NBA purgatory is a special place. No general manager plans on winning 40% of their games but a myriad of circumstances put teams in that haunted place every season. Be awful on purpose or contending for a playoff spot are the preferred methods each and every season. Ask the Phoenix Suns how overachieving one year can throw an entire plan out of wack and get a head coach fired.
On the other side of that coin are the teams that fail to reach expectations, regardless of whether those expectations are realistic or not. For the New Orleans Pelicans this season expectations were high.