Through all the madness that this offseason has been for the New Orleans Pelicans, one move continues to fly way under the radar. New Orleans brought in a new front office leader in Joe Dumars, traded for Jordan Poole, drafted Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, and Micah Peavy and then also signed Kevon Looney. However, the addition of Saddiq Bey as part of the Poole deal is one of the most underrated pickups of this offseason.
Bey is a 26-year-old wing who last played in the 2023-24 season, where he suffered a season-ending ACL tear that forced him to sit out all of last year with the Wizards. Bey spent all of last season recovering and nursing this injury and is expected to be fully healthy and ready to start the 2025-26 season.
Looking back in history, Joe Dumars' right-hand man, Troy Weaver, was in charge of the Detroit Pistons when they drafted Bey back in 2020. Weaver has always been a fan of Bey, and some may assume he encouraged Dumars to take a chance on him.
Bey is under contract with the Pelicans for the next two years at an average annual salary of $6.3 million. This contract could turn into a steal if Bey returns to the same player he was before injury. He has always been viewed as a 3-and-D wing in the NBA. He is a career 35% three-point shooter, and because of his build at 6'7" 215 pounds, he has always brought a good presence defensively.
Could he be exactly what the Pelicans bench has been missing?
New Orleans ranked in the bottom 10 in bench points per game last season. Bey could come in and give that a considerable boost. Despite being assigned a catch-and-shooter role throughout his career, Bey can score at all three levels. Having him come off the Pelicans' bench is a huge scoring boost to the Pels' second unit.
Bey is also an all-around complete player, which feels like something the Pelicans bench is missing. For example, Jordan Hawkins is a specialist, someone whose entire role is solely focused on knocking down threes. Yves Missi (who I assume isn't starting) is a rim presence on both ends. And even Jose Alvarado, whose whole role is to initiate the offense.
However, Bey does a bit of everything; he's going to help defensively by disrupting the passing lanes and being able to shut down in one-on-one situations. He is also a real floor spacer and can create his own shot. As a playmaker, he has a good read on the game, making it easy for him to make the right play.
New Orleans' addition of Bey is a move flying way under the radar, but could be the type of addition the Pelicans needed to fortify their second unit. The Pelicans are coming into next season looking to compete, and the sneaky addition of Bey is going to help that.