The New Orleans Pelicans entered the offseason with the expectation that the front office would try to build a playoff-caliber roster. To this point, that was very believable, given they made a win-now head-coaching hire in Jamahl Mosley and reports of interest in Celtics Superstar Jaylen Brown. However, the latest drop from HoopsHype's Mike Scotto may leave fans confused.
Scotto reported that New Orleans is trying to find their way into the top-10 of the 2026 NBA Draft. He mentioned that they are believed to be targeting a specific player in that range.Â
Given how stacked this summer's class is, it makes sense that a Pelicans team with no first-round pick would be interested in trading back into the first round. Where things get confusing is that the Pelicans have shown zero signs of wanting to enter a rebuild or trading key players unless the return is polished win-now talent. For a while now, we’ve stressed on this site the need for Joe Dumars to pick a path: either enter a rebuild or try to compete.Â
After the 2025-26 season, it seemed like he had committed to a win-now direction entering the offseason, but now it feels like we are back at square one.
The Pelicans just saw the two-timeline approach fail, why repeat it?
Lottery picks are always going to have value, but in a class like the 2026 one, trading for one is going to be way more difficult than in most normal years. Anywhere from 1-14, a team could land a foundational building block, which is why it would probably cost Joe Dumars one of Murphy III or Williamson to jump into that lotto range.Â
We heard at the end of last month that he was trying to flip Jordan Poole for a late-round pick, which was a laughable concept in itself. Could you imagine he’s now taking the same approach when trying to trade into the top 10?
The Pelicans don’t need a top 10 pick to have a bright future. They still have two bright young studs in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen to build around for the long term and have an experienced strong supporting cast around them. Dumars has tradeable contracts, an incredibly valuable 2027 first round pick thanks to the Bucks,and cap flexibility through the MLE.Â
Not to mention the Pelicans likely only have two open roster spots to use through the offseason.
I’m not going to sit here and crucify Joe Dumars in the way many fans and the majority of the NBA media landscape did after the 2025 offseason. However, I’m not going to lie and act like these reports aren’t incredibly concerning when it comes to what the 2026 offseason could look like for the New Orleans Pelicans. You can’t have everything, especially coming off a 26-win season like the Pels just did, and Dumars has to realize that. New Orleans already tried the whole two-timeline directionless approach last season, and look where it got them.Â
His approach should be simple: use the assets you have to improve the roster, and stop being infatuated with these incredibly pricey and unrealistic goals. Get the team a starting-caliber center, bring in some floor spacers, and win some games. It’s not that complicated.
Add us as a preferred source on Google