#2 Not a big market franchise
The New Orleans Pelicans are not exactly a big-market franchise, and with this comes lots of limitations. One of which is having their talented players leave to big market teams just when they seem to be building a formidable team. An example of this was the trade of Anthony Davis to the L.A. Lakers.
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Budding players with ambitions are known to always make a move as a free agent to big markets or force one. This phenomenon has been seen as the norm and as such makes it difficult for small market teams to compete favorably in that regard.
#3 Absence of championship experience within the management
Since the creation of the New Orleans Pelicans, eight coaches have been tasked with managing the team, none of which have championship experience. Amongst the eight coaches, five have succeeded in taking the team to the playoffs.
The Pelicans have gone to the playoffs 7 times in their 20-season run in the NBA. They have gone the furthest under the management of Bryon Scott in the 2007-08 season and Alvin Gentry in the 2017-18 season. Both times they made it to the Western Conference Semifinals but were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors respectively. These are the closest they have gotten to a championship final.
Winning the championship requires quality and experience from all sections of the team and that includes the management.
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