{"id":585719,"date":"2026-02-06T07:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585719\/"},"modified":"2026-02-06T07:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:14:21","slug":"brees-davis-shough-alvarado-are-all-new-orleans-sports-royalty-crescent-city-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/585719\/","title":{"rendered":"Brees, Davis, Shough, Alvarado are all New Orleans sports royalty \u2013 Crescent City Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n \"Print
\n <\/a>
\n \"Drew(Photo: Parker Waters)<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Saints season ended a month ago.<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Pelicans\u2019 hopes of reaching the post-season ended about that same time.<\/p>\n

But followers of both of New Orleans\u2019 professional sports franchises had an opportunity to reflect on the on-field and off-the-field contributions of four successful and extremely popular players Thursday.<\/p>\n

Drew Brees was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.<\/p>\n

Tyer Shough won one rookie of the year award and placed second in another.<\/p>\n

Demario Davis was the Saints\u2019 nominee for the prestigious Walter Payton Award.<\/p>\n

And Jose Alvarado, one of the most popular Pelicans, was traded to the New York Knicks shortly before the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Second-round draft choice Shough finished second to Carolina wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan in the voting for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, which was announced during the NFL Honors broadcast Thursday night. But earlier in the day Shough won the Pepsi Zero Sugar NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, which is voted on by fans.<\/p>\n

But neither vote is particularly significant. What is significant is that Shough had a remarkable rookie season even though he didn\u2019t start any of the first eight games of the season.<\/p>\n

He gave every indication that he\u2019s capable of exceeding any reasonable expectations for any No. 40 overall pick and appears capable of providing New Orleans with a top-flight quarterback for the foreseeable future \u2013 the first one the Saints have had since Brees retired after the 2020 season.<\/p>\n

It would be unfair to compare Shough to Brees, but Shough doesn\u2019t need to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in order to be the centerpiece of a Saints renaissance, provided the front office and the coaching staff surround him with assets similar to those that Brees had.<\/p>\n

Davis was the Saints\u2019 nominee for the Payton award, which Brees shared with former Chargers teammate LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006, but Washington Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner was selected for the honor, which recognizes outstanding community service and excellence on the playing field.<\/p>\n

Now for Alvarado.<\/p>\n

The undrafted free agent (2021) from Georgia Tech quickly became and consistently maintained his status as a fan favorite for his underdog story, unfailing hustle, smarts and appreciation for his new hometown.<\/p>\n

He will be missed.<\/p>\n

\"Jose(Photo: Stephen Lew)<\/p>\n

Alvarado spoke often of how New Orleans had become home, and wasn\u2019t looking to relocate. But the most attractive place to go would have been his hometown of New York.<\/p>\n

So best of wishes to him.<\/p>\n

The trade of Alvarado was disappointing to Pelicans fans not only because of his popularity but also because the team\u2019s only move at the trade deadline wasn\u2019t seismic.<\/p>\n

The trade of Alvarado, who will enter the final year of his contract next season, for fellow backup guard Dalen Terry, two second-round draft picks and financial considerations, won\u2019t significantly alter New Orleans\u2019 prospects positively or negatively.<\/p>\n

The only thing more boring than following an NBA team that is out of play-in contention before the All-Star Break is watching that team stand pat through the trade deadline.<\/p>\n

Acquiring a fresh face who might provide a lift could be interesting. Getting rid of an unpopular or disappointing player for future asserts could provide hope for future improvement.<\/p>\n

But choosing not to do anything involving a starter coming or going is, well, boring.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what transpired \u2013 or more accurately didn\u2019t transpire \u2013 in recent days with the team with the second-worst record in the NBA.<\/p>\n

But the worst thing any team can do \u2013 whether they\u2019re enduring the Pelicans\u2019 plight or enjoying a less boring circumstance than the one in New Orleans \u2013 is to make a trade, especially one involving one or more key players, just for the sake of making a trade.<\/p>\n

Pelicans basketball chief Joe Dumars and general manager Troy Weaver have a lot of work to do in order to make their team post-season relevant in 2027. Getting a significant head-start at the trade deadline would have been nice.<\/p>\n

But Dumars and Weaver obviously felt the relatively insignificant Alvarado trade was the best they could do. They have a significant rebuilding challenge in the off-season, especially with the absence of a first-round draft pick.<\/p>\n

Maybe they\u2019ll find the basketball equivalent of Brees or Davis, though that seems highly unlikely. It would be more realistic to think they might find someone approximating the value of Shough or Alvarado.<\/p>\n

\u201cJose Alvarado embodied effort, toughness, and heart every time he stepped on the floor,\u201d Dumars said in a statement released by the Pelicans on Thursday night. \u201cHe gave everything he had and represented our organization the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brees, Davis, Shough and Alvarado offer a range of on-field and on-court accomplishments.<\/p>\n

But all have performed in a manner that made them Crescent City sports royalty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Photo: Parker Waters) The New Orleans Saints season ended a month ago. The New Orleans Pelicans\u2019 hopes of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":585720,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3796],"tags":[7,6,478,470,4073,4072,675],"class_list":{"0":"post-585719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-orleans-pelicans","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-nba","10":"tag-new-orleans","11":"tag-new-orleans-pelicans","12":"tag-neworleans","13":"tag-neworleanspelicans","14":"tag-pelicans"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116022455116037282","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=585719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/585719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/585720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=585719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=585719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=585719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}