Conspiracy Corner: Are the Pelicans being deliberately sabotaged for a franchise relocation?

[DusterBuster]

The Pelicans are truly hands-down one of the most inept run franchises in the league - and that's saying something like the Sacramento Kings exist.

Every move they've made has been absolutely baffling the last few years, and that seemed to jump into overdrive this past summer. The only explanation would seemingly be checked out owners and absolutely braindead management without jumping into conspiracy territory to make sense of their moves.... which is what I plan to do in this thread....

The Pelicans have always struggled with attendance in New Orleans, it's not proven to be a great NBA market. They've also got arguably one of the most incompetent marketing teams of any franchise in the league, barely trying with fan outreach or professionalism with email campaigns.

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Then, combine that with trades that absolutely will crater any chance of being good or excited for a new high-level prospect that can garner renewed fan interest/support over the next couple years, and you have the ideal situation for a team that can move with little to no local fan outrage or national blowback. Fans checked out because there's no top-tier talent coming back anytime soon by pissing away their unprotected 26 and the 27 draft being weak, the shine on Zion is officially off, he's not a winning dependable player - even if he can provide some highlights and the organization is barely even trying to promote the team locally.

With fans and national media checked out, what better scenario to move a team to Seattle?

[EmpireFalls]

As the saying goes “how you got them is how you’ll lose them”. This is just karma for George Shinn’s crimes 25 years ago, wrenching away the Hornets from Charlotte and cowardly moving them to New Orleans, the disgusting POS. New Orleans didn’t get their franchise honorably or deservedly in the first place, they have squandered all the lottery luck they’ve been handed, and they will lose it the exact same way. Chickens (or in this case, Pelicans) always come home to roost

[jasonxxx102]

At this point I think they need a move to revitalize the franchise.

They have no hope for the near or far future with the players they have. Your best player is never healthy and doesn't care about basketball. Your role players have good individual skill sets but don't gel together and your coach has lost the team.

[DusterBuster]

At this point I think they need a move to revitalize the franchise.

They have no hope for the near or far future with the players they have. Your best player is never healthy and doesn't care about basketball. Your role players have good individual skill sets but don't gel together and your coach has lost the team.

Any move is likely going to result in the dissolution of the "Pelicans" franchise altogether as an entity. Certainly Seattle won't keep that name, they'll rename them the Sonics and - if the move includes new owners - would easily clean house likely from top to bottom.

Vegas would also likely want their own named team. While they would have less incentive to change in, the Las Vegas Pelicans makes zero sense (but if it's the same ownership group from NO and they're just trying to move the team for a few extra $$$, they might keep the name since they don't really care).

[PlatinumState]

If they moved I dont think many people would be sad. Its a football state after all
Plus that arena is 26 years old

[DusterBuster]

If they moved I dont think many people would be sad. Its a football state after all
Plus that arena is 26 years old

This is why I'm putting on my tinfoil hat. Their moves over the last year or two really only make sense on the angle of prepping the team for a move. Kill local fan support with nothing to be excited about in the short or long term, barely do any outreach for the community so people just don't care. When a move is announced, instead of outrage you just a collected... meh.

[Mk0]

Nah it is just incompetent ownership and that goes for the Saints as well.

[MrGoat]

To put on the tin foil hat that might be why they delayed the potential expansion. Maybe they'll move the Pelicans there and expand two teams in Vegas and Mexico City or something like that

[Chuck Everett]

Well, is it a conspiracy when Dumars comes straight from the league office to the top job in the organization? New Orleans fans were rightfully pissed about that. Not a good past 12 months for Adam Silver.

The Pelicans lease expires in 2029 as well.

[Chuck Everett]

To put on the tin foil hat that might be why they delayed the potential expansion. Maybe they'll move the Pelicans there and expand two teams in Vegas and Mexico City or something like that

There are some who believe expansion won't happen and New Orleans will be relocated to either Seattle or Vegas (probably Seattle) and Memphis will be relocated to Nashville.

I don't know how much I believe that, but in the case of both franchises, neither owner really invests in the team beyond the barest of minimums.

[MrGoat]

To put on the tin foil hat that might be why they delayed the potential expansion. Maybe they'll move the Pelicans there and expand two teams in Vegas and Mexico City or something like that

There are some who believe expansion won't happen and New Orleans will be relocated to either Seattle or Vegas (probably Seattle) and Memphis will be relocated to Nashville.

I don't know how much I believe that, but in the case of both franchises, neither owner really invests in the team beyond the barest of minimums.

Memphis to Nashville would at least be within the same state

[threethehardway]

I keep telling you guys that for most American sports team owners, they see owning a team as a way to launder their money. They aren't trying to win, they are hoping to hold on to the team as long as possible so they can cash out.

Pelicans aren't unusually bad, most American sports teams are ran horribly.

[LofJ]

It seems like expansion talks have cooled off. I could easily see Pelicans ownership selling to a group that intends to move the team to Seattle. Too rich of a state/market to not have a team there.

[scrabbarista]

Didn't read the OP (or the thread, yet), but based on the thread title, I said exactly that in the Draft thread as soon as the trade happened: Dumars inside job to move the team.

Was it a joke? Was I serious?

To borrow a Simpsons joke, I don't even know anymore.

[MrGoat]

I keep telling you guys that for most American sports team owners, they see owning a team as a way to launder their money. They aren't trying to win, they are hoping to hold on to the team as long as possible so they can cash out.

Pelicans aren't unusually bad, most American sports teams are ran horribly.

It's a technical point but it's more about tax dodging than money laundering. Sports team ownership, especially in the first 15 years of owning the team, is the greatest tax dodge out there. That's why team valuations have skyrocketed in recent decades. You could call that money laundering in a way but it's more technically legal because our lawmakers suck

[Enso]

Watch on YouTube

Would be a good slogan

[HMFFL]

It seems like expansion talks have cooled off. I could easily see Pelicans ownership selling to a group that intends to move the team to Seattle. Too rich of a state/market to not have a team there.

Pelicans owner is Gayle Benson and she has said many times that she doesn't intend to sell her team. Ownership in both the Pelicans and Saints does give her a large amount of power in New Orleans.

[SerialChiller]

I think they just finally went broke from trying to feed Zion Williamson.

[DavidSterned]

Frankly they should have moved after 2005, but the NBA wanted to save face and be PC instead of doing the logical thing and keeping the Hornets in OKC.

Of course the league responded instead by royally screwing Seattle and then even going so far as to take literal ownership of the New Orleans team for several years and thereby create a huge conflict of interest.

It's kind of ironic that the league may have ultimately harmed their credibility a lot more with all that than if they had just let the team leave after Katrina and cut their losses in that market.

[iggymcfrack]

Hasn’t the team on the floor killed interest enough? Did they really need to give away their pick too?