The NBA Championship Formula Part III (Revisted): (All) Star Power
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Pelicans do not have a rich history of sending players to the NBA's showcase event, the annual All-Star game.
Since their inaugural season in 2002-03, New Orleans has had nine players selected as All-Stars, who have combined for a total of 19 appearances.
All NBA selections have been even harder to come by.
In 21 seasons, four players have accounted for eight All-NBA team nods. Former Hornets/Pelicans stars Anthony Davis and Chris Paul are the only players in franchise history to earn All-Defensive team honors.
Zion Williamson was voted as an All-Star starter this season, however he won't be playing in Salt Lake City as he continues his recovery from an injured hamstring.
The NBA Championship Formula Series
Part I: How Close Are The Pelicans?
Part II: Three Is A Magic Number
Part IV: Making Home Court An Advantage
Over the past 72 hours there have been a few seismic shifts across the league as a myriad of players and draft picks have swapped places.
The temperature has certainly been turned up in the Western Conference with seemingly every team in playoff contention making a major move in a push to separate themselves from the field.
The Pelicans, currently holding the seventh seed, made just one move prior to Thursday's trade deadline, acquiring wing Josh Richardson from San Antonio in exchange for guard Devonte' Graham and a quartet of second round picks.
So, with all of the dealing done, where does Pelicans' roster stand in comparison with the champions of recent vintage?
In the last decade only one team, the 2021 Bucks won a championship with a lone All-Star. Giannis Antetokounmpo is no typical All-Star either. He has two MVPs and is a mainstay on the All-Defense team. Giannis also had a number of former All-Stars providing him with support in Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, and Jeff Teague.
Such is not the case for the Pelicans. Beyond Williamson, only Ingram has earned an All-Star nod. CJ McCollum has operated as a borderline All-Star for years, but has never been selected.
All-Star slots are few and the depth of talent in the league is considerable, so even under the best of conditions getting multiple players selected is difficult.
The Pelicans deep January slide and Ingram's injuries didn't help when it came to making a case for McCollum or anyone else.
As difficult as it is to become an All-Star, it's far more difficult to be named to an All-NBA team.
Only four players in franchise history of done it, and only two have made either First Team All-NBA or All-Defense.
Ingram and Williamson would be the most likely candidates in a normal year, though neither may qualify based on the amount of games they've missed this season.
Herb Jones, Dyson Daniels, and Larry Nance Jr. are some of the very best defenders at their positions, but it remains highly unlikely that any of the three makes their first appearance on an All-Defense team.
The Pelicans are still deep. The Pelicans are still talented.
But one thing this trade deadline has shown is that the Pelicans are not quite ready to be considered among the league's elite.
This is a very good team, when healthy.
However, it's hard to look at what's been done around the league and come to the conclusion that Pelicans are loaded enough to make a deep run.
Perhaps the front office is looking to catch its whale during the offseason, but even that strategy has been made more complicated over the past few days.
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