Gathering Wisdom From Steven Adams’ First Interview As A New Orleans Pelican
More than any other sporting league, the NBA has mastered the art of the 12-month new cycle. Preseason leading into regular season leading into All Stars leading into more regular season leading into the playoffs leading into the Finals leading into the draft leading into free agency leading into preseason and we do it all over again. It’s also got arguably the most sophisticated media coverage which keeps us fans as informed as we can possibly get... though the flipside of that is it can all be a bit much. Too many reckons. Too many rumours. Too many theories. Too much noise, basically.
Which is why it was refreshing after hearing all the various takes on Steven Adams’ trade to New Orleans – from the OKC crew, from Pelicans fans, from the people of Aotearoa, from various American media folks – to have a chance to sit back and listen to the man himself talk about the whole drama. Straight from the horse’s mouth. No agendas or speculation, just pure relevance. Here’s a bit of what he had to say.
BEING TRADED BY THE THUNDER
“It’s all a part of the business, you know what I mean, getting traded and all that. That isn’t really the difficult part. The difficult part is the relationships that you build within it and then you have to move on. But, mate, it’s not like I died or anything. I’m gonna see them again. It ain’t that sad.
It was a good time in OKC but in terms of just coming here, man, it’s just like an exciting team. Stan’s an old school dude and I like that, man. I feel like I can learn a lot from him. Hence the extensionis. Sounds like a Harry Potter spell, mate.”
See, the thing about this being a business is that it works both ways. Adams wasn’t gonna be one to agitate for a move but he also knew enough to accept the changing tides when they arrived and not to try swim against them. To put it bluntly, the time had come for both sides to part. The last thing Adams needed was to be spending what are potentially his prime years sitting stagnant on a rubbish team when he’s clearly got the ability to be a positive help for a playoff contending team instead.
Sam Presti is also on record as saying that he didn’t think the Thunder in their rebuilding state would have been able (or willing) to match what the marketplace was expected to demand for Adams when his contract ran down. So he was gonna leave in a year regardless, might as well get it done now. Especially with that extension included in proceedings too. He’s earning $27.5 million this season in the final year of his big contract. He was never gonna get equal dollars on his next deal but he’s done bloody well to get $35 million over two years from the Pelicans (so, three years in total). Fully guaranteed cash.
Compare that to some other big men who got paid this offseason...
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat) – 5yr/$163m
Aron Baynes (Toronto Raptors) – 2yr/$14.3m
DeMarcus Cousins (Houston Rockets) – 1yr/$2.3
Derrick Favors (Utah Jazz) – 3yr/$27m
Marc Gasol (LA Lakers) – 2yr/$5.3m
Jerami Grant (Denver Nuggets) – 3yr/$60m
Montrezl Harrell (LA Lakers) – 2yr/$19m
Dwight Howard (Philadelphia 76ers) – 1yr/$2.6m
Robin Lopez (Washington Wizards) – 1yr/$7.3m
Nerlens Noel (New York Knicks) – 1yr/$5m
Mason Plumlee (Detroit Pistons) – 3yr/$25m
Christian Wood (Houston Rockets) – 3yr/$41m
Other than the stupid money that Jerami Grant is gonna be earning in Denver, there’s not a lot going on there. Bam Adebayo’s was an extension and he’s one of the most versatile and impressive big men in the game right now hence you can’t compare that situation. So for Adams to be getting multiple years at that kinda salary ($17.5m per year) is something his agent would be a fool to discourage. Especially since, obviously this is slightly shady territory but lets be honest the tampering thing ain’t even a secret any more, the Pelicans probably weren’t giving up a future first rounder for a one year rental. They made this trade under the assumption that they’d be able to re-sign Adams immediately and they did just that.
Couple interesting notes on that extensionis (pronounces: ex-ten-she-own-eese):
Three more years of Steven Adams brings his contract length in line with Zion Williamson’s rookie deal. That’s probably less about handcuffing the pair together on the court as it is about not yet committing any unnecessary dollars for a time when, all things going to plan, they’ll be chucking a max deal Zion’s way.
Also this was the longest extension/free agency deal offered to any Pelicans player since David Griffin took over as GM. Only rookies had been added to the books for 3+ years in that time... though that record was broken almost instantly when Brandon Ingram’s extension went through. Shows that the Pellies are turning the corner towards competitiveness. Or trying to at least.
BEING A LEADER & FITTING IN TO A NEW TEAM
“The main thing for me, it’s always been my approach: get with the coach, understand what we need done as a team and then what I can contribute, and then I just focus in on those things. Obviously I’m gonna share whatever experience or knowledge that I have but it won’t be just me. There’s many other players. This is a team. I don’t have the answers, I would never claim I have all the answers or anything. It’s one of those things where it’s a cooperative. We’re in a competitive environment but as a team we need to be very cooperative and teach each stuff and what not. Everyone has a voice in the team. That’s always been my approach, mate. Just go in there and do what I can. I know that sounds vague and it’s cliched, like, yeah I’m gonna play hard and all that good stuff.”
It’s not going unnoticed how often he spoke about Stan Van Gundy in this chat. The notorious SVG was hired by New Orleans back in October (after Alvin Gentry was fired) and he has always been a coach who likes to roll with a traditional big man. Van Gundy is on record as saying his vision for the Pelicans is “a tough, disciplined team that truly won’t bow down”. Steve-o will slide into the hole left behind by Derrick Favors (though remember this is a new coaching regime so that role won’t be quite the same), he pairs nicely with Zion Williamson to allow that bloke to play in a more comfortable power forward position, and he has a coach who is desperate to see the kind of values that Adams happens to offer in spades. Adams’ skill set isn’t always appreciated these days and you could even argue that by the end of his time in OKC he’d outlived his fit there. But the Pelicans are a slick fit for Steven Adams. They went out and got him for a reason.
PLAYING WITH ZION WILLIAMSON
“Yeah I mean his potential is definitely up there. He’s an amazing athlete, amazing player. Yeah and he’s built. Built like a brick... you know the rest. It’s gonna be good, man. But not to take anything away from him, it’s more about fitting into the team and how you work together with all of them. It isn’t just Zion, if that makes sense. It isn’t just two players, there’s the guards and the wings, how they play defence, how they move, what do they look for. There’s all those that come into it. It’s more how am I gonna, the best I can, get that team chemistry going and try and help them in whatever way I can. For all players.”
Stevie’s focused on doing his own thing as well as he can but it’s no secret that the Pelicans wanted a tough guy centre to pair with Zion, who played only 24 games in his rookie season and that alone is reason not to want to play him at centre banging up against bigger bodies. Plus also he was just better when he played at PF with a C alongside him. His net rating of +12.5 when paired with Derrick Favors is the best of any two-man combination he was involved in. The team’s rebounding was way up, their assist rate was way up. It worked for them... now they’ve got a coach who is probably gonna swing even more in that direction (in fact David Griffin spoke of the dream of one day having Zion at the three wrapping around Adams screens).
There is a blatant weakness to this combo which is that neither of them exactly stretch the floor so there’s a lot of pressure on guys like Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe to be hitting their threes... but that’s what SVG is getting at when he talks about defence. Trying to go shot for shot with Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden, etc. is a loser’s game. Speaking of SVG, his opinion on the Zion + Steve duo is probably more relevant here given Steve-o’s humble lack of objectivity in the matter...
SVG: “Find me a 4 and 5 together anywhere in the league that’s as physical as those two guys. When we made that trade, I said, ‘Look, the one thing I know for sure: you might come in here and shoot the ball great. You might find a way to beat us. You’re not punking the New Orleans Pelicans ever with those two guys next to each other.”
THE MYSTERIES OF TRANSITION DEFENCE
“Umm, balancing the two... I mean, it can be done. I usually blame the guards coz the bigs, we get blamed for everything else. So transition defence mate it’s on the guards. Usually. That’s my mindset. So the bigs, we’ll come in and try and steal another possession and then the guards gotta get back, that’s typically how it goes. But if you’re talking about this team and whatever, there may be some games where you won’t wanna push too much on the offensive rebounding end, right? If they are like a really, I dunno, they wanna shoot within 18 seconds of the shot clock. Really quick trigger stuff. Then most likely you’ll wanna get back. It’s just not worth it. It depends on the team, every team is different and you know you don’t come in with the same strategy every single time. You need to make a little bit of adjustment here or there for the greater good of the team. Man, I’m corny, aye?”
This question was based specifically on something Van Gundy said in his own media day zoom call but the transition stuff was only one of four specific aspects of defence that he mentioned.
Transition defence. Gotta get back, can’t be gifting easy baskets
Keep the ball out of the paint. Can’t build a sustainable defence without doing that.
Cut down on the fouls. Don’t let teams have easy points at the free throw line.
Improve defensive rounding numbers to be more in line with their quality offensive boards stats.
It’s therefore kinda funny that Adams was asked about number one because that’s the one, in his own words, that he’s the least responsible for. That’s on the guards, bro. But guarding the paint, keeping the foul count low, grabbing defensive boards... those are all positives that Adams can specifically contribute towards. Part of why they wanted him. Adams wasn’t quite the defensive force in the last season or two that he had been in the past but that’s more about the teammates he had around him. The possibility of playing for a defensive-mastermind coach alongside some excellent defensive players (Eric Bledsoe is one of the best defensive guards in the league) should bring the best out in him at that end.
EXCITING PELICANS POTENTIAL
“It’s one of those teams, man, where you have great talent all-round, new coach... and it’s not new enough where it’s a completely new rebuild but it’s something that you can see where this could potentially go. You could say that’s exciting if you want. Great talent, great young players. Some good vets. Even just being a day in here the culture here is solid, man. It’s nice. Good stuff.”
This is what the Pelicans’ roster is looking like...
That includes the recent signing of Aussie big fella Will Magnay on a two-way contract. Lots of guards which could be an issue with how the minutes are spread out but it’s a decent mix. Losing Jrue Holiday is gruelling for this team but Eric Bledsoe is a more than useful replacement and they’ll just have to hope a healthy Zion can pick up some more of the lost production. They’ve got JJ Redick as the veteran shooter. They’ve also got youth amongst their key guys. Zion Williamson is 20. Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball are 23. Josh Hart is 25. Adams himself is only 27... and he’s the fourth oldest guy on the current roster.
TOUGH GUY ON THE COURT / NICE GUY OFF THE COURT
“Intensity. I dunno. I didn’t realise that about myself. It’s just a competitive environment, mate, I’m trying to win. Trying to do my job well. You can link it up to all my family and background, whatever you wanna do, but I like to chill out off the court. You get too tired.”
Case and point (on the court, at least):
PLAYING WITH TWO BIG MEN IN THE MODERN AGE OF BASKETBALL
“At this point, mate, I’m not even sure if I’m starting. I haven’t actually gotten any sort of like, you know, so let’s just keep that off the table for now. You can’t assume, mate, you can’t assume. Again, this is what comes with trying to do whatever you can for the team. I don’t have any real perspective on that whole four guys out and what not but you can make it work. Stan Van Gundy, he’s a smart guy, mate. He’ll make it work whatever way he needs to and I’ll just follow him.”
Okay we don’t know what’ll happen for sure and, yeah, it’s early days... but we can safely assume the Pelicans aren’t paying $62.5m over the next three years for a backup centre. Griff spoke about wanting to seen Lonzo Ball and Eric Bledsoe playing together in the guard positions, Bledsoe likely to spend more time off the ball which is similar to what he did in Milwaukee. Chuck in the reigning Most Improved Player who just got a hefty contract extension in Brandon Ingram and then with Zion Williamson and Steven Adams you’ve got your starting five. How they look in the fourth quarter, dunno. But that’ll be the preferred starting five. Bet on it.
And specifically on the two big men... they might not be offer much range (Zion shot 6/14 from 3pters in his 24 games, Adams is 1/10 from 3PA in his entire career) but they do offer some mean passing. 2.7 assists per 36 minutes for Williamson while Adams had an enormous boost in that stat with 3.1 assists per 36 mins last season (his previous best was 1.7 the year before). The lack of 3pt shooting doesn’t necessarily affect the spacing if you’ve got two very large humans capable of drawing defenders into the paint with their ability to finish at the rim who also both have the ability to kick it out accurately to an open shooter. The better the pass, the less spacing required. Also with Adams’ ability to screen that’s an automatic pocket of space created for three-point shooters right there.
Plus the Pelicans were the seventh best team in the league last season in 3P% so not sure where this idea that they have dodgy shooters is coming from. Lonzo Ball hit at better than 37% in New Orleans (on 6.3 attempts per game), too many people only remember him from his LA Lakers days or something. Brandon Ingram was even better at 39.1% and JJ Redick was out of this world taking 6.6 threes a night and converting them at 45.3%. Their defence was the crap bit and that’s what Adams is here to help most of all with.
TEAM CHEMISTRY
“It’s one of the most crucial parts of coming together as a team. Teamwork in general, not even just basketball. You have to have some sort of a two-way street going. The only way to do that is if you spend time with your teammates and all that sorta stuff. That’s the most important thing, so you can problem solve so much faster. Right off the bat. I’m not pro at any of this stuff, all I can do is just give it a go and hopefully be accepted.”
REPRESENTING THE CITY YOU PLAY FOR
“Yeah 100%. It’s a good point mate. As a player you obviously just play basketball but then again you also gotta think bigger than that, larger, because you’re representing a city. Also the city’s history that’s like the main thing. So you have to really look at that and understand how you need to hold yourself. That’s why fans really want to get to know you to make sure you’re a good dude: you’re representing them. It’s not like a playground sort of thing, it means a lot to people so it shouldn't be taken too lightly. I do the best that I can to try and represent them. And its not just that I know that I’m representing New Zealand as well, my own country. A lot of international people think like this also, I’m not some anomo-anoma- ... I always struggle with that word, mate.”
THE ATTRACTION OF WORKING WITH THIS PELICANS COACHING STAFF
“Umm... it’s just Stan Van Gundy himself. My brother’s a huge fan of his, my brother’s like an absolute basketball nutcase, my brother Moses, he just loves it so much. He called me last night like: oh bro, Stan Van Gundy’s amazing. Just hyped. I could say that had something to do with it, subliminal messaging I guess. But in terms of professional stuff mate he’s just a smart savvy dude and the coaching staff here... I was with Bob for one year. Old Bob Beyer. All that helped out in terms of comfort.”
Bob Beyer’s a veteran assistant coach who has worked at several different franchises most notably being nine total years with Stan Van Gundy at the Magic and Pistons. He also spent the 2018-19 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder so that’s where the Adams connection comes in to play. Beyer’s fellow assistants on this staff are Casey Hill, Rex Walters, Fred Vinson, and Teresa Weatherspoon. Steve-o isn’t entirely comprehensive there though because Corey Brewer is a former teammate of his in OKC and he’s a player development coach in SVG’s staff... alongside Beno Udrih and Darnell Lazare. If you recognise that second name it’s because Lazare actually spent a season as an import for the New Zealand Breakers back in 2013. However he only played four games before he was released so they could re-sign Gary Wilkinson.
WAS THIS THE FIRST TIME HE’D MET SVG?
“Yeah for the first time. Which is good. It’s a new relationship, there’s no real history there, you don’t have to tread anywhere. He can just kinda swear at me whenever he wants which is great. It’s how I like to be coached. Straight there.”
Adams has only played for two head coaches in the NBA: Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan. Both of them had reputations as being player-friendly. But if you want a bloke who’ll swear at you whenever he wants, well mate this fella’s got a track record...
LATER BRO
“Nice meeting you all. Fare thee well. Stay safe.”
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