him as the face of the franchise.
Well, you mentioned two things that I want to kind of tie
together. You mentioned the leadership
part of it and you also mentioned that CJ McCollum, for
example, is not here anymore. One thing that it seems like
it's been pretty obvious that wehave observed so far from, you

(19:37):
know, media day training camp and then practices is that
Zion's done a lot more media availability.
He's done a lot more interviews.And it it seems like, you know,
last season and even going back before that, that Zion and
Brandon Ingram both kind of kindof shield away a little bit from
interviews from time to time. And because of that, it felt
like CJ McCollum, who was happy to do interviews and happy to

(19:59):
talk to us. But a lot of time if the top
guys aren't doing those interviews, it's on the other
players to kind of be responsible for explaining like,
OK, why is the team on a losing streak?
Why isn't the team playing well?Are you ready for a lot more
Zion Williamson interviews in Access this season?
Because it seems like that's thecase so far.

(20:19):
Listen, I take every Zion I can hit, OK?
So if he wants to talk every dayI'm down, we'll find something
to ask him. But no, I think you're exactly
right. You know, taking some of the
fans behind the scenes, you know, for a lot of us, you know,
working with the Palace media, we used to be very strategic
about when we would ask for Zion, when we would ask for BI.
We knew certain days he probablywouldn't talk.
We knew certain games he might be a little bit more difficult.

(20:42):
And I think, you know, so far they're trying to, he's been
very open to talking to us. He's been in a great mood.
You've seen the the huge smile on his face, whatever he's
talking to us whenever we're asking him questions.
So I think he's feeling good. I think he, like I said, he
understands the role that he hasto play for this team.
And a big part that is speaking up is answering some of the
tougher questions about what's going on, responding to some of
the criticisms that not just he's receiving, but the team as

(21:04):
a whole. Joe Dumars is receiving.
And I think, you know, he's taking that on early.
We'll see, you know, because youknow, a lot of this stuff sounds
good in training camp and once you get a couple losses under
your belt, they don't like talking to us as much.
So we'll see how that goes once the season starts.
But like I said, I think these were doing everything right up
to this point to show that he's ready for for everything that's
coming this season. I think he's excited about this

(21:26):
team. I think he's excited about where
he is and it's showing with his actions and with his words.
But he just got to be there oncethe season starts.
And I think if he is, he's goingto have a huge year.
To take people behind the curtain even further, Will,
there's a couple times I remember from last season or,
and, or the year before that where Brandon Ingram was asked
to speak to the media and he basically told one of the PR

(21:48):
staffers, if you can make this 15 foot shot, I will talk to the
media. If you miss, I won't.
I'm not going to name any names or throw anybody under the bus,
but our PR staff probably needs to shoot work on their jumpers a
little bit because a lot of times those were misses and we
didn't get to talk to BI as a result of that.
But in terms of, you know, some of the things that you mentioned

(22:09):
in terms of Zion speaking more to the media and you talked
about Joe Dumars, how much of that do you think is the tone
that that he's setting as far asjust he mentioned this a a bunch
of times. The leadership part of it, the
accountability part of it are things that he wants to see
Zion, you know, take some of these steps in his career.
For sure. I think, you know, the

(22:29):
relationship that he's been developing and he has already
developed up to this point. Well, Joe Dumars is a huge part
of it. And I think a big part of the
conversations they had over the summer was Joe Dumars really
laying it out and really saying him, hey, you need to be this
guy for this team. You'd have to have certain
responsibilities. That was one of the the key
words that Joe Dumars said multiple times during media day
was there's certain responsibilities that Zion has

(22:51):
as the face of the franchise, asthe leader of this team.
And I think Zion has done a really great job in embracing
that. I think you got to give Joe
Dumars a lot of credit for that.And I think, you know, it's been
a running joke amongst the mediawhenever we ask for Zion is
like, oh, he's actually coming. Shout out to Joe D Joe's doing
his job. He's got coming over and talking
to us. I think you see kind of his
effect, you know, not just resign, but from all corners of

(23:13):
the franchise. I think you already see, you
know, that kind of the, the culture that he wants to build
the, the level of accountabilitythat he wants to have at every
level of the organization. And it has to start at the top.
It has to start at the, the mainguy.
He's got to lay that that foundation and then everybody
who follows. And I think Joe has done a
pretty good job of that so far of not just doing it with his

(23:35):
star, but doing it with everybody on the roster.
Look at you. This is why you're a
professional because that seguesus into the next topic.
And that is the tone that Joe Dumars is setting.
It's palpable, right? I mean, for people that are just
tuning in, or maybe the first time they're going to tune in is
the preseason games or maybe even the season opener against
Memphis, you can get a sense andfeel that was changed And
there's a little different sense.

(23:56):
Little I I, I, I don't know if it's one of those phrases that
we do is journal a sense of urgency.
But I mean, from from Coach Green to yes, you mentioned Z
with the players, you know, Jim and I have talked about Herb
Jones and what he's done at practice.
Like there, there's a different little sense of something, you
know, And I, I, I think it does start from the top, doesn't it?

(24:18):
I mean there is a tone being set.
No doubt. And I think that's the type of
team that Joe wants to build. He wants to build a tough team,
a competitive team. That's something you, you know,
hear a lot from people I'm talking to about these
practices, how competitive it is, how guys are getting after
it. It's physical.
You know, guys are hitting the deck, guys are, you know, when
guys are hitting the deck, nobody's coming over to help
them up. It's a little bit of trash going

(24:38):
on in there. Guys are trying to get it in.
And I think, you know, it's not only Joe Dumars.
I think a lot of it is they hearthe noise from the outside.
They see all of these predictions that are saying the
Pels are going to be, you know, in the bottom of the Western
Conference and people making funof some of the moves they've
made this offseason. I think a lot of that has hit
home for them because, you know,the past couple years, frankly,
they have been a darling for a lot of team for a lot of these

(25:00):
preseason predictions, right? People have been talking about
them as a 48, potentially 50 winteam, you know, the past couple
years and then once in all Crater last year.
A lot of people are like, yeah, I'm done with this team.
You know, the some of that main guys are gone.
You know, a lot of people are are, you know, done kind of
hoping that things are going to work out with Zion.
And I think all of these guys are hearing that and they want
to respond. This is a competitive group.

(25:21):
This is a group that, you know, while some guys have been gone,
a lot of these guys have been together for a long time.
When you talk about Trey Murphy,Zion Hurd Jones, they know what
it was like when this team was really good and playing in the
playoffs. And they understand that if
they're healthy and they're all playing together, this team
could be right back there in that mix, especially if Zion is,
you know, going to be perform right the way we expect him to

(25:42):
perform. So I think, yeah, a lot of that
comes from Joe Dumars, but a lotof it comes from the outside
noise as well. And I think the main thing that
Joe wants to lay out is, like wesaid, this is the competitive
nature on a day-to-day basis of guys getting after it, guys
pushing each other. And I think that that, you know,
starts with Joe D and y'all mentioned the name that I've
heard multiple times. I think Herb Jones has played a
really big role in the competitiveness in these

(26:04):
practices. And I think he's really laying
the foundation of becoming one of the big leaders for this team
as well. Will you mentioned several of
the names I think a lot of fans are extremely familiar with at
this point, guys that have been here for multiple years with
Herb Zion, Trey Murphy, some of the other players, but wanted to
get into you it with it with youin terms of your thoughts on
some of the new guys. I think we'd start with the

(26:25):
rookies and we'll go to the veterans.
But I guess starting with the rookies.
I mean, what's been your impression of Jeremiah Fear so
far in terms of I mean, some of the I'm sure some of these
things I'm going to ask you are not going to be necessarily easy
ones to answer, but from this vantage point of where we are
not in mid-october, But I mean, do you feel you get a sense that
he's going to be able to make animpact as a rookie?

(26:46):
Because I feel like that has been something that's been
uncertain, you know, based on summer league and, you know,
just the. Fact that he's 18 years old, for
example. I know that I think, you know,
not just with Jeremiah, but I think for me, my default mode
when it comes to any of these 19year old point guards that come
to the league, You know, my, my expectations are very low just
because it's so difficult being that young competing at the

(27:08):
point guard position in the NBA with so many vets, so many guys
who you know, who have competed and understand what it takes to
to play at this level. And the thing about the point
guard position, it's every single night you're playing a
really good guy every single night.
Different skill sets, different level of physicality.
There are no nights at the pointguard position in the NBA.
And I think that's one of the the first lessons that Jeremiah

(27:28):
fears is going to have to learn is competing at this level and
understanding just the demands on your body, on your mind every
single night. And I think that's one of the
first things that's really goingto hit him being in the NBA.
But when you talk to everybody with this team and I think, you
know, it's very consistent. People just love Jeremiah fears.
They they, they love his mentality.
They love the way he's attacked his rookie season, the way, you

(27:49):
know, he's constantly in the gym, working, improving his
game. He's pushing some of these other
guys. He's not backing down and
practice. He wants to really earn a
rotation, please. And frankly, I think if you'd
asked me back, you know, around July, maybe a little bit after
some league, I was like, you know, we'll see how much Fears
plays. Maybe he'll get a little time in
the G League. But I think, you know, just from

(28:09):
what he's been doing early on, Ithink I would say there's a very
good chance he's going to be a part of this rotation early on.
I think they want to see him on the court.
I think his skill set fits the style of play they want to have.
They want to be a team that plays fast.
They want to get into the paint.They want to have multiple ball
handlers on the floor. So I think he's going to have a
chance to make an impact early on and I think he has the

(28:29):
mentality to want to go out there and attack.
He's not going to be timid at all.
The way we see some of these rookies are coming in day one.
But again, he's still very young.
I mean, we're still like days away from him and actually being
19 years old, he's still 18 right now.
So he's still got a lot of room to grow a lot of, you know,
learning to do a lot of, you know, muscle to add on.
But I think he's coming in and he's really hit the ground

(28:50):
running and I think the team is really excited about not only
where he is, but what he's just want to be down.
The line unfortunately with Derrick Queen, we haven't had a
chance at all to watch him in practice in terms of contact
drills, playing scrimmages. You know, he's been part of five
on O stuff, but that's really all we've gotten to see of him.
So I mean, I feel like it's it'sstill kind of uncertain in terms
of when he's going to be clearedto play and when he's going to

(29:13):
be back. But I mean, what's your take on
what kind of impact do you thinkhe can make when he eventually
does get back to the point wherehe'll be playing five on fives
and or how much do you think it's going to affect him
negatively, just the fact that he's going to get a late start
to everything? Yeah, I mean, there's no doubt
that he's behind the 8 ball. I think he's got a a lot of

(29:33):
catching up to do. You know, he still hasn't, like
you said, hasn't been doing anything on the team bases, any
physical contact yet. So, you know, he's got a ways to
go, you know, once he's finally cleared and able to actually,
you know, participate. But I do think he wants to be a,
you know, a really important piece of the team.
And when you look at the roster,Franklin, they need the help at
the bigs position. They need, you know, those big

(29:54):
bodies, the guys who can, you know, help them on the boards.
We talk a lot about how bad theywere frankly rebounding the ball
last year. So they want more big bodies.
They want to be able to play some of these double big
lineups. And I think Derek Queen is a is
a key to that. But I think also that he the big
thing for him was also getting in better shape, staying in
better physical shape. I think being in the position

(30:14):
he's in now, he like Joe Dumar just joked about, they've been
putting him on that bike all thetime.
He's been running around. You see him working out after
practices. So I think he's trying to keep
himself right mentally, being ready physically for one of his
numbers called. But I think it is tough, you
know, for where he's at right now, not being able to
participate in these practices, not getting a feel for how he's

(30:35):
going to perform with this team.But, you know, much like
Jeremiah fears, we know that Queen is the guy who walks into
the room with a whole lot of confidence.
He's got a big belief in his game and what he can do.
So I don't think that's going tobe an issue at all about him
coming in and and, you know, performing and doing what he
normally does. But it's just about fitting in
from a team aspect and understanding, you know,
defensively and being in the right place at the right time,

(30:56):
you know, knowing how to work off his teammates.
But yeah, I think, of course, you don't want to see him
injured. You don't want to see him on the
sidelines. But I think it's been somewhat
good for him to kind of be out of the spotlight just because
there's so much pressure on him as the name attached to that
draft day trade. And everybody was so critical
with that move. And I think everybody, you know,
I think a lot of people nationally were kind of ready to

(31:18):
kind of, you know, throw dirt onhim whenever he had his first
bad game or especially when he wasn't performing at the highest
level during the summer league. I think a lot of people can't
wait to say, oh, the pals messedup with this pick.
They got it wrong with this guy.And I think kind of being away
from the spotlight, not being out there kind of has allowed
him to get himself right physically and mentally.
And it'll allow him to ease intothings where I think, you know,

(31:39):
during the summer there was a lot of pressure on him to kind
of live up to what they put on him with that draft day
training. I think that'll exist whenever
he does come back. But I don't think it's as bad
now just because he's been away.Everybody knows he's not going
to be healthy to start, you know, through some of these
preseason games. So we'll see where he is once
the season starts. But I think it'll be good for
him to be out of the spot a lot,like away from some of that

(32:01):
pressure and just get himself right mentally and physically
for once he's ready to go. Before we move on to kind of the
three most important new veteranadditions to the roster, wanted
to talk about Micah Peavey. You know, you talked about how
there's been a ton of discussionabout the draft that the
Pelicans had obviously with, they ended up with two guys in
the lottery. One of them was part of a trade.

(32:22):
That has been very much discussed.
But Micah Peavey to me was not really part of the conversation
nationally and in the draft because he was a second round
pick. But I mean, my initial takeaways
from him are impressions. There's been a lot of positive
things said about him, includingfrom Willie Green, who obviously
is the person that's going to bein charge of decision on the
point on playing time and rotations.

(32:43):
What have you heard so far aboutMicah Peavey in terms of what
people should know about him andmaybe his chances to contribute?
Yeah, PV has definitely lived upto what they hoped he would be,
for sure. And I think when you talk about
PV, he's almost the opposite endof the spectrum from what we
talked about, what Jeremiah fears, where he's coming in as a
much older rookie. He's a guy who's got a lot of
experience at the college level,has played several different

(33:04):
roles under several different head coaches during his time in
college. So he understands how to play a
specific role, how to, you know,go to the corner and hit shots,
how to, you know, make an impacton the game without having the
ball in his hands all the time. And of course, he was a big time
scorer for Georgetown during hissenior season.
They put a lot on his shoulders.But previously in his career,
that wasn't his role. He understands how to, you know,

(33:26):
go back and forth and fit next to other guys and be a
complimentary piece. So I think that's what you've
really seen from him early on, just an understanding of how to
play, how to, you know, help other guys and not be so focused
on his numbers or his role. And I think that's that's
something they really like abouthim.
And you know, with this team, with some of the losses they've
had, they need more of those versatile 3 and D type of wings

(33:49):
that we know Willie Green has loved throughout his time with
New Orleans. The Naji Marshalls, the Dyson
Daniels, we can go down the list.
They they, they love to throw those guys out there be
switchable. I have guys who can run the the
the wings to hit 3 pointers. And I think Peevy could
potentially be one of those guysfor sure.
I think he still has some work to do with his jump shot just
being more consistent, maybe adding a little bit more

(34:10):
physicality to defend some of these big strong wings.
But I think he's a guy that I wouldn't be surprised if he
steps in and is able to get someplaying time early on.
But I think one thing you guys will probably going to talk
about that they've been happy about a Siddiq Day has come in
and perform really well. And I think that's another guy
that kind of fits that mode. But I think with the NBA, man,
we've seen, you can never have too many of those guys, the 66,

(34:32):
the six, nine guys who can defend multiple positions, hit 3
pointers. And I think Michael Peavey
definitely fixed that archetype.It's just about him just being
more comfortable and understanding how to playoff the
guys around him. I know Jim wants to ask you a
little bit about some of the veterans, but to your point, non
box score hero is the phrase that keeps popping in my head

(34:53):
when I watch practice about Michael Peavey.
He's going to do things that maynot be in the box score, saving
balls from out of bounds, just getting a hand or getting in the
way that causes a bad shot. We've just seen so many moments
where my ribs a little sore because Graff is elbowing me.
You know, when he makes that play, I found the phrase I keep
telling him to is he's just a basketball player.

(35:14):
If you understand what I'm getting at, he's just a
basketball player, kind of knowshow to use his body, where to be
just around the ball. He's just a basketball player.
So I think as the season goes, you're going to see him do some
things that may not go on the box or maybe now, I don't know,
Jim. There's so many analytics and
numbers that they have on there,but it's in advanced metrics.
But that's kind of what stood out to me.

(35:35):
And fears, man. You mentioned it, Will.
And Jim, he's so fast, you know,Queen, we haven't seen a lot,
but we'll see about that. But Jim, you and I have talked a
lot about the veterans that werepicked up in the offseason and I
know it's something you've talked a lot about.
You want to talk to Will. Yeah, I mean, and by the way
too, nba.com, never doubt them on their ability to come up with

(35:56):
more stuff that they can use to measure.
So we'll see what they give us more insight on.
Micapivi. I guess in terms of the vets, I
mean you, let's start with SadiqBay, because you mentioned him
already, Will. What?
What do you think? Of him in terms of like it, it
seems like he's a steady from what we've seen in, I mean in
his career as well. He's just a steady veteran guy

(36:17):
who doesn't make mistakes but isalso, you know, a really good
shooter. It's not like he's just out
there taking up space on offense.
Is it possible that he could be an underrated pickup, that he's
somebody that that should have been talked about more this
summer? No, there's no doubt.
I think he's going to be a really important piece for this
team. I'll just add more versatility,
more wings off the bench. And I think it was really good

(36:38):
to see him have that second gameout in Australia where he
finally got to see some 3 pointers go go down.
Really caught fire during the first half of that game out
there in Australia. So I think they want to see more
of that. This team can use all those
outside shooting that they can get, you know, outside of Trey
Murphy and Jordan Poole. So seeing that I think was
really good for the team. And I think whenever you talk
with Sadiq, I think you just, you can just sense the hunger

(36:59):
that he has to get back. It's been so long since he
played, almost like a year and ahalf since he's played in a real
NBA game. It's been so long since he's
been out there. So I think he's just happiness
to be in the gym, be on the court on the daily basis, being
healthy, kind of having that knee injury behind him.
And I said all the time I managed.
Just so ironic that the team that he actually suffered that

(37:20):
injury against was the Pelicans.I remember being there in
Atlanta and watching him suffer that injury and you saw it
immediately just how bad that was and you knew that he was
going to be out for a while. I don't think it was be this
long that he would be out, but it's been a long journey for him
and he's he's just hungry to getback out there and show that he
just got it can still contributebecause once you're out for that

(37:40):
long and you're going through this rehab process, it's very
easy for people to kind of just toss you to the side and just
say, hey, Sadiq base a thing of the past.
We got these new shiny objects coming in, these new young guys.
We're not worried about the Sadiq base of the world, but if
this is a guy who can contributefor sure at the NBA level, he
can really help this team. You know, he's a guy with some
good size at the position, can defend guys bigger than him.

(38:04):
I think that'll be important forthis team.
If they kind of go back and forth between smaller lineups
and bigger line UPS, the more hecan hit those 3 pointers like
like you said, that'll be crucial for this team.
And just having just a steady presence because we talked
about, you know, this team beingso young and bringing in younger
guys in the new faces and just having a presence in there
that's steady. They know what they're getting
from him. They don't have to worry about

(38:25):
him complaining about shots or minutes or anything like that.
They can just depend, you know, Sadiq they on a daily basis and
I think that's going to be a huge help for this team.
The more comfort he has in his his body and just his fit with
this team. I think it's going to be great.
And I think he's a really good fit for this team personality
wise and what he brings on the court.
I know we just got a couple minutes left in the TV version

(38:47):
of the podcast, but I guess I kind of combine your thoughts on
the two guys. I guess I'll we'll call them the
former Golden State players of Rod Looney and Jordan Poole in
terms of what they'll be able tobring.
You know, it's only right that we did this because I feel like
these guys are going to be attached at the hip the entire
season. The former Golden State guys,
their their relationship is so strong and I think they they

(39:09):
complement each other really well on the court as well.
With the way Jordan Poole wants to play, not just as a all ball
guy who can play off a pick and rolls, but we know, you know,
Golden State is famous for theiroff ball movement and the way
that Jordan who can really hurt teams with the way he moves off
the ball. And Kevin Looney's understanding
how to play at the top of the key and, you know, contribute as
a passer, not just a really goodScreener, but as a passer in

(39:31):
some of these pick and roll situations.
So I think both of those guys are going to be a huge help for
this team. Kevin Looney obviously is
competing fast starting center roll with Eve Niecy.
So I think that'll be something to keep an eye on in these next
two preseason games. But yeah, I think they love both
of these guys. They love these two.
You know, Jordan Poo, you can just feel just the the kind of
the the weight off his shouldersjust being away from Washington,

(39:53):
being away from what he felt like was a losing environment,
being away from the team, that kind of look to him to do
everything for them offensively.Now he gets to play with Trey
Murphy, he gets to play with Zion Williamson.
He's going to get a whole lot ofeasier shots than the weight of
the world isn't on him anymore. So I think both of these guys
are going to be really good at additions and I can't wait to
see. We're not only with Jordan food,
but I I think Kevin Looney just brings a lot with this team

(40:15):
needs rebounding, dirty work, screening.
So I think these both of those guys are going to be really good
at additions and it would be surprising if you see both of
them in a start lineup opening night, which will be a a really
different look for this team. Experience, I, I think that's
the, the thing that really pops up in my head, right, guys?
I mean, they, they've been there, they've known what it
takes. There isn't going to be a big
game enough that they haven't handled guys like Will Guillory

(40:38):
in the media asking him questions and doing all those
things. I just, I just think you can
feel in it palpable. And I think the other thing
going back to the beginning of conversation, guys, we have
about a minute and a half left here is just Z and the tone
that's being set all the way around.
I think all of it sort of helps,right?
I mean, it's easier when you have Will guys in the building
that have won championships. Zions referenced that several

(40:59):
times already With those players, they know what it
takes. They do that.
You got a guy that played with one of, you know, greatest parts
of the NBA history with the Pistons and the Bad Boys as as
your boss. So I mean, I, I just think you
have all of that together. It kind of maybe it's it's going
to show to fans. I think, I don't know.
I'll see it. It's no coincidence that one of
the first things Joe Dumars did when he got in the building, he

(41:21):
said, I want to bring this to people who know what it's like
to win a championship. Joe Dumars obviously knows what
that's like at a player level, at an executive level.
He knows how valuable it is to have those guys in the building
and know what that journey lookslike.
And Jordan Poole and Kevin Looney for sure bring that.
Jim Final 30 seconds. Yeah, I mean, I think one of the
things I can say for sure when you're talking about Jordan

(41:41):
Poole is, you know, I can't. I don't know how many games this
team's going to win, but this team is going to be
entertaining. When Zach Lowe comes out with
his big pass rankings, I expect the Pelicans to be high and I
will be very upset if they are not ranked in the top five or
10. Nowhere to go but up, fellas.
Everything I keep seeing, they're either dead last or
second or last, and we'll see. What happens?
And I love it, though there's players that say we're keeping

(42:04):
receipts. That's Will Guillory at will.
Guillory is the way to give a follow.
NBA writer for The Athletic. And of course, gentlemen, thank
you. Thanks guys.
Appreciate you guys. And as always, we'll see you
next time on the New Orleans Pelicans Podcast.
Our thanks to Will Guillory. Who As I mentioned, Jim, it
covers the Rockets. We've had Christian Clark cover
the Pells and then go cover the The Mavericks.

(42:26):
We've had Andrew Lopez start here and then go cover the Spurs
and they brought in Victor in Bayama.
And now it's interesting Will Guillory covering the Pelicans
and the Rockets. But obviously maybe Katie had a
little something to do with thatand where they're going.
But don't you think it's so interesting just in this
division, in this little footprint of the country in the
area? You throw in Z again, a firmer

(42:48):
first round pick if the Hells have the kind of season, and I
think you and I think they can have, man, they Got Talent on
his team. If they do, they're not
incredible though, but just our local reporters.
They got to go cover other teamsand their players, you know?
Yeah. I mean, I think some of it is
the proximity to Texas, obviously, but also just the
fact that some of these other teams, in the case of the Spurs

(43:09):
and Dallas, although I know thiswasn't related to Christian
Clark's going to Dallas, but they both won the lottery in a
great year to win it with Wembe and Cooper flag.
And then Houston obviously has made a nice, a really good rise
up the standings the last coupleyears.
And now they add Kevin Durant. So the newsworthiness of the
Rockets has also really skyrocketed.
No, no pun intended there. I honestly did not try to do

(43:31):
that. That was accidental.
This is why you're You're. Yeah.
Yeah, definitely. I'm I'm a nominee there.
You go for Pulitzer by myself. Yeah.
But no, I think it's it is possible that this division is
going to be incredible. I mean, I know people don't pay
that much attention to divisionsanymore, but in terms of the the

(43:53):
the teams that are related to the Pelicans, the teams that
they play the most often, this is a super interesting part of
the league. And you know, honestly, too, we
talked with so many about so many different things with Will.
There's a bunch of stuff that weleft on the table that we
couldn't even get to, including kind of get delving into some of
the teams. I think for example, like the
Spurs and the Mavs, I think are really interesting because

(44:14):
there's a pretty big range between what the best case
scenario the people see for themand what the worst case scenario
is. I mean, you could probably say
that. You could definitely say that
for the Pelicans as well. But those are things I'm sure
we'll get into into it with WillGillery at a future date down
the. Road, no doubt, and I'm looking
forward to the the string of podcasts coming up over the next
couple of weeks here as well. Some weeks 1, some weeks 2,

(44:35):
right? That's right.
Yes, Yeah, we've been a little, we've been a little cagey about
we're trying to explain what theschedule is because we're still
trying, things are still coming together.
And so that's part kind of been part of why I guess we haven't
really like telegraphed like, OK, this is what the schedule
is. But yeah, this week we're we're
doing 2, we're doing one, we're doing Tuesday and Friday.
Next week we are doing just Tuesday.

(44:57):
The week after that'll be just Tuesday and Friday.
So you might want to write this down.
Yeah, we'll figure. I'll tell you what we know.
We'll. Let.
You know what it is. The good thing about it, though,
is, as always, pelicans.com is the place to go.
Jim is writing even more. I don't know how you could write
even more this year, but you we'll be writing even more this
year and we're going to be adding a lot more content to the
Gulf Coast network as well with the podcast here.

(45:17):
So it should be fun because again, look, as we're on the eve
of the new season, I do think there's legit excitement.
I notice excitement because hey,anything's better than 21 wins.
You've brought this up and we'llwrap up with this. 21 wins
happened because you literally lost all your starting players
injury at one by one way point shape our time.

(45:37):
There isn't an NBA team alive, right?
I mean, the Celtics are looked at differently when Jason
Tatum's not playing. The Pacers season is going to
look differently when they don'thave their top guy.
But I mean, that's just reality.So I know people focus on 21
wins. Hey, I get it.
But your record is what you say you were last year, two seasons
ago when they were healthier. They should have been A50 win

(46:00):
team. And I think in the future
podcast, I'm going to make the case an argument.
This may be a more complete roster, maybe even more talented
roster than that roster, and we'll compare and contrast, you
know, But I think there's legit reason for excitement.
There definitely is. And and by the way, when you
mentioned I don't know how you're going to write more this
season, I hope I have more to write about this season than I

(46:23):
did last season because it was it was rough.
Well, when you lose by 40 points, I Yeah, twice in a week.
It is an earlier night when thathappens.
There's not as much to write about.
I guess that's the silver lining.
But yeah, no, I'm looking forward to it.
And I I think that is an interesting point you make about
the talent of this team. I think that the the thing that
I want to see from this season squad in in compare if you're
comparing specifically to two years ago is who are some of the

(46:45):
glue guys that step up? Who are some of the role
players? Because I think the team two
years ago had some guys that really were kind of filling the
gaps kind of guys. Maybe some of some of them
weren't players that had huge stats.
You didn't look at the box scoreafter the end of the game and
say, you know, Larry Nance had 27 points and 15 rebounds, but
he contributed in a lot of ways.And that was the case for some

(47:06):
of the other players. So you need guys to fill some of
those roles that are like less glamorous.
I do think that Kevon Looney goes part of the way to doing
that. A player like him, you know,
Sadiq Bay might be able to do that as well.
So does this team have more or less talent than the team that
won 49 games two years ago? I'm not sure.
But I do think that that team had some things that were under

(47:28):
the radar, kind of underrated, that made them almost a 51 team
that you're going to have to seea lot of that stuff from these
guys. And it's not going to be things
that we're going to be able to easily measure.
But I mean, to be competitive, to be even a 500 team in the
West might have to do so well inso many different areas.
And it's not going to just be like, OK, we got by on our

(47:49):
talent. We won't.
We won 45 games. It's going to have to be
cohesiveness, chemistry, so manyof these other things that kind
of sometimes go unnoticed on a basketball court.
Thick skin, bigger picture. Remind me to bring that up on a
future podcast, especially before the season starts.
Thick, thick skin, bigger picture.
Because to your point, I think you're going to have to not get
so down and not so up after a loss in the win because the West

(48:13):
is so tight. When you look at those, here's
the thing, they're going to beatup on each other.
I mean, just by by virtue of tonight, the Celt that the
Rockets play the the, the Thunder, somebody has to lose.
Golden State's taking on San Antonio, somebody has to lose.
Like, you know, Denver takes on Golden State, somebody has to
lose. So while the West is tough, they

(48:35):
all have to play each other. Sure, four times.
And so, and the Pelicans have just, for example, the first
three games of the season at Memphis, home against Boston,
home against the Spurs. I, I reversed the order of Spurs
Celtics and then they go into a three-game road trip.
That's Denver Clippers, OKC. How many teams in the NBA going
into that three-game road trip would be like if we win one or

(48:56):
two games, we're doing backflips.
So to your point, I definitely, there's going to be stretches on
the schedule where it's like these are going to be really
difficult games to get on. So like you said it, it is
important to understand that it's 82 games and to not get too
high or too low. But I mean, they, they also have
to avoid being in the hole that they were in last year where we
kept saying like, okay, it's still early, it's still

(49:17):
November. But I mean, even by
Thanksgiving, if you look back at the record, it was like in
hindsight, you're like, there's no way that you're going to be
able to dig out of that. If you're if you're double digit
games under 500 are ready by Thanksgiving or, you know,
December, Christmas, like it's it's impossible in the West.
So that they got to get off to abetter start.
That almost goes without saying.Yeah, no doubt the start is

(49:37):
important. The podcast next week probably
focuses on the importance of thestart to the first week of
games. I can already tell you because
Jim already gave us the outline.Anyway, as always, appreciate
the time. Thanks to Will Guillory, thanks
to Zion Williamson, and thank you for tuning us in.
You've been listening to the NewOrleans Pelicans Podcast,
official podcast of the New Orleans Pelicans.
We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the New
Orleans Pelicans Podcast. Join us three times per week on

(50:02):
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