New Orleans Pelicans fans are accustomed to disappointment, but it's a feeling they'd like to forget. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem like it'll happen anytime soon. The West is an absolute beast, and the Pelicans need a miracle to happen before they can contend for a title. New Orleans has a better chance of tearing it down rather than winning a championship.
Lakers reporter Jovan Buha was asked on his podcast which team will be the first to blow it up this season, to which he responded, the Heat or the Raptors for the East, and for the West, he listed the Pelicans, Kings, and Suns. Overall, he said he thinks it'll come down to New Orleans, Phoenix, or Miami, but he did choose one team in the end.
Buha said he thinks the Pelicans are "more likely to have a disaster scenario out of all three of those teams," so if he had to give the "gold" to one team, it'd be New Orleans. He listed Phoenix as the second most likely, followed by Miami (although he wasn't 100 percent sure about that one).
He doesn't think that the Pelicans or the Suns will finish in the top-10 of the conference, barring a major injury (or injuries) to another team. Buha predicted New Orleans will win 20-something games next season, or, at best, a number in the early 30s.
NBA reporter predicts Pelicans will be first team to blow it up next season
If you hoped next season would be better than this past season's 21-61 record, you may be right, but only by a few wins.
How far New Orleans can go will be determined by Zion Williamson, who played only 30 games this past season. He hasn't been able to stay healthy, not even during the 2023-24 season, when he played 70 games during the regular season. He suffered a hamstring strain in his first-ever "postseason" game (the play-in tournament), missing the end of that game and the next.
Speculation about a Zion trade has been a thing for years (literally), but many people think that this season could be when the Pelicans finally decide to trade him. Moving on from him would certainly equate to New Orleans tearing it down.
It doesn't help that the Pelicans traded an unprotected first-round pick to the Hawks on draft night, which will be the more favorable between New Orleans and Milwaukee. The worse the Pelicans do, the higher the odds will be for the Hawks to secure a top pick in next year's draft. Maybe they can get something valuable for Zion, especially if he has a good first half of the season. Even that might be too good to be true.
New Orleans' outlook is bleak, but what's new?