The dust has cleared, the make-up of the western conference is now clearly visible to the naked eye. A historically competitive conference is going to be just that in the 2019/20 season. It’s a lot to ask of the newly restructured New Orleans Pelicans to berth a spot in the playoffs—but it’s still not exactly unrealistic.
Some teams got better, significantly better, others either stagnated or their decline is slowly beginning. The Pelicans struck gold in free agency, not breaking the bank but finding players of value that complement the rebuild.
However, Alvin Gentry and company have their work cut out in front of them.