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D - Fence!

December 3rd was a frantic day for the New Orleans Pelicans front office. Now that the dust has settled and the phones have finally cooled down, we can examine the finer details of the deals that were completed ahead of the week three action.
There is no denying that the Pelicans can score, with the likes of Okafor, Knight and Parsons on their roster, which is enough fire power to beat down on some squads but against the dominate teams in the NLL, New Orleans just can't outscore them head to head, so GM Blackmajestic has elected to go down a different path and to see where it takes the team.
While keeping together there main core, Blackmajestic has gone to great lengths to bring in two of the best defensive wings in the league to try and negate the large amount of points New Orleans has been giving up on a nightly basis.

Trevor Ariza
When Blackmajestic took over the New Orleans franchise two seasons ago, Trevor Ariza was apart of the inherited team. That season, the Pelicans made the playoffs, then the following off season, Ariza was traded to Boston as apart of the Al Jefferson experiment and last season was a complete disaster. Coincidence? I think not. Trevor Ariza's 3 and D style of play was taken for granted in his last stint with New Orleans, so hopefully he can bring that same impact again in season 16-17. With every trade though, there is a downside and sometimes you have to give up something to get something in return. With the acquisition of Ariza, GM Blackmajestic had to send talent, young, Small Forward, TJ Warren to Minnesota.
"Warren has shown some real promise in his time here in New Orleans and he will develop into a fine player in this league."

Tony Allen
When you think of lock down defender, you think of Tony Allen. His lateral quickness, ability to disrupt passing lanes and his blue collar attitude towards defense, makes him a nightmare for opposition wings and the perfect fit in the New Orleans squad.
Blackmajestic wanted Allen in The Big Easy but he wasn't willing to break up his core to do so, so a third party had to be included to get the deal over the line. Knowing that Denver was looking for a quality back up Point Guard on their quest for the NLL championship, New Orleans unfortunately had to part ways with Darren Collison. Rootsey and Blackmajestic agreed to terms on a deal in the dying seconds of the trade deadline last season but failed paperwork collapsed the deal. Knowing that there was a first round draft pick up for grabs for whoever could provide a quality Point Guard to Denver, BM decided to rekindle trade discussuons. After alot of back and forth banter between the GMs about value and salary, the three way trade was complete and Tony Allen lands himself in a Pelican's uniform.

The three headed monster...
Tony Allen and Trevor Ariza are set to start in week three as intended and will bring that defensive element that has been lacking in New Orleans under GM Blackmajestic's reign, but with Chandler Parsons knee set to be re evaluated in the coming week, where does he fit in the chinese puzzle? As any good coaching staff knows, balance is key to success so it is going to be up to Alvin Gentry and co. to decide how this team looks in the coming weeks and the remainder of the season.

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