danny ferry

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Behind-the-scenes: Pelicans 2018-19 team photo

Phoenix – The New Orleans Pelicans are not for sale.

The New Orleans Pelicans will not be for sale, as long as Gayle Benson owns the team. Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints, delivered yet another strong statement regarding her commitment to her NBA team on Tuesday, from the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix.

“There is no way that I’m going to sell that team ever,” Benson told a group of assembled writers, the majority of them from New Orleans. “I value the Pelicans as much as I do the Saints. I don’t look at myself as an owner of a team or the teams. I feel like it’s an asset I’m protecting for the city.”

At present, the Pelicans (31-44) are seven games away from completing the regular season, one year after advancing to the playoffs, sweeping Portland in the first round and taking a game off Golden State, the eventual NBA champions, in the second round. The franchise also is in search of a new general manager. Dell Demps, who served as general manager from 2010 until this season, was fired in February. The goal, said Pelicans President Dennis Lauscha, is to lift the Pelicans to the same level of consistency as the Saints. Lauscha also serves as Saints president.

“The first thing we have to do is, we have to take a look in the mirror and see where we are as an organization on the basketball side,” he said. “We’ve begun that process. And we’re going through a process really now of reflecting on where we are and where we need to be. And where we need to be is, a champion. There’s no question about it.

“Where we need to be is having on-court performance that is second to none. I truly believe in my heart that this franchise and this team will be supported by the fans in New Orleans when we put a winning team on the court. Having said that, it’s our responsibility to do that. “On the football side, there’s a paranoia, if you will, year in and year out, to be No. 1. The whole organization feels it. I don’t care what it is. We were a little bit new to basketball, but we have to make sure we have that paranoia on basketball as well. I think we’re going through the process of how we can shift some paranoia over to basketball as well.

“Back in 2006 (after Hurricane Katrina), we were an organization on the football side where it was tough to recruit people to come here. I’ll tell you today, just about everybody in the NFL says they want to come to New Orleans to play for us. Everybody wants to live in New Orleans. We have to build that same organization on the basketball side, and we’re going through the process of trying to figure out how we’re going to do that.”

Lauscha said that hiring the right general manager is paramount.

“Our new general manager is going to have to be someone that really believes in what we believe in,” he said. “It’s going to be someone that really believes how important winning is to the city. I think it has to be someone that can really believe in the city of New Orleans and the passionate fans that are here. “I don’t accept – and know Mrs. Benson doesn’t accept, and I know Mickey (Loomis) and no one else in our organization accepts – that being a small market will prevent us from winning a championship, or prevent us from doing anything.

“We have a great relationship with the NBA. I talk to (NBA Commissioner) Adam Silver very often and we talk about some of the issues that we have in a small market. We talk to some of the concerns we have. He’s been an open ear, he’s been great. He’s been on our side, too, in trying to make our organization better. I don’t want any excuses why we can’t be great on the basketball side, and that’s what we’re aiming to do.

“If we’re going to be in this thing, we want to win it. If we’re going to be involved in basketball, I want to win it. That’s the way I am, that’s my personality, that’s everybody in our organization’s personality. We want to win. That’s the bottom line. If we can do it in football, I think we can do it in basketball as well.”

Benson sees the same as well. She credited Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry and interim general manager Danny Ferry for their roles in keeping the team together. A consulting firm is helping Benson compile a list of candidates for the vacant GM position, and Lauscha said some names could emerge publicly in the next couple of weeks.

“Alvin has done an incredible job with his work there, and so has Danny,” Benson said. “We feel very strongly about making the Pelicans just as successful as the Saints, and that’s what we’re working on.”

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New Orleans Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson: "There is no way that I'm going to sell that team ever"

MARRERO – As a bus carrying New Orleans players headed across the Huey P. Long Bridge to the Westbank on Friday morning, the surroundings were exceptionally familiar to Elfrid Payton, but even the local expert didn’t know the vehicle’s destination. It wasn’t until Payton saw a sign with the words “PATRIOT STREET” that he realized where he’d be practicing with his Pelicans teammates: Inside the gym of his alma mater, John Ehret High School.

The brainchild of interim GM Danny Ferry and fourth-year head coach Alvin Gentry, the Pelicans broke up the monotony of a long 82-game season with a surprise practice location, one very well-known to their triple-double-generating point guard. Payton played three seasons of high school hoops for the Patriots, prior to starring in-state in college in Lafayette. En route to John Ehret, Gentry simply told his players that they were going “on a field trip,” without divulging any details.

“I was surprised,” Payton said. “When I was on the bus, I was wondering where we were going. Nobody said anything (as a hint). The guys on the bus were like, ‘Where are we now?’ I said, ‘Well, we’re on the Westbank, and now we’re passing the Alario Center. But I had no clue we were coming here.”

“These are almost like dog days of the season when it comes to practice and things like that,” Gentry explained of the reasoning. “We wanted to do something different. As a matter of fact, (Ferry) had done it in Atlanta with one of his players, Lou Williams. They went back to his high school. We thought it would be great to do, especially the way Elfrid has played the last couple weeks (with five straight triple-doubles). When you talk about something only Oscar Robertson and (Russell) Westbrook has done, you’re in a pretty good class right there. The fact that he played here, we thought it was important to come here.”

Over 100 John Ehret students attended the practice; afterward Gentry announced that as a reward for their achievements in school, Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson wanted to give each child two free tickets to the April 3 home game vs. Charlotte. The announcement drew delighted expressions and smiles.

“It’s a reward for the students,” Gentry noted. “They’ve done a great job with community relations, in their grades and also with attendance.”

For Payton, the reward was getting a unique chance to return to his high school gym and see many of the people who helped shape the 25-year-old’s development.

“It helped me become who I am today,” the fifth-year NBA veteran said. “To have practice here and bring my teammates and have a good time here, it meant a lot.”

Following the team’s practice, Payton spent time meeting John Ehret students, signing numerous autographs, while also catching up with former coaches and teachers.

“The respect that Elfrid has here is unbelievable,” Gentry said. “When you talk to the teachers and administrators about what they think of him, and what he represents, that’s really important.”

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Pelicans surprise Elfrid Payton, teammates with practice at Payton’s local high school

A look at three key numbers related to Friday’s game at the Smoothie King Center between Portland and New Orleans (7 p.m. Central, Fox Sports New Orleans, WRNO 99.5 FM):

5: Charges drawn by Kenrich Williams, who leads New Orleans this season, even though he’s just 11th on the roster in total minutes played (724). Drawing charges is often viewed as a very unglamorous aspect of basketball, but it demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice one’s body for the betterment of the team, while sometimes helping to put an opposing player in foul trouble and slowing down their attacks of the basket, with them realizing they can’t just barrel recklessly to the rim. It’s also an area where the Pelicans could stand to improve next season as a team; they currently rank No. 27 in the category, averaging just 0.29 per game, via NBA.com (only Philadelphia, Portland and Sacramento draw fewer). By comparison, New Orleans ranked 13th in charges drawn in ’17-18, at 0.61 per game. As Pelicans interim GM Danny Ferry said of Williams during his Wednesday appearance on the Black and Blue Report: “Kenrich has a great basketball IQ. He plays with a great passion and intensity. (The Pelicans are) a smarter team when he’s on the court, even as a rookie. He just has a knack for playing the right way and doing smart things out there.”

16.3, 15.9: Rebounds per 36 minutes for Cheick Diallo and points per 36 minutes for Frank Jackson since the All-Star break, respectively. Diallo’s rebounding rate is No. 1 on the Pelicans during that timeframe, as the third-year pro continues to pack a ton of production into a modest allotment of playing time. Diallo also ranks fourth in points per 36 minutes since the break, at 20.5. Meanwhile, Jackson is averaging 19.0 points over the past three games, tallying 20 vs. Toronto, 23 at Atlanta and 14 against Milwaukee. The rookie from Duke has seen a dip in his three-point accuracy over the past week, going just 4/21 from beyond the arc in the last three games, but he’s gaining invaluable experience. Jackson has logged 20-plus minutes in nine of the club’s 11 games since Feb. 21, after doing so just 12 times over New Orleans’ initial 59 contests. Ferry on the Pelicans’ young players showing effort and taking advantage of greater opportunities to contribute recently: “That’s their DNA, a little bit. That’s why we brought them in as an organization. Their DNA was to play hard. They certainly have shown that, and it’s exciting.”

5: Consecutive Western Conference playoff appearances for Portland, a number that should officially increase to six straight soon (the Trail Blazers are currently 41-26 and in fourth place, eight games ahead of No. 9 Sacramento, giving Portland a postseason magic number of 8). Multi-time All-Star guard Damian Lillard has helped lead the Blazers to a berth in the rugged West every season of his career other than his rookie campaign, when Portland finished 33-49. Since then, the Northwest Division team has averaged 47.8 wins over the previous five seasons, a number that likely will increase after 2018-19 is added to the calculation. The current Blazers rank fifth in the NBA in offense at 112.9 points per 100 possessions, three spots ahead of the Pelicans in that category (111.3). Defensively, Portland enters this weekend ranked No. 15, deadlocked with Golden State at 109.4 points allowed per 100 possessions.

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Behind the Numbers presented by HUB International: Trail Blazers at Pelicans (3/15/19)

Today's Black and Blue Report presented by SeatGeek is hosted by Sean Kelley as he sits down with Pelicans interim General Manager, Danny Ferry.

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Danny Ferry on the Black and Blue Report presented by SeatGeek: March 13, 2019

Pelicans Pregame Interview: Interim GM Danny Ferry

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NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Pelicans announced that after discussions with Dell Demps this morning, the team and Demps have decided to mutually part ways.

“We will immediately begin the process of restructuring our basketball operations department,” stated Pelicans Owner Gayle Benson. “This will include a comprehensive, but confidential, search aided by outside consultants to identify a new leader of our basketball operations, directly reporting to me.”

Danny Ferry will assume the team’s interim general manager duties. Ferry most recently served as the Pelicans’ Special Adviser for the last three seasons and has over 25 years of NBA experience as both a player and front office executive. His previous front office experience includes President of Basketball Operations and General Manager for the Atlanta Hawks (2012-15), Vice President of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs organization (2010-12), and General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10).

Benson added, “I would like to extend my appreciation to Dell for his tireless work and commitment to our team over the last eight-plus years. Dell, his wife Anita, and his family have been a credit to our city and I wish them nothing but the greatest success going forward.  As difficult as these decisions are, my responsibility is to provide the leadership and resources necessary to deliver a winning team to our fans and community. I take that responsibility seriously and would like to assure our fans that I am prepared to provide any, and all, resources required to compete for championships. My expectations, and the expectations of our fans, are that this team will compete at a high level for the remainder of the season. While we still have many more critical decisions to make when this season comes to an end, I am focused on making sure we are properly positioned to succeed and that we are headed in the right direction. Finally, I would like to recognize and thank our fans for their support through all of this. I am excited about our future and the opportunities ahead.”

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New Orleans Pelicans part ways with Dell Demps

As he spoke to New Orleans radio broadcaster Sean Kelley on draft night, new Pelicans Special Advisor Danny Ferry adeptly summed up an entire league’s trepidation about 2016 free agency, which begins Friday at 12:01 a.m. Eastern (actually Thursday at 11:01 p.m. here in the Central time zone).

“The whole NBA (free agency) scares me right now,” Ferry said. “Not just here, but everywhere. (Because of) the cap space, the bump up, and the free agents available. It will be a challenging situation for every team, to try to figure out what the right contracts are and who the right players are, and to actually get them.”

Indeed, with the salary cap for each team projected to spike from roughly $70 million last season to about $94 million in 2016-17, there is more money for the 30 franchises to spend on free agents than in any prior summer. As a result, the NBA may be on the verge of the wildest, most unpredictable month of free agency in league history. It’s difficult to anticipate exactly what that will mean in terms of player movement, though one thing seems certain: It’s going to be lucrative for many free agents. Even NBA general managers – the people with more experience than anyone navigating free agency – have little idea of what impact the massive salary-cap increase might be.

Asked whether NBA teams may have no choice but to overpay some free agents in this uncharted marketplace, Ferry responded, “It’s not an area you want to go to, but I don’t think anyone can define what overpaid is right now. With all this cap space – and the cap bumping up again next year significantly – this is outer space right now. This is the deep sea. No one knows really what’s going to happen and how it should happen, why it should unfold. Every GM I’ve talked to feels the same anxieties and the challenge for what’s ahead.

“Usually there are four or five teams that have significant cap space every year. (This time) there are 20 or 25 teams that can sign max players right now. There aren’t that many (legitimate) max players out there. So the inflation and what that does to contracts, with all of this money (available), it’s going to be interesting to see how this unfolds.”

By rule, NBA teams are not allowed to publicly mention free agents on other teams prior to July 1, but New Orleans has several players who will officially become free agents Thursday at 11:01 p.m. Central. Two of the Pelicans’ longest-tenured players, guard Eric Gordon and forward Ryan Anderson, are both unrestricted free agents, as is guard Norris Cole, forward Alonzo Gee and center Kendrick Perkins.

Gee had a player option that could’ve locked in his contract for next season, but elected to become test free agency. Numerous other players across the NBA have also decided to opt out of their contracts for 2016-17, in many cases due to the potential to cash in, with the conditions ideal for a big payday.

Ferry played a total of 13 seasons in the NBA, split between Cleveland and San Antonio. According to Basketball-Reference.com, the serviceable role-playing forward made $4.5 million in his final season, with the 2002-03 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Given the rise in the league’s salary cap to $94 million this summer, a $4.5 million wage will be well below an average NBA salary, meaning even some middling players will make far more than that in 2016-17.

“Everyone just has room,” Ferry said of the 30 teams being able to afford big-money free agents. “All of the players who are opting out, they’re opting out for a reason, because there’s such big opportunity for a player right now. I’d like to turn back the clock 15 years and be a free agent right now. I was an OK player, but you can make a lot of money (now) as an OK player.”

Due to NBA rules, teams will not be able to officially announce any signings until the moratorium concludes. The league has shortened the length of that moratorium period slightly, this year allowing teams to announce and introduce new players July 7. The decision to tighten the moratorium period is partly a result of the DeAndre Jordan debacle of last summer, when the center declared he would sign with Dallas, before changing his mind and returning to the Clippers. …

NBA TV and ESPN will have a variety of shows over the next few days that discuss free agency, including NBA TV’s live marathon coverage Friday from 1 to 6 p.m. Central. NBA TV gets things started Thursday with a live show from 10:30-11:30 p.m. Central, which will overlap the beginning of when teams can begin to agree to deals.