Since Joe Dumars has entered the Pelicans front office, one of his main focuses has been to add depth. Dumars came in extremely aware of the Pelicans ' roster's previous injury history and felt that to build a playoff-ready roster, he needed to add depth instead of going star hunting. Adding depth appeared to be the goal, and it was accomplished as New Orleans brought in a ton of talent and players that are going to be ready to contribute
With Dejounte Murray starting the year sidelined, the Pelicans' depth at point guard is going to help keep them competitive. Having Jordan Poole, Jaden Springer, Jose Alvarado, and Jeremiah Fears is going to make the loss of Murray for potentially the first couple of months of the season less painful.
The same thing goes for Derik Queen’s absences. Who, after suffering a wrist injury during his time in Vegas playing for the Pelicans summer league team, will be spending training camp and preseason likely on the sideline. This means Queen won’t have to be fully acclimated to the Pelicans system and will need an adjustment period before making his debut. Thankfully, the signing of Kevon Looney and the addition of Hunter Dickinson on a two-way deal will give New Orleans depth alongside Yves Missi.
Well, both Herb Jones and Trey Murphy should be fully healthy and ready to go to start next season. They are also both coming off shoulder injuries. Meaning Willie Green won’t be inclined to play them heavy minutes early into next season. And although the Pelicans' depth on the wing isn’t huge, Micah Peavy and Saddiq Bey are going to be great options early into the 2025-26 season.
It’s going to be all hands on deck to start next season
Although i expect the Pelicans to cut their rotation down to 8 or 9 players in the later half of the season. At the start of this upcoming campaign, I expect this team to win by committee because of their plethora of key players that are injured or recovering.
I fully expect Willie Green to give almost every player on the roster some run early into next season and on a nightly basis find the hot hand and feed it.
The Pelicans have their deepest roster since Zion Williamson has been in New Orleans, and as long as they keep within a .500 range when they get fully healthy, this team is going to be special. While most experts want to sleep on this team, a roster of Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and more is going to be a playoff-contending team.