Dell Demps has constructed a losing team. There’s no way around that: In the last three seasons (really two and a quarter), starting with Anthony Davis’s magical 30-plus PER season and the beginning of his prime, the New Orleans Pelicans have a winning percentage of .441. In those two-plus years, New Orleans has seen two coaches, 38 players, and something called a Special Advisor. Really, the only constants have been a few players (Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Quincy Pondexter, and Omer Asik) and two guys in the front office, Mickey Loomis and Dell Demps.
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While we shouldn’t ignore the measurable impact that the team’s poor injury luck (318 missed games from that five-man group over three seasons) has had on the team, the lack of success overall brings into question the decisions of the Demps-Loomis braintrust.