What’s the future of a new arena for the New Orleans Pelicans? | Was trading Jrue Holiday a mistake?

What’s the future of a new arena for the New Orleans Pelicans? | Was trading Jrue Holiday a mistake?

what’s the future of the Smoothie King Center was it a mistake for the Pelicans to trade away Drew holiday and the Pelicans preseason schedule has been released and there’s two big things missing it’s the Friday episode of Locked on Pelicans let’s go you are locked on Pelicans your daily New Orleans Pelicans podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day welcome to another edition of locked on Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans and the NBA part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube I’m your host Pelicans Insider credential member of the media Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter here with you all on this Friday we’re doing a mailbag episode I put out a call for questions on X Twitter whatever it is and y’all delivered there were some really good ones and we’re going to focus on two of them here the Smoothie King Center and then Drew holiday before getting into some’s a little weird a little weird in it may be a good way with the Pelicans pre-season schedule and both of these questions lead to bigger discussions which is why I picked them in the first place here so this is going to be a fun episode of Locked on Pelicans today’s episode of lock on Pelicans is brought to you by priz pi the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to prize.com loock on NBA use code all lowercase locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 and of course thank you for making locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we are the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team subscribe wherever you get your podcast join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well so let’s get into this one this one comes from at Nola headline what is the future of the Smoothie King Center Renovations or new Arena kind of a prediction just want to hear what you think so there was that whole Kur fluffle whatever you want to call it with the pelic with the Saints and you know the state basically on the Superdome and payments but not not having the money for the payments just not making the payments we don’t need to get into all of that because one of the things that that came out of it was well it’ll delay some stuff with the Smoothie King Center and it will and it won’t you know the payments got made this hasn’t really kind of delayed anything and ultimately what that would have delayed was a Fe ability study on the arena or like a study on the arena essentially of like what needs to be changed they’re going to get in there they’re going to look at things compared to other Arenas they’re not going to start even doing that work till everything is done with the super doome renovation so no matter what like if you want the one takeaway from this segment is don’t expect anything soon when it really like significantly when it comes to the Smoothie King Center in the next couple of years that’s where they’re going to be playing it’s really as simple as that you know if you’re looking for my predictions and what’s going to change here I don’t expect a new Arena would get built I just don’t see where the money is going to come from something like that for something like that and the money’s got to come from somewhere and this is how we going to talk about Gail Benson in a second and kind of ownership in general with the team you know either the state’s going to pay for the money the city’s going to front some money or ownership is going to pay for the money you know you can be rich and have a ton of money but you might not have the you know probably half a billion to a billion dollars it would take to build a new Arena let alone finding space for that sort of thing and while yes there’s a dream it’s put it down by the river and build a little bit more of a district around it more restaurants that are literally next door while the Smoothie King Center is close to a number of things it’s not like they’re next door and you still got to do like a 10-minute walk to the arena and when you look at things like LA Live or is it Dallas live to I think is one of them Texas live whatever it’s called there things just kind of like right there to hang out at and then go into the arena of the game so while the Smoothie King Center is not far it’s still a little bit of a walk and I don’t think that’s ideal if you were to put it closer to the convention center a little bit closer to more hotels you have people that would be in town for whatever and then just go next door to go to a game because it’s right there and a new arena is a draw that’s why you want something like that you want people to go into your building that equals more Revenue more money that you can then hopefully spend on the team pay the luxury tax those sorts of things but I don’t think that’s going to happen what I think ultimately you’ll get some sort of study that says we got to renovate the Smoothie King Center and then they renovate the Smoothie King Center and probably do it over stages like the Superdome is being done but probably not anything that’s going to put it on like The Cutting Edge of Arena stadiums around the country around the world right you’re not going to get a Chase Center like where the the Golden State Warriors play personally to me I don’t need some of those fancy features I think some of them are very cool being it SOI and seeing that kind of like video thing that goes around was really cool it was just nice there were areas to kind of hang out in which is great I want a seat to go watch the game more than anything else that’s my number one thing give me cheap beer cheap concessions and a place to watch the game and make the seat somewhat comfortable and I’ll be happy they need to redo a lot of the seating in the Smoothie King Center they probably need to change the coloring and stuff like that I think you’ll see a lot of that I think those are the type of things that are going to get done I think you’ll get eventually a new fancy video board that you could put in there and install and all of those things but there are limitations to that building and I think that’s going to be evident whenever it you know in 5 10 years gets renovated sort of thing you will see some like upgrades and things like that over the coming years believe they’re going to get a new sound system in there which has not been great in the building for a while and I believe that’s coming next year and that’s going to be new that’s something I’ve said before on the show so that’s something to expect so you’ll you’ll get those kind of things but ultimately will it be like a transformative experience like I I don’t see that being the case and I think that’s made more than anything it’s partially a money thing but also just like where you going to put that building and if you were to do that it goes beyond the half a half a billion to a billion that then is like a three four five billion project of putting in restaurants finding tenants all of those things there’s a lot of work that goes on with that when the easier thing is just going to be to renovate it maybe a comp out maybe not you know one of the things that I think people if they don’t build an arena is there’s going to be a Target put on Gail B in ownership with this team for being cheap and while I don’t think they are not cheap I don’t think they’re the way I look at ownership here is I don’t think they’re the best in the league you know certainly not and I don’t think they’re even close to the worst you know you look at this team and you know the big knock on them is they’re one of two franchises to have never paid the luxury tax so yes but let’s keep in mind the Benson family hasn’t owned them the entirety of the time and since the Benson family has owned the the Hornets Pelicans there really hasn’t been a year for them to pay the luxury tax so I’m I’m cutting them a little bit of slack here because looking back on some of the teams just go with the Anthony Davis here right like has there been a year when they were in position to pay the tax or they should have paid the tax or they cheaped out and traded someone way like not really even ducking the tax this past season I think was a smart move because there was no need to pay the tax for that team you know ultimately if that’s the decision-making I’m fine with that this is the year that I’m going to say if you don’t pay the tax I’m going to take an issue or get close to the tax and when I did my ideal Pelicans off season had them going into the tax by $5 million I think that’s a realistic number and I think this is the year we’ll Truly find out keep in mind that The Practice Facility is getting renovated big time they’re spending you probably 10 to $15 million renovating the facility currently ongoing right now that’s a great thing they’re putting in new equipment they’re redoing the way it’s shaped and laid out and all of that that’s not an insignificant expense so it’s not a new Arena but they are spending some money so if you renovate The Practice Facility if you then you know pay the luxury tax the season I do think that will do a lot to kind of quiet down some of the the claims people have about ownership and things like that but ultimately a new arena is not going to be entirely up to the Ben and it’s going to be a bigger discussion there and we laid out some of the reasons why I don’t expect to see that but hopefully we get better sound in the arena next year let me know what you think in the comments down below like do you need a retail like vending machine for Jordans and other things like that’s cool but I’m probably not actually going to use that you know there’s other you know to me that’s not something that I require give me good beer give me good food they need to upgrade that certainly make that stuff you know to me is the priority over a lot of those kind of like fancy that almost seem gimmicky things so coming up next was trading Drew holiday a couple of years ago a mistake I’m going to tell you the answer is no but there is another part to that there’s another part to that and that’s what I think is interesting about the Drew holiday discussion that’s coming up here next in today’s episode of locked on Pelicans today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by prize pick prize pick is America’s number one fantasy sports app with more than five million members that’s up from three before it’s a big increase it is the most fun and exciting way to get in on the action while you watch your favorite sports and players you just pick more or less on two or more player stats for a shot to win up to a 100 times your cash with prize picks you could turn $1 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite sports this summer you can make a prize pick lineup in as little as 60 seconds you just need to pick more or less on two to six 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contract and all that that’s a little odd to me Ross Jackson hosts a locked on Saints part of locked on podcast Network your team every day he’s breaking down everything black and gold I’m sure he’s going to have that covered as well as everything for mandatory mini camp going on right now go make lockon Saints and Ross Jackson your second listen today you probably already are to be perfectly honest all right let’s get into the next question around Drew holiday here this one comes from at pels 12 in AP in app I don’t know uh in AP what if Drew holiday had been convinced to stay and I was on ESPN radio with Gus cill who by the way spoiler it’s going to be calling games I believe broadcasting games for Pelican summer league again go Gus and he asked me that question too because we just saw in game two and I even talked about it here for the everyday or unlocked on Pelicans Drew holiday has been like masterful for the Celtics missing piece for them it feels like it’s going to be potentially his second title I mean let’s be realistic they’re up three it’s going to be a second title for him so were the Pelicans wrong to trade him was that a mistake you know going back to that deal where they shipped him out to Milwaukee and the way I answered there’s there’s two parts to this question the simple answer is no it was not wrong to trade Drew holiday did it hurt to see him go yes is he beloved here like absolutely right no one has a bad thing other than great things to say about Drew holiday but sting him out in 2019 um for the 2020 2021 season it was definitely the right move one it was the right move because he asked this is someone who put in seven years here in New Orleans that is a you know the most he’s played in any spot at his career four years in Philly Seven Years in New Orleans three seasons in Milwaukee and now this is his first season with the Boston Celtics that is someone who like because we like him so much you just want to do right by the guy there there’s winning games and all of that yes but somehow I’m going sound like David Griffin the the people element of things the human element of things like does matter a little bit there’s times when you want to deny a trade request like absolutely like if Zion were to come out today and be like I want to be traded I’d be like no too bad you’re under contract simple as that holiday when this team just wasn’t there yet I really don’t have have a problem with doing that just doing right by someone who we all kind of love I I think is a right thing you know even if that doesn’t matter in terms of signing free agencies or you know you can make the argument like oh it’ll look good to free agents it’ll look good to agent I don’t care about that I just want to do right by Drew holiday simple as that simple as that I don’t care about any of the other ancillary benefits there’s just some people that you treat that way do things for Drew holiday to me is one of those people so I don’t have a problem with trading him what I have a problem and is with and what the mistake was was how they used some of those assets later getting all those picks from the Milwaukee Bucks the pick swamps one of which conveyed this year those assets have not been used particularly great so there’s a these trades were a little bit more complex than this but the way you can look at it in that Drew Holiday trade you know one of the picks was essentially used to trade for Steven Adams that didn’t work out that lasted a year so that’s a pick kind of gone wasted you know the next year they flipped Steven Adams for yonas valent chunis they used future picks involved in that deal too to basically bring in yonas valent chunis they’re spending assets on the center position which given Zion that makes sense it’s not a center you need one but none of them were really courts spacers stretch bigs and so that’s where I have the issue with the way the assets were used we talked about this in yesterday’s show when I said hey like maybe go after Paul George and then if it doesn’t work out just blow the team up rent your cap space rent your cap space you’re not using that cap space to sign free agents because they’re not no point in that right what you do is you take on bad contracts and you acquire other future first round picks I get they wanted to be competitive around Zion Williamson right away but that should have been the move keep stockpiling assets and that was maybe the way they needed to go and they didn’t and that’s the part I think that was so disappointing trying to be a little bit too competitive too early and I want to watch winning basketball when people were asking me this year should they tank should they lose the playing game try and get a lottery pick no like try and win games it’s more fun fully more fun but there are certain ways you can approach a rebuild and the Pelicans with their assets from the Anthony Davis trade and Drew Holiday trade you know I’ve cashed some of those in getting in CJ McCullum good move you know looking to maybe shake that up a little bit too and you need to start cashing in those assets or using them because they start to in a sense depreciate and I think that’s one of the ways you kind of view that deal right now those buck picks were kicked as far out as possible right so that if Giannis were to leave those picks look better when it became kind of apparent that he wasn’t going to leave maybe then you need to just immediately trade those picks because then the Bucks went and got Damen Lillard and that didn’t work out this year but that makes the team look better so if a team is like working on a deal with the Pelicans and it’s like oh well we’ll include one of the Bucks picks no they have Giannis and Dame at least trade that pick before they had Dame right they they’ve waited a little bit too long on some of these draft picks and that’s to me the bigger issue the the mistake the issue was not trading Drew holiday it’s what you did with the assets after that well I think David Griffin has done an okay enough job here in New Orleans and he has right there were some misses early on but definitely kind of fixed some things with Trey Murphy herb Jones the CJ deal was good at the time and other things you know there have also been some like opportunity cost mistakes I think of not acting or not using those picks when they were more valuable and now those assets have depreciated the values gone down and now you can’t use them for as much as you’d like to use them for and that’s the mistake not doing right by Drew holiday not trading him to a contender like I’m rooting for the Celtics one because on Wednesdays I co-host our locked on NBA show our national show with John carrales who’s the locked on Celtics host he comes down to New Orleans like once twice a year to hang out with me so rooting for the Celtics because of that but also because holidays on that team I want to see him get a second ring I I’m rooting for him that’s a guy I will never not root for and if he does get a second ring with all the defensive accolades he gets he’s probably like a I don’t know if he’s going to make the Hall of Fame but he’s like like a borderline Hall of Famer at that point in time and that’s pretty cool and I want to see that so the mistake was not trading Drew holiday away do right by that guy there’s no you know he’s still involved in his communities wherever he is like he it wasn’t just he he was out and he played hard and tried all the time despite all the up and downs here in New Orleans right the Anthony Davis trade request all that other stuff it was that you know he was very involved in the community donating money going out and doing things trying to elevate everyone around him that’s why you want to just do right by that guy you know just like a good just a good person man so no it wasn’t a mistake to trade him away it was his time here was definitely done I think and I’m going to be rooting for him the mistake was how they managed other things that’s Stephen Adams year right like there’s just that wasn’t it that wasn’t it kind of as simple as that and so it’s that’s what I think you need to kind of factor and consider when it comes to looking at that Drew Holiday trade right Eric bledo and playing him all those games that’s probably my like least favorite Pelican player of all time is Eric bledo probably without a doubt Marco bellelli is up there I’m blocked by Marco bellelli on on Twitter for could not even tell you why but apparently like a lot of people are it’s a thing okay coming up next pre-season schedule games don’t matter it’s the things that are missing from the preseason schedule from the preseason press release let’s look at that because that’s what I find the most most interesting that’s coming up here next I’ll tell you what those are in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans is brought to you by LinkedIn jobs when you’re 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please join over 10,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well now for your second listen locked on sports today streaming 24/7 on YouTube with the free Amazon Fire TV channels app puddle lockdown podcast Network your team every day go where they talk sports not where they don’t talk sports or just yell all day long it’s curated they’re going to put the best shows on there for you to watch streaming 24/7 completely free on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app so the preseason schedule for the Pelicans has been announced and there’s something missing so the games October 7th in New Orleans it’s a Monday at 12:30 noon you have a noon tip off at for the only home preseason game versus the Orlando Magic the Saints play on Monday Night Football uh that night so that’s why it’s early okay whatever they always have basically one preseason game that’s it in the Smoothie King Center cool whatever then on Friday October 11th at Orlando then Sunday October 13th at the Miami Heat and then Tuesday October 15th at the Houston Rockets the full schedule usually gets released around mid August so they should from that October 15th date they’ll probably have like six days seven eight days somewhere in there before the opening night game so a little bit of rest there which I think will at least be good for them what I find interesting on this is we have the times for the game we know where they’re going to be played but and it says this in the release to me the press release broadcast information for all the Pelicans preseason games will be announced at a later date okay they just signed the deal with WWL Radio you know you maybe don’t carry preseason games if there’s other you know content shows programming they want to put on there like I get that what about TV now you get it right what about TV they don’t mention balet Sports they don’t mention anything else like that the Pelicans have stream them on pelicans.com before I think some of this stuff is unsettled you know the likely be streamed on pelicans.com would be my assumption those aren’t always the best experiences on there but they’re trying to get you the game anyway they can for you to at least watch and for someone who is going to watch it and then talk about it on a show that’s a very useful thing I don’t necessarily think this means that balet Sports is out of the picture my guess my understanding is it’ll probably have to deal with ball another year things may change in the meantime but that’s my assumption with the way that that kind of bankruptcy process is playing out and Amazon getting involved with that as well but it’s likely going to be B I don’t want you to hold me to that 100% but I do think it’s a little noteworthy that they don’t mention it here and that this will get sorted out somewhat later the other thing that I find interesting intriguing in this is there’s no game in Birmingham they did that last year where the g-league affiliate Squadron is based out of you know maybe that has to do with you know some of the stuff that came out after that right Christian Clark wrote an article on nola.com that you know had Anonymous players saying like this is nicer than the Smoothie King Center you know this is nicer than our locker rooms the locker rooms matter to players not like the be all end all of a free agency decision but and where they want to play but that stuff matters maybe it just avoids that sort of thing but you know that I think has kind of blown over and wouldn’t really be impactful so not having a game in Birmingham I think is a little strange you know I don’t know the exact reasoning I couldn’t tell you but it’s just a noteworthy mission for that sort of thing so you’d like to have seen that here for this team but a little weird right like you want to kind of expand the reach if that’s where your g-league team is based out of and you know you want to kind of get them on board you’d like to get the go south region Alabama all of that kind of on board with watching Pelicans games being involved with all that being this that like the Pelicans being their team you know that is how you do it play there they’re not couldn’t tell you you want you know they’ve played G preseason games in sheveport in the past they played them in Birmingham um I can’t remember if they played in Lafayette or not they might have or they have been talks about it too so those are the type of things that I do think matter go do a little bit of a road show with it would be kind of cool but for whatever reason you’re not going to see that this year but it also means we kind of have a date for everything right we know the schedule’s going to come out mid August media day is usually on the like October 1st is what I’m expecting it will be you know you get a week of training camp and then you play your P first preseason game maybe it’ll be a little bit earlier but we’ll see means we’ve got dates for when we will see pelicans basketball like the team not summer league but the team that’s going to be a lot of fun I’m looking forward to it you know we’ll cover all those preseason games here on the lockon Pelicans podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I I took a note for a show there were a couple people that had questions and this will probably be Monday’s episode Monday or Tuesday that were about brain iner when I put out the call for questions and I liked I like that because you know that’s something we’re obviously talking a lot about what I think is going to be really interesting about that is my note to myself on what the show will be is we’re not going to guess brain and Ingram trade and I’ll tell you why when we talk about that in a future show Monday or Tuesday why we won’t be able to guess the brain and Ingram trait that’s going to be next week on locked on Pelicans so that’s going to do it for this week of locked on Pelicans I appreciate yall so much for listening as always I’m your host Jake Madison Nola Jake on Twitter and I’ll be back with y’all next week

It’s a mailbag edition of Locked On Pelicans. Jake Madison gives you his best guess about the future of the Smoothie King Center or even a new arena for the New Orleans Pelicans. Plus, was it a mistake to trade away Jrue Holiday? And the Pels released their preseason schedule and two big things are missing.

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