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Host Ernie Johnson noted that the initial plan for Monday’s #NBATogether show was to conduct a one-on-one interview with Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin, but Johnson and Griffin decided to audible. Griffin realized that the timing was not right to delve into his own philosophy and unique rise in the NBA from one-time intern to esteemed executive.

Instead, Griffin joined Pelicans Coach Alvin Gentry, Swin Cash and Atlanta’s head coach, Lloyd Pierce, to discuss ongoing issues in America related to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the protests that have swept the country. The group delved into topics including a push for more accountability from police departments, the need to come together as a society amid rampant divisiveness, as well as how to drive change.

“Accountability has to be not only with how you’re policing, but accountability when things go wrong,” said Cash, the Pelicans' vice president of basketball operations/team development . “Black and brown communities are not saying we don’t want the police here. The police are supposed to do their job. But when you don’t do your job at any job – whether it’s your job, my job – there is an accountability. You’re going to get fired. You’re going to have to answer for something. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a solid accountability, and that goes to legislation, how we’re funding police and areas we can change.”

“This is a selected (negative) few,” Gentry said. “This is not the entire police force. We have to find a way to weed out the selected few. There has to be more accountability in general from the police force. We have to have those conversations. We have to have uncomfortable conversations and then figure out what is the next step from there. But it all starts with conversation.”

Early in the 47-minute roundtable, Johnson pointed out that part of the lack of understanding can come from citizens often refusing to listen to the other side of the political spectrum, including in media sources. Johnson used the example of Fox and CNN having completely different audiences. Griffin noted that even if one watches both networks, it can difficult for viewers to find the truth in the middle.

“Even CNN and Fox, because they are so polarized, even if you watched the other (network), you still never find the middle,” Griffin said. “We never find common ground. Everything is so polarized now, that we are afraid to disagree with one another in any form.”

Discussion turned to the negative impact of recent looting and rioting that took place after what was initially peaceful protesting. The panel noted that the incidents are harmful to the conversation about Floyd staying on course.

“By even a few people looting and doing the violent things they’re doing, it diminishes the power of the protest, because you’re giving the weapon to the person who wants to vilify the very people and the very things that people are protesting for,” Griffin said. “One of our action steps is we cannot feed into that. We can’t give people the arsenal to use against us. The protest has to remain as peaceful as possible, because we know what the power structure will do to demean what’s being protested for.”

“I think that’s the whole purpose of what’s going on, to disrupt from what this should be about,” Gentry said of rioting and looting. “This should be about him, George Floyd. You have people who are intentionally hijacking what is going on, which should be a peaceful situation. People are there for the sole purpose to disrupt what (was intended to) be organized and calm. We have to take the focus off of that and get the focus back on what we’re protesting for.”

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David Griffin, Alvin Gentry, Swin Cash appear on #NBATogether panel

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NBA Together: Ernie Johnson hosts roundtable with Swin Cash, David Griffin, and Alvin Gentry

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Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson joins Ernie Johnson

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We're rolling out our "Best of" episodes on the New Orleans Pelicans podcasts. NBA on TNT's Ernie Johnson is up first as he sits down with Daniel Sallerson on Jim Eichenhofer. Listen in.

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Ernie Johnson on the "Best of" New Orleans podcast presented by SeatGeek - March 18, 2020

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1)      It should be a fun one in Tennessee this afternoon, when New Orleans (16-27) visits Memphis (20-22) at 4 p.m. on TNT and ESPN Radio 100.3 FM. Check out our Behind the Numbers preview of Monday’s Martin Luther King Day special game.

2)      Read Sunday’s updated injury report.

3)      TNT host Ernie Johnson was the guest on Monday’s Pelicans Podcast.

4)      Week 14 of the NBA schedule for New Orleans is highlighted by three national TV appearances, including today at Memphis (TNT), Wednesday vs. the Spurs (ESPN) and Sunday vs. the Celtics (ESPN). In between, there is an intriguing Friday home tilt vs. the Nuggets. The Pelicans enter this week 4.5 games behind the eighth-place Grizzlies, making today’s matchup – as well as a Jan. 31 meeting – of additional importance.

5)      Saturday’s Dance Cam in the Smoothie King Center went viral on social media. Watch the final showdown between talented competitors.

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Five things to know about the Pelicans on Jan. 20, 2020

TNT's "Inside the NBA" host Ernie Johnson joins Daniel Sallerson and Jim Eichenhofer to discuss Brandon Ingram's ascension, Zion's return, and to preview this afternoon's MLK Day match-up between the Pelicans and Grizzlies.

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Ernie Johnson on the New Orleans Pelicans podcast presented by SeatGeek - Jan. 20, 2020

At the halfway point of the regular season, New Orleans sported a losing record at 20-21. At the All-Star break, the Pelicans were barely above .500 at 27-26, then slipped to the break-even mark with a loss in Orlando on Feb. 20. However, as TNT studio host Ernie Johnson pointed out during Thursday’s broadcast, New Orleans has been one of the league’s top teams recently, compiling the best record in the Western Conference since the All-Star break (6-2).

As a result, New Orleans (33-28) will move into eighth place Friday if it beats Boston (24-35), which would mark the first time since late December that the Pelicans are in the top eight of the conference. The Thunder (34-28) have gone 6-3 since the All-Star break, cracking the door open slightly for the Pelicans to make a move.

“The growth of our team over the past few weeks, you can see it,” Pelicans fifth-year coach Monty Williams said on the Black & Blue Report today. “When you start adding all of these new players, it takes time to mesh well. I think that’s what we’re seeing a little bit, guys are starting to mesh. The first 30 or 40 games of the year, there was a lot of inconsistency, a lot of up and down. I always felt like that was just part of the process. Even though we didn’t like it, it was just part of where we were. Now we’re starting to see our team grab a hold of the identity, which for us has always been playing hard, defending well and being efficient on offense.”

Partly behind the valuable in-season additions of Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Norris Cole, the Pelicans have played their best basketball of the season recently. On Friday, New Orleans can also match its win total from last season, when it finished 34-38.

“Our goal was to get this team to have a winning record this year,” Williams said. “We’re trying to do that as we speak. The goal that’s out there in front of us is to make the playoffs.”

To accomplish that in a fiercely competitive West, the Pelicans know they must put together an excellent 21-game close to the regular season. Although New Orleans is pleased by its recent improvement, Williams knows the Pelicans must continue to win.

“We feel good about what we’ve done, but all of our guys know that we’re still in the ninth spot,” Williams said. “Have we taken care of our business in one regard? Yeah, we beat OKC 3-1 (head-to-head). When the season started, I don’t think anyone would’ve said we would beat them 3-1. So we did something nobody felt we could do. Now we’ve got to try to do something (else) nobody thinks we can do: Make the playoffs, with some of the best teams in the league in front of us.”

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Pelicans a win away from moving into eighth, matching victory total from last season

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