New Orleans Pelicans Articles - Page 2

When the 2025-26 season officially opens later next month, the New Orleans Pelicans are a team looking to turn things around and compete in the Western Conference. Going back to last season’s trade deadline, the Pelicans made a couple of trades to shake up their core in trading Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors and […]

New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray is eager to return to action after sitting out most of last season due to injuries. With the Pelicans undergoing an overhaul, he is expected to play a big role once he is ready to suit up. Murray broke his hand after the Pelicans’ season opener, forcing him to […]

The New Orleans Pelicans begin the 2025-26 NBA season with a rare combination of optimism and stability. After years of fits and starts, inconsistent roster moves, and the constant shadow of injuries, the front office finally looks to have struck the right balance between developing young talent and surrounding their stars with experienced contributors. This […]

A void has lingered over the Crescent City like a phantom limb, a persistent ache of what once was when Chris Paul was directing traffic on Poydras Street’s main court. The New Orleans Pelicans have wandered through a point guard wilderness for the last 14 seasons, cycling through temporary solutions not quite up to the […]

New Orleans Pelicans’ former No. 1-overall pick Zion Williamson is still looking to find his footing as he enters his sixth year in the NBA. Over the last five seasons, Williamson has only been able to appear in 214 games, but the Duke Blue Devil is confident he can live up to his own lofty […]

The New Orleans Pelicans enter the 2025-26 NBA season with an identity crisis, a disoriented fanbase, and a schedule that does them no favors. Coming off a brutal 21-61 campaign, the Pelicans were desperate for direction, clarity, and some form of stability. Instead, they doubled down on confusion. General manager Joe Dumars and the revamped […]

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado suffered an injury after a scary fall in Puerto Rico’s AmeriCup game on Thursday night against Argentina. After appearing to suffer some sort of lower back or tailbone injury, Alvarado was in serious pain and could not get up off the court on his own. Alvarado was attended to […]

The New Orleans Pelicans had one of the strangest offseasons in the NBA. After drafting Jeremiah Fears and trading up for Derik Queen, the Pelicans also made the headline move of acquiring Jordan Poole to shake up their backcourt. Despite those moves, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton graded the Pelicans’ offseason an “F”, and strangely, NBA 2K26 […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have had quite the interesting offseason, trading CJ McCollum and bringing back Jordan Poole, as well as trading a potentially highly valuable 2026 first round pick in order to draft Derik Queen. Making that move even more puzzling is the fact that Queen plays the same position and has many of […]

After the New Orleans Pelicans signed Jaden Springer to the final spot on their 15-man roster, they could be on the verge of moving Trey Murphy III amid reported interest from the Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs. Coming off the first 20-plus-point season of his four-year career with the Pelicans, Murphy III […]

The 2024-25 season was mired by injuries for the New Orleans Pelicans. Several key players missed time due to injuries, and the team opted to move in a different direction following the in-season trade of Brandon Ingram, and offseason trade of CJ McCollum, two of the longest tenured players on the roster. One player who […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are adding to their roster late in the offseason, and it’s forward depth that could help the team, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. “Free agent forward Jalen McDaniels has agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN. McDaniels has averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds over six […]

The future of the lowly New Orleans Pelicans is very much on the shoulders of Zion Williamson. GM Joe Dumars expects Williamson to be the face of the franchise. However, he’s faced criticisms of a perceived lack of dedication. Those critiques resurfaced with a recent photo of Williamson living it up, per Legion Hoops. “Zion […]

After years of injury setbacks, questionable roster building, and a turbulent front-office overhaul, the New Orleans Pelicans have entered the 2025–26 season with both urgency and uncertainty. The appointment of Joe Dumars as President of Basketball Operations and Troy Weaver as General Manager signaled a willingness to make aggressive moves. But the aggressive win-now tone […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are quietly building something special, and they just added another key piece to that puzzle. The team announced the hiring of Mike Hopkins as an assistant coach and head of player development, bringing in a respected basketball mind with over 30 years of experience at nearly every level of the game. […]

When Joe Dumars took over the reins of the New Orleans Pelicans’ front office, many expected sweeping changes and a clearer vision for the franchise. So far, that vision has been difficult to define. Are the Pelicans rebuilding around Zion Williamson? Are they trying to stay competitive with a flawed roster? Or are they simply […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are under new management this upcoming season following the firing of David Griffin and hiring of Joe Dumars. After trading Brandon Ingram at last season’s trade deadline, the team continued to reshape their roster by trading CJ McCollum to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole. It’s the time of offseason where […]

There is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans. One is the possibility of the Pelicans relocating due to a lack of productivity in the Big Easy. The other is what lies ahead for Zion Williamson. Rumors swirl that the Pelicans are looking to trade him after an injury-riddled season. However, Pelicans head of […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are entering a new era this season after they traded away veterans CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram. With a couple of seemingly solid draft picks in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, and bringing in veterans like Kevon Looney and Jordan Poole, the team is looking to compete in the Western Conference […]

Kendrick Perkins pushed back against skepticism surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans’ draft-night trade for Derik Queen, offering strong praise for the rookie center during a recent appearance on the Road Trippin podcast. Perkins addressed the criticism directly, arguing that the team’s move to trade up for Queen with the Atlanta Hawks was justified based on […]

It’s been a perplexing offseason for the New Orleans Pelicans, who used their first round pick to draft Jeremiah Fears and then traded back into the first round to select Derik Queen. It was one of just several transactions from general manager Joe Dumars and company that puzzled fans. Recently, ESPN dished out their offseason […]

When the New Orleans Pelicans traded back into the lottery to select Derik Queen with the No. 13 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, they made one of the boldest moves of draft night. The front office sent out a future first-round pick, a 2026 selection, to make it happen. Queen wasn’t a reach by […]

The New Orleans Pelicans’ 2025 NBA Summer League campaign has left more questions than answers. While the franchise’s summer squad has struggled to earn a win, there’s one figure who has garnered the most attention and scrutiny: Jeremiah Fears, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. At just 18 years old, Fears […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have not been very fortunate to have a good basketball team for some time, and a lot of people are starting to realize it. That could lead to bigger things, such as someone buying the team, or even bigger, buying the team and relocating it. In a recent podcast, Bill Simmons […]

Despite another injury-marred season and a franchise-worst record since his arrival, Zion Williamson remains central to the New Orleans Pelicans’ long-term plans. During the NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, Spotrac’s Keith Smith spoke with coaches and executives from across the league. A Pelicans front office executive made it clear that Williamson, now entering […]

After years marked by injury woes and underwhelming results, the New Orleans Pelicans have weathered sharp criticism for questionable front-office decisions that put their future draft assets at significant risk. Yet, behind the headlines and skepticism lies an opportunity to recalibrate the roster smartly and avoid another losing campaign. To move from rebuilding pains toward […]

Winning is nice, especially when it happens in Las Vegas. There were plenty of winners at NBA Summer League this year, as Kyle Filipowski, Nique Clifford, and Kon Knueppel were among the notable standouts from this summer’s showcase. However, when there are winners of NBA Summer League, there are also losers that need to be […]

There may be no team more perplexing this offseason than the New Orleans Pelicans. After a disastrous 21-win 2024-25 campaign, most analysts expected a full-scale rebuild. Instead, the front office has zagged when the consensus said zig, making aggressive trades, overpaying in the draft, and tying up long-term cap space for a team that’s nowhere […]

The New Orleans Pelicans really wanted Derik Queen during the NBA Draft. Pelicans general manager Joe Dumars traded a very valuable draft pick to jump up and take him. He and Jeremiah Fears showed flashes during New Orleans’ games at NBA Summer League. Unfortunately, an injury suffered against the Portland Trail Blazers knocked Queen out […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are entering a new era of accountability, and it starts at the very top with Zion Williamson. After being named the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations on April 16, Hall of Famer Joe Dumars wasted no time in laying out clear expectations for the team’s most important player. Speaking […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are in that weird in-between case where they’re neither a no-brainer pick to compete for a playoff spot nor a surefire bet to land in the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They have too much talent to bring up the rear again like they did this past season, but a […]

Former Golden State Warriors veteran center Kevon Looney’s minimal role in 2024-25 ultimately led to his departure. Looney penned a special tribute to Warriors fans in the Players Tribune after signing a two-year, $16 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans. The 10-year vet revealed his MVP chants at Oracle Arena was his favorite memory. […]

There may be no team more perplexing this offseason than the New Orleans Pelicans. After finishing the 2024-25 campaign with just 21 wins, a full teardown seemed likely. Instead, the franchise has gone all-in on what exactly, no one can say for sure. Front-office overhauls, confusing trades, and an expensive draft gamble headline what is […]

Recent New Orleans Pelicans first-round draft pick Jeremiah Fears doesn’t lack confidence, that’s for sure. Fears, who fittingly wears the number 0, was asked by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin during the NBA Summer League what his ideal career would look like 10 years from now. “Top 2 point guard of all time,” Fears said. “[I] bring […]

New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III is currently undergoing a lengthy rehab after suffering a torn labrum back in March 2025. Murphy missed the rest of the Pelicans’ season and underwent surgery on March 26. Now, looking to make a comeback at the start of the upcoming season, Murphy’s rehab appears to be on track. […]

The New Orleans Pelicans are securing one of their most reliable two-way players for the long term. On Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the franchise and forward Herb Jones agreed to a three-year, $68 million contract extension. The deal solidifies Jones’ place as a core member of the team as it begins a new […]

As New Orleans Pelicans rookie Derik Queen wants redemption after what he considered to be a down performance, one who thought relatively the same was NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor. With Queen selected by the Pelicans in the 2025 NBA Draft with the 13th overall pick, his Summer League debut on Friday in the 98-91 loss […]

The New Orleans Pelicans made headlines this 2025 NBA Draft when they drafted big man Derik Queen out of Maryland. Queen has a ton of potential and has a unique playstyle in the frontcourt. Because of his all-around skillset, many are expecting him to contribute in a big way right away for the Pelicans. Queen […]

The New Orleans Pelicans ensured that one of their top players remains in a Pelicans jersey for the next several years after coming to an agreement on a contract extension with Herb Jones during the onset of NBA Summer League. Herb Jones’ contract extension with the Pelicans is for three years and worth around $68 […]