Anthony Davis Should've Been Shut Down Months Ago

The Pelicans had one job.

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Complex Original

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What is going on in New Orleans? The Pelicans front office has made some questionable decisions during the 2016 season. First, they opted to let go of Monty Williams in favor of Alvin Gentry even though the team's record actually improved under Williams after they traded Chris Paul in 2011 and they made the playoffs last season. And apparently, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski, New Orleans GM Dell Demps was second-guessing hiring Gentry for most of this season.

Gentry has been coaching in the NBA for 27 seasons and has been a head coach for 13 of those. He has a winning record in exactly three of them: he went 29-21 with the Pistons in the lockout-shortened season of '99, 18-13 with the Suns in '09 when he took over for Mike D'Antoni, and 54-28 the very next season. That's like a one hot album every 10 year average.

He's the least of the Pelicans' worries, though. The front office, coaching staff, team physicians, and trainers let a 23-year-old potential Hall of Famer in Anthony Davis play with a torn labrum for three seasons and tendinopathy in his left knee causing pain in his kneecap. Luckily, he doesn't need surgery on his shoulder, but he did have an "ultrasonic debridement of the degenerative area of the patellar tendon," which doesn't sound too positive. You know which other big men had debridements and kneecap problems? Amar'e Stoudemire and Antonio McDyess; two explosive talents whose stars fizzled out before reaching their full potential. If I were the owner I would feel like the villain in Bad Boys I when he offed homie in the Al Capone suite. I don't know how Tom Benson can deal with this kind of stupidity.

Fire Alvin Gentry, fire Dell Demps, fire the team physicians, fire the trainers, and trade Tyreke Evans. Clean house, papa.

So what's next for the Pelicans? I say clean house. I know they've dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, however, how can you trust them now that this AD news is out? If they won't shut down the franchise player, or at least treat him like a delicate flower, who knows how many other injuries could've been prevented? As a fan of the Knicks, I can relate to front office incompetence. New York went through a similar situation with Melo last season and caught flack for allowing him to play in the All-Star Game before shutting him down completely. The Knicks won 17 games last year and had the presence of mind to tell their franchise player to call it quits midway through the season.

Given, Melo's prime is fading, and Davis' just beginning, but it's still inconceivable that they waited until five days ago to put him in street clothes. You know, because it's not like the Pelicans are 26-45 or anything. Shit, even the Sixers were smart enough not to rush Joel Embiid back after his foot injury didn't heal right. OK, they didn't have much of a choice because he was refusing to wear his walking boot and is addicted to hotel Shirley Temples, but they still had the smarts to make sure he's 100 percent before playing a regular season game. It's not a good look when the Knicks and the 76ers are making better decisions than your team. Tom Benson should hire me to clean house on some Mr. Wolf shit. I'll go in, show them how to clean blood out of a car interior and go on my merry way. Fire Alvin Gentry, fire Dell Demps, fire the team physicians, fire the trainers, and trade Tyreke Evans. Clean house, papa.

Anthony Davis will not play basketball for the next three-four months and should be back just in time for training camp barring any setbacks. The Pelicans may've dodged a bullet this time, but lightning doesn't strike twice, not in this business. The game needs the Brow to be Tim Duncan, not Sam Bowie. This debacle proves front offices are as important as transcendent players. This comes across as a little Doomsdayish, but when it comes to a stud like Anthony Davis, making sure he's healthy is first priority and someone didn't do their job.

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