Nightmare-inducing Pelicans mascot gets much-needed makeover

The renaming of the NBA's New Orleans franchise to the Pelicans was met mostly with good-hearted laughter. There's nothing wrong with a kitschy name, after all -- there can only be so many Tigers, Lions, Bears and Eagles, for example.

But the unveiling of the Pelicans mascot was another matter entirely.

Pierre the Pelican, who looked like something out of a low-budget horror film, has probably been inspiring nightmares among the Pels' younger enthusiasts since he debuted this season.

Thankfully, the Pelicans apparently realized it's not a good idea to traumatize their young fans. Pierre got a much-needed makeover under the silly ruse that he had to undergo reconstructive facial surgery. Pierre, you see, broke his terrifying old beak during a pick-up game with some other mascots.

As you'll see in the video above, which was shown during Wednesday night's Bucks-Pelicans game, Pierre got his beak job. He was bandaged up like a Real Housewives character for a little while, which is a horrifying premise in its own right, but the end result is a much more welcoming -- and less menacing -- mascot.

Like Pierre, the Pelicans -- an oft-relocated and oft-renamed franchise -- are still finding their identity. The Pierre fiasco doesn't exactly bode well, but having a phenom big man in newly minted All-Star Anthony Davis sure helps: