Can we all just agree that every one of us Pelicans fans are disappointed after such a promising off-season? However, the enlightening off-season did not seem to help the Pelicans make the leap from mediocre team to a playoff team.

When I was watching the NBA Draft on ESPN, I was very impressed by the selection of University of Oklahoma star and winner of the Naismith College Basketball Player Award, Buddy Hield. By drafting Hield, the Pelicans opened a new horizon in the fan base by adding an entire nation, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Hield is a native of the Bahamas. In the summer league, Hield put up less-than-impressive numbers, leading some to come to the conclusion that he is a bust.

The Pelicans also made some splashes in free agency, with the signing of four new players: Solomon Hill, Langston Galloway, E’Twaun Moore, and Terrence Jones. The team needed some serious defensive help. With the acquisition of Hill and Galloway, the defense could indeed step up their game.

Alvin Gentry is now in his sophomore season with the Pelicans. Fans were hoping last year that he could put a little pep in the offensive step for the Pels, but he didn’t make very many people happy with his performance. The coach before Gentry, Monty Williams, was a very defensive-minded coach, and the defense performed well while Williams was here in New Orleans. However, Williams’ offensive numbers were not very good, causing Demps to fire him. Gentry won a championship with the Golden State Warriors as an offensive assistant in 2014-15 season. He worked with Steph Curry, which is a sign that it is not the coach that is good in that situation; it is the player.

There’s been a lot to be down about lately in New Orleans sports. If you were to ask me what the solution is, I’d tell you the same thing I said about the New Orleans Saints: the key to a winning team is a general manager who actually knows how to be a general manager. Not to take anything away from Dell Demps, but he is terrible. He is so absolutely terrible and horrifyingly horrendous that, sometimes, I can’t bear t0 even listen to some of the decisions that this man makes.

I met Demps about two years ago, and he’s a nice guy. But he’s a terrible general manager. I am a proud Dell Demps “hater” and will always be unless, by some miraculous event that will bend the space-time continuum, the Pelicans win a championship under his leadership. He does not build a roster that has any depth for today’s NBA. For starters, he still has Omer Asik on the roster. That makes me laugh and then start to contemplate why I am still a Pelicans fan. To make things better, Asik is being paid over $47 million over four years. The money wasted on Asik is money that could be used in other areas of need for the team.

The only bright spot for the Pels is, of course, Anthony Davis. Honestly, the only reason that the Pelicans are still relevant is because of “The Brow.” A perennial all-star, Davis consistently has a double-double, and yet, the Pels still cannot find a way to win the game. Hopefully, Pelicans President Mickey Loomis opens his eyes and realizes his mistake of keeping Dell Demps on staff for as long as he has.