During the 2025 offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans have been under their fair share of criticism from major NBA media outlets. CBS Sports, ESPN, and Bleacher Report have all had their fair share of negativity to spew about the Pelicans.
However, in an article published by Bleacher Report titled "30 Overreactions to the 2025 NBA Offseason" the Pelicans kind of got some love.
This piece was written by Grant Hughes, who did a tremendous job, especially regarding the way he spoke on the Pelicans. He titled his section on New Orleans "This is the Bleakest Situation in the West," and while that may sound daunting, it's really not.
Finally, a fair unbiased view of the New Orleans Pelicans
He highlighted how, yes, the Derik Queen trade was a questionable move that shocked the NBA world and looks worse after Queen suffered an injury in the Summer League. However, he also highlighted that both Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, when healthy, could be part of the All-Rookie teams this season.
He spoke on how this season again hinges on whether Zion Williamson can remain healthy, which is a fair point and something I'm not going to deny. I've said it before, and I'll say it again with Zion, this team could be a top 5 seed without him, they finish bottom 3 in the West.
And even though Hughes may have rained on fans' parade with his thoughts on Zion, he also made it very clear that New Orleans in no situation is in the same class as the Phoenix Suns or Utah Jazz. Stating that the Pelicans are "much further along" than both those Western Conference bottom feeders.
Something Hughes mentioned that I've yet to see a big media outlet talk about is how, in his words, "the Pelicans have outs." Hughes listed off how the Pelicans have swap rights with Milwaukee in 2027 that could be crucial if Giannis Antetokounmpo becomes available. He also spoke on how valuable both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy would be on the open market as two extremely versatile wings.
The way Hughes spoke on the Pelicans is what fans have been wanting to see from the media all summer. He wasn't the biggest fan or biggest hater; he was just fair, which is all the fan base has been asking for.
All offseason, it feels like Joe Dumars and the front office have been scrutinized and dismissed for every move they did or didn't make. So for Hughes to give a fair assessment of the offseason for me was refreshing to say the least.