New Pelican Jrue Holiday finds name funny; thinks team can be competitive

In New Orleans, the switch of the team name from Hornets to Pelicans largely went over well — it’s something local, not something imported and forced on them.

Outside New Orleans, there are a lot of people shaking their heads.

Until recently, Jrue Holiday was outside New Orleans. He was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers (a good local team name) to the Pelicans in a deal for Nerlens Noel. Holiday told Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated the name Pelicans still sounds a little funny to him.

“I mean, it’s funny, I’m not going to lie,” new point guard Jrue Holiday admitted Wednesday. “It’s funny saying it. ‘We’re the Pelicans.’ But I’ve said it about half a million times now, so I’m used to it.”

Whatever you think of the name, the Pelicans are going to be an interesting team to watch next season — they were maybe the NBA’s most aggressive team this off-season. They traded for Holiday and added former King Tyreke Evans, to pair with the impressive Anthony Davis (who quietly had a good rookie season) and Eric Gordon. They also have some shooting with Ryan Anderson.

We’ll see how it comes together, but that’s a fair amount of talent.

“[Ownership and management] want us to be competitors,” Holiday said. “Starting off this year being the Pelicans, starting off something new, I think we’re doing it the right way. … We want to make the playoffs, especially with the moves that we made.”

One thing to watch is how well the Pelicans defend. Coach Monty Williams wanted to make it a point of emphasis last season but with the talent on the roster they finished 28th in the NBA in points allowed per possession. Holiday is a good defender, Davis is a year older as a rim protector, and if they can just get up to the league average on defense the Pelicans will have a shot at the playoffs.