Pelicans season preview: What’s going on with Zion and New Orleans?

What are we supposed to make of the 2025-26 New Orleans Pelicans? It’s encouraging that Zion Williamson is feeling better physically than he has since college, but he’s going to have a lot on his shoulders. Approaching opening night, two would-be starters — Dejounte Murray and Kevon Looney — are on the shelf, as is rookie big man Derik Queen. If the season goes sideways again, they can’t chase lottery balls this time. Their new front office, led by Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver, wanted Queen so badly that they made a reckless trade on draft night, surrendering their unprotected 2026 pick (and the right to swap it for the Milwaukee Bucks‘ pick).

Despite all of this, the Pelicans should at least be interesting. There’s no one in the league quite like a healthy Williamson, and he’ll initiate a lot of their offense. Trey Murphy III gets better every year, Herb Jones is a demon on defense and Jose Alvarado plays every possession at maximum intensity. Jordan Poole, acquired from the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum, quietly had a bounceback season in 2024-25. Jeremiah Fears, drafted six spots before Queen, is tough to keep out of the paint. I have questions about New Orleans’ depth, though, and about the spacing and the rim protection and the overall direction of the team. If you can figure out what the bigger-picture plan is, please let me know.

The State of Play

Last year: The Pelicans’ 21-61 record was the worst in franchise history. Their offense ranked 25th, their defense 29th. Only the Wizards had a worse point differential. Injuries had derailed this team before, but never like this. Rookie center Yves Missi led the team in minutes (1,956), and guard Jordan Hawkins (1,321), big man Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (1,239) and wing Javonte Green (1,092) ranked fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. Murray, New Orleans’ big offseason acquisition, hurt his hand on opening night and tore his Achilles in late January but still managed to play in more games (31) than Williamson (30), Jones (20) and Brandon Ingram (18). At the trade deadline, the Pelicans sent Ingram to Toronto for Bruce Brown, Kelly Olynyk, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2031 second-round pick.

The offseason: New Orleans fired lead executive David Griffin as soon as the season ended and replaced him with Joe Dumars about four seconds later. During the NBA Finals, the Pelicans acquired the No. 23 pick in the 2025 draft and the rights to Mojave King from Indiana in exchange for the Pacers‘ own 2026 pick, which had landed in New Orleans as part of the Ingram deal. In Game 7 of the Finals, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles, immediately increasing the value of the pick that New Orleans had sent their way. On draft night, the Pelicans selected Fears with the No. 7 pick and then made the second-most ridiculed trade of 2025, throwing away an extremely valuable 2026 first so they could move up from No. 23 to No. 13 and select Queen. They also traded McCollum, Olynyk, the rights to King and a 2027 second-round pick to Washington for Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, which they used to select wing Micah Peavy. In free agency, they signed Looney away from the Warriors on a two-year, $16 million deal with a team option. They also signed Jones to a three-year, $67.6 million contract extension with a player option. Brown signed with Denver for the minimum, Green signed with Detroit for the minimum and Robinson-Earl signed a training camp deal with Dallas but didn’t make the final roster. 

Las Vegas over/under: 31.5 wins, per FanDuel Sportsbook

The Conversation

Pelicans believer: Last season was a drag, but the Pelicans have turned the page. I love that Zion Williamson is dialed in and Trey Murphy III is aiming to be an All-Star. I know the new front office took a lot of heat in the offseason, but, if you can look past what they gave up to get Derik Queen, there’s stuff to like here. Kevon Looney will help them on the boards, set solid screens and set an example with his selfless play. Jordan Poole is eight years younger than CJ McCollum. You may have forgotten about Saddiq Bey because he missed all of last season, but he’s a solid pickup. Both Queen and Jeremiah Fears are crafty prospects with star potential. Don’t write this team off, and don’t forget that Dejounte Murray has been dunking since August. I’m not sure when exactly he’ll be back, but I’m expecting him to give the team a boost at some point.

Pelicans skeptic: I don’t even know where to begin with the Pelicans. Outside of Sacramento, no team in the NBA confuses me like they do. How am I supposed to look past what they did on draft night? Even if I put the value proposition of the Queen trade to the side, their decisions don’t have internal consistency. Is this a win-now team? If so, then why did it draft a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old who have glaring deficiencies on defense? Is the new front office trying to rebuild on the fly? If so, then why did it give up its first-round pick with no protections whatsoever? Queen has upside as a playmaking 5, but he seems like a horrendous fit with Williamson on both ends. Why did Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver decide that they’d rather pay Poole $31.8 million in 2026-27 than keep McCollum around? Do you expect me to praise them for using the majority of the MLE on Looney? Do you really think that Murray, coming of a torn Achilles, is just going to fit right in? I could go on, but I’m genuinely curious how anybody could be optimistic about this organization right now.

Pelicans believer: No, go on. Please. Get it out of your system.

Pelicans skeptic: I just don’t understand what they’re doing! Big picture, move by move, any way you want to look at it, the Pelicans are mystifying. Why did the new front office not hire a new coaching staff? Why didn’t they at least let James Borrego go to New York? Why does the team that employs Williamson have no stretch bigs? Why did they pick up Jordan Hawkins’ $7 million fourth-year option? Why, after effectively dumping Brandon Ingram for financial reasons, have they gotten themselves so close to the 2026-27 luxury-tax line? You can’t make this stuff make sense.

Pelicans believer: Are you done? Do you have anything nice to say about the Pelicans?

Pelicans skeptic: Sure. Jose Alvarado is one of the best reserves in the NBA, and I love watching him annoy everyone he plays against. Jones and Murphy should remain core parts of this team for a long time, and they’re both on great contracts. I love how Yves Missi tries to dunk everything. I’m pleased that Williamson appears to be healthy. The Pelicans’ broadcast is one of the best in the business. Is that enough for you?

Pelicans believer: That’s a start. I’d add that, if they have better injury luck than they’ve had recently, they have the talent to be pretty good! A lot has changed since then, but I keep thinking about how the Pelicans were playing in the second half of the 2023-24 season, before Ingram and Alvarado got hurt in March and Williamson got hurt late in their play-in game against the Lakers. Williamson was playing the best all-around basketball of his life, and that injury cut short one of the best performances of his career. I remember him getting more comfortable with his jump shot and exerting tons of energy on defense, even late in games, and that’s the main reason I’m optimistic. The other reason is that Murphy, Jones and Alvarado are still in New Orleans. If nothing else, I know those guys work well together.

Pelicans skeptic: Do you? This will be that foursome’s “fifth” season together, but they’ve only actually shared the floor for a total of 145 minutes in 27 games, all of which came in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Pelicans played well in those minutes, and I hope they’re all healthy at the same time more often this year. I hope Williamson sustains the level of play that you’re referencing, too. I advise you to expect the worst, though, and to remember how weird the rest of this roster is.