Adams short on seasonal cheer
Steven Adams has always had a good handle on selfdeprecation, but his throwaway line at his New Orleans Pelicans end-of-season press conference about him being ‘‘dead weight’’ might just have some resonance to it.
The Pelicans, who picked up Adams for the 2020-21 NBA season and signed him to a US$35 million two-year extension, have just ended their campaign on a disappointing note as they faded from post-season contention over the final few weeks.
New Orleans finished, at 31-41, 11th of the 15 teams in the West.
It was not the best of seasons statistically for Adams as he adjusted to his first campaign after seven years with the OKC Thunder.
He played in a career-low 58 of the Pelicans’ 72 games and finished with averages of 7.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 61.4 per cent from the floor and 44 from the free-throw line.
His 7.6 points were the lowest since his rookie season, 8.9 rebounds the fewest since 2016-17 and his free-throw numbers were the worst of his career. Of course everything is relative and Adams’ field goal attempts (308 in total and 5.3 per game) were also low points since that first campaign with the Thunder.
In other words he saw less ball than he has since he was a rookie and took a major step backwards in terms of impact in his first season with a young Pelicans outfit still figuring out their most effective style under new coach Stan Van Gundy and with two emerging superstars in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
It was notable that during Van Gundy’s ‘‘exit’’ interview he was asked about Adams’ impact, and did not mention anything in game-time. ‘‘Steven’s a guy who cares very much about his team-mates and is always talking to them, and particularly those two guys [Jaxson Hayes and Willy Hernangomez who play his position],’’ said Van Gundy. ‘‘He’s one of the most
supportive team-mates I’ve ever been around . . . he was a great source of confidence for them’’.
Adams was later asked about the growth of Hayes and Hernangomez.
‘‘It was amazing, bro, yeah dude, turns out I was just dead weight,’’ he responded. ‘‘These dudes are amazing. Jaxson did a phenomenal job, just his comfort within the offence as well as defensively, he was getting it down pat, his rotations and stuff. Same with Billy. What makes them really good players is they’re open-minded, they’re absorbing everything and just want to do their best.’’
The 27-year-old Kiwi told reporters he had always tried to be a mentor as soon as he became comfortable with it in his career.
‘‘I’ve always talked quite a lot . . . [not] so much the big speech, ‘hey everyone calm down and listen to what I have to say’. It’s more one-on-one type stuff with Billy and Jax, trying to help them the best I can.
‘‘Just words, mate, make it up, claim it if they do anything good, deny it if they do anything bad. You know how it goes.’’
Hernangomez, for his part, mentioned how grateful he was for Adams’ mentoring.
‘‘Since my rookie year I always want to be like Steven Adams, a guy who knows his role, a beast on the boards and in the game . . . everyone is scared to play against him.
‘‘I would put him as one of my top three team-mates ever, and I would say teachers too. The way he dedicated his time to teach me and Jaxson is something – you know we appreciate that. You don’t have many team-mates in your career like that.’’
The issue for the Pelicans is they must weigh whether Adams is worth that US$35m over the next two years as a mentor, whether they find a way to make him a more productive player or look to trade him and run with Hayes and Hernangomez.
All options are likely in play.
‘‘Just words, mate, make it up, claim it if they do anything good, deny it if they do anything bad. You know how it goes.’’
Steven Adams on his mentoring role with the Pelicans