The Bird Calls

Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders has reported the Pelicans have displayed interest in Cavalier swingman Iman Shumpert following the torn hamstring to Solomon Hill and Quincy Pondexter dump in Chicago.  What in the Sam Hell are the Pelicans thinking playing him out of position and taking on his two year, $21.3 million in salary? But it beats the alternatives, right?  If Chase Budinger, Josh Smith...

Well the injury bug has floated over both sides of Airline Drive, now reaching Pelicans starting small forward Solomon Hill.  Solomon Hill enjoyed a great year defensively according to general manager Dell Demps and Head Coach Alvin Gentry, helping to propel the Pelicans defense into the top ten after bottom dwelling in 2015. We welcome on Travis Tate and Trevor Ritchie of The Bird Writes to offer...

On July 26th the Pelicans and New Orleans Saints announced an eight year partnership with Ochsner, and even renamed the training facility and practice fields after said corportation. Less than three weeks later, the New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton fired team doctors Deryk Jones and Misty Suri after a misdiagnosis of team's starting corner, Delvin Breaux.  The doctors had misdiagnosed a f...

The 2017/18 season has been officially announced by tthe NBA, and the Pelicans walked away with the fifth strongest schedule, including six nationally televised games on ESPN, two on TNT, and six on NBA TV. We welcome on buddy Travis Tate, and newbie Trevor Ritchie to break down the sched month by month, predict wins and loss totals, as well as analyze where we fit in the grand scheme of the ever...

The New Orleans Pelicans are fast approaching training camp with a roster of fourteen guaranteed contracts with minutes to spare for a small ball four who can spot minutes at the three.  Is that Dante Cunningham's music we hear!!!??? Nah, we're still playing the waiting game.  So let's take this opportunity to rehash his 2016 growth, as well as spill some rumors, discuss some quotes unleashed by c...

Diving even deeper on former Golden State Warrior Ian Clark, and what brought him to the New Orleans Pelicans.  Clark's closest suitor might have been the Los Angeles Lakers' two weeks ago according to the Los Angeles Times before Demarcus Cousins convinced him to join the Birds.   We ask Christian Rivas a bevy of questions, including his first hand experiences watching Ian Clark play, as well as...

The New Orleans Pelicans are finally getting some national attention!  Although most of it isn't very good.  Oleh, Kevin and I break down some of the comments of the better known sports writers, as well as have a little bit of fun with some of Demarcus Cousins' latest tweets. Then we discuss our favorite 8/9 man rotations as well as get Kevin and Oleh's takes on comments made this week by Anthony...

The New Orleans Pelicans suddenly find themselves deeper than expected at the guard position, while filled with question marks at the front court.  Can Darius Miller and Quincy Pondexter provide reliable minutes at the three?  Who will spell Anthony Davis and Boogie at the four and five?  Cheick Diallo?  Alexis Ajinca?  SOLOMON HILL!?   Join fellow Bird Writes blogger Travis Tate as we dive into a...

Last night New Orleans Pelicans' Twitter rejoiced with news of former Golden State Warrior Ian Clark's acquisition at the veteran minimum, broke back by Shams Charania of The Vertical.   We welcome on Mason Ginsberg of Bourbon Street Shots to discuss Ian Clark, his role on the teams, small ball lineups, the future of Dante Cunningham, Frank Jackson, the Pelicans current position against the Hard C...

Things are slowing down in the New Orleans Pelicans' offseason, but all is not dead on the news front!   The Pelicans have been rumored to sign Summer League Standout Jalen Jones to a unguaranteed contract.  We discuss his overall game, ceiling and his dark horse roster possibilities.   Then we discuss the two major holes in the Pelicans roster (shooters and big man depth), Sam Mitchell's disappea...

In a bit of surprising move, the New Orleans Pelicans waived Summer League star Quinn Cook along with D League standout Axel Toupane today in a move to avoid the hard cap.   We also discuss Head Coach Alvin Gentry's recent comments on 'Dunc and Holder' and discuss the fit of personalities like Rondo, Holiday, and Boogie in what could be the Pelicans' most important season.   See Privacy Policy at...

Pelicans Summer League Coach Jamelle McMillan walked away from Summer League to rave reviews and we crave every detail on daily interactions with players, their growth and development. We continue with questions about his responsibility as Player Development Coach, which players he spends the greatest amount of time with, and what they will work on primarily as we approach the upcoming season.   F...

The New Orleans Pelicans shocked and maybe even disappointed their fanbase with the addition of Rajon Rondo.  After signing the former four time All Star and All NBA Defensive selection, Pels fans are perhaps rightfully pointing to his recent lack of effort and team disruption. Still, the Pelicans signed a pass first point guard to a team with two high scoring big men who need the ball.   Keith Sm...

The New Orleans Pelicans are bringing former Wildcat, Celtic, Sun, Maverick, King and Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo to town, and it's got all NOLA a buzz. But New Orleans also finished their Summer League campaign this past Friday.  They finished a woeful 1-5 in their time, but walked away winners with studs Quinn Cook and Cheick Diallo enjoying breakout performances. However, it wasn't all guts a...

Western Conference Preview! After a dominating postseason performance by the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, I half expected the rest of the NBA to pack it in this 2017/18 season. It looks like the Eastern Conference did. But not the West!  They're bigger and badder than ever! Join Mathew Huff, Site Editor and Expert of Nugglove.com as we break down the five teams most likely to imp...

Last week I interviewed Zion Olojede of DukeReport.com on the potential of Duke Blue Devil freshman guard, Frank Jackson.   We discussed Jackson's best NBA comparison, injury concerns and overall game.   The New Orleans Pelicans selected Duke's Frank Jackson with the 31st pick in the NBA Draft and according to Summer League Head Coach, Jamelle McMillan, we may seem him 100% ready by training camp!...

Zach Lowe and Woj reported today about a possible imminent one year deal between the New Orleans Pelicans, and another former Kentucky Wildcat, Rajon Rondo. Alvin Gentry and Dell Demps took the team's private plane (baller!) to visit Rondo in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and according to Will Guillory of the Times Picayune, the meeting was "excellent." We discuss this as well as the poten...

Mike Sciotto of BBall Insiders reported that the New Orleans Pelicans are in close discussions with the Detroit Pistons on a trade involving Reggie Jackson and Pels' E'Twaun Moore and Alexis Ajinca.   Then the former Pelican Debrief pals catch up on all the latest Vegas Summer League stylings.  Charles is not only Hoops Habit's beat writer, he also happens to be a Las Vegas Resident!   Find this p...

Competitive basketball is back with the Las Vegas Summer Leagues, and the Pelicans two buddy stars have not disappointed.  The New Orleans Pelicans have fallen by a combined five points in two contests despite spectacular showings from Cheick Diallo and Quinn Cook.  Head Coach Jamelle McMIllan has dubbed Summer League,"All About Them."   Then join Bird Writes' Editor in Chief Oleh Kosel as we brea...

On our sixth episode of Bird Call we welcome Bird Writes Staff members Kevin Barrios and Jamile Dunn to discuss Jrue Holiday's press conference, as well as reports from Scott Kushner of the Advocate and Jake Madison of Bourbon Street Shots.   We are but one week into NBA Free Agency, and things just keep getting crazier!  Just when we thought things were slowing down the Knicks, Heat, and Nets agr...

The fNBA ree agent landscape may be vastly different than in the green summer of 2016, but it hasn't been short on headlines.   Sit in with Bleacher Report NBA's, NBA Math's, The Step Back's and Hardwood Knocks' Dan Favale as we discuss the most popular stories including the New Orleans Pelicans, Chris Paul, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Gordon Hayward and the rest of the Western Conference.   And fi...

Las Vegas Summer League begins today!  With that in mind we get an in depth preview with the recap of another less heralded summer league, the Mountain Dew League, more commonly referred to as Orlando Summer League.   Join myself and Philip Rossman Reich of Locked on Magic and OrlandoMagicDaily.com as we take a backstage tour of the most exclusive summer league, and get a glimpse of what to expect...

We are one week into the 2017 NBA Free Agency, and it already looks vastly different from last year.  After a major surplus of space we have seen shorter term contracts, and substantially lower average salaries.   In addition, the Pelicans made news with their max contract given to Jrue Holiday who joined only Steph Curry and Blake Griffin as five year contract winners this offseason.  The three w...

The New Orleans Pelicans locked up Jrue Holiday to a five year, $126 million dollar deal, with incentives reaching as high as $150, AND a player option! (facepalm) Plus, the Pels are rumored to be interested in Ty Lawson, Nick Young, and Rajon Rondo.   We break down their fit in New Orleans, as well as explore what's left of the free agent market, break down contracts given to other stars, and exp...

Welcome to the Bird Writes Pod!   Free Agency is just nine hours away and we already have so much to talk about!  With shocking star swaps already having taken place in CP3, Jimmy Butler and Brook Lopez, it's time to talk about the Pelicans' own free agent primary target, Jrue Holiday. In addition we break down scenarios involving Holiday's extension, and a possible plan B should Holiday dismiss a...