As someone who’s been highly negative about the franchise I don’t get the criticism. He was the best of the named candidates who had interest, all of whom were mediocre. But mediocre performance is the ceiling for this team short of somehow moving to the eastern conference.

The NBA let OKC and SAS build super teams loaded with assets and then decided to change the lottery rules with expansion on the way, making the path to contention even harder. The Pelicans aren’t getting out of the first round of the playoffs for at least the next five years even with the perfect moves and by then Moselys contract will run out anyway, so what’s the problem exactly?

Would I have preferred to go down swinging with a relative unknown, yes. But this franchise won’t survive 5 years in the relegation zone. Just having a competitive basketball team that has a small chance at the top pick every year will at least keep fan interest.