The New Orleans Pelicans have had quite the 2024. At the end of the 2023-24 NBA season, they nearly grabbed a top-six seed and a guaranteed playoff spot for the first time since 2018. Instead, they had to go through the Play-In Tournament as the seventh seed. Still, they had a commendable end to the season and started off 2024 on a 30-19 run that resulted in a playoff appearance.
The second half of 2024 hasn't been nearly as kind to them. Building off of their playoff season and Zion Williamson's healthiest campaign to date, the Pelicans had high hopes for this year, and they converted their optimism into a new All-Star by trading for Dejounte Murray in hopes of building a real title contender.
Their lofty spirits didn't last long, though. Before the season even began, Trey Murphy III went down with a strained hamstring in training camp. Then, Dejounte Murray fractured his left hand after just one game with his new team. The Pelicans only racked up more injuries and absences from their core members from there, and, before they knew it, their season was over before it ever really even began.
Now, the Pelicans will be heading into the New Year with a brand new direction for their team, as they've committed to tanking the rest of the season and rebuilding their roster. They should have plenty of lofty goals for 2025, but these three resolutions should be a priority for the Pelicans to help usher in their new era.
New Orleans Pelicans' 2025 New Year's resolutions
1. Trade Brandon Ingram
The Pelicans are reportedly open to trading all of their veteran players in order to make way for a brand-new roster moving forward. They've identified a few young prospects that they want to keep around, but everyone else is available in any potential deals before February's deadline. There are a few players that they've been actively shopping to other teams, though, including Zion, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram.
The Pelicans were supposed to trade BI even before they embarked on this new direction to reset the team. He's slated for unrestricted free agency and was never an ideal fit next to Zion. New Orleans may be shopping Zion too, but there's a high chance that he'll still be in the Bayou for a few years after this one.
If the Pelicans truly want to rebuild, they'll have to get rid of Ingram, regardless of what they end up doing with Z. This team has seemingly been trying to trade BI for years. If they don't deal him before the deadline this season, they'll wind up either losing him for nothing in free agency or re-signing him to a new contract. Neither of those options would be a great way for the Pelicans to welcome their "new era." Trading Ingram is of the utmost importance if this team actually wants a fresh start.
2. Finish the 2024-25 season with a bottom-three record
Thankfully, the Pelicans have already gotten off to a great start with this resolution. Through their first 33 games, New Orleans is just 5-28, in sole possession of the worst record in the NBA with a paltry 15.2 win percentage.
With Zion and Ingram still sidelined and the team expected to shed most of its veterans before the trade deadline, this should be an easy goal to accomplish. Even with Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, and Trey Murphy III all back in play, the Pelicans haven't looked any better as of late and have continued to rack up the losses. There's no reason they shouldn't be able to finish with a bottom-three record in the NBA, which would give them a 52 percent chance to land a top-four draft pick and a 14 percent shot at drawing the number-one selection. In a draft class boasting top-tier prospects such as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, and VJ Edgecombe, the Pelicans would be wise to maximize their chances at a top-four pick.
3. Hire a new coach
I'm not calling for the Pelicans to fire Willie Green this season. That's a pointless exercise, as this season has clearly already been lost and most of the players on the team currently shouldn't be a part of New Orleans's future plans anyways. Unless the Pelicans have a new replacement coach already in mind that they don't want to lose, there's absolutely no reason for them to ditch Green midseason this year.
Instead, the team should do themselves and Coach Green a favor by dismissing the playcaller after this year. Willie Green didn't sign on to lead a rebuilding team and he may have lost favor with some of the Pelicans' young prospects like Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. This isn't an indictment on his abilities either. It simply seems like Green's methods have grown stale with this team. It might also prove difficult for him to keep the remaining players engaged moving forward after this disastrous season that they've had. Green would be better served trying to find a new job with a team that's ready to compete this summer.