The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the most befuddling teams in the NBA. When glancing at their roster, it's easy to think that this would be a playoff-bound team, led by a strong group of top-end talents like Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray. Taking a look at their record quickly shatters that perception, though, as they currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference standings at 13-42.
The Pelicans came into the 2024-25 season hoping to make a deep playoff run, evidenced by their trade for Dejounte at the top of the summer when they gave up young players and draft capital in return for a win-now All-Star. Their aspirations came crashing down early in the year, though, after practically their entire core roster was taken out by injuries. That put the franchise in a tough position, equipped with a roster built to win in the present but without any hope of making the postseason.
New Orleans's injury misfortune had a silver lining, giving the team a chance to add a blue-chip prospect in one of the most top-heavy draft classes in recent memory, with players like Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey all appearing like potential franchise cornerstones. It also gave them a tough decision between using this opportunity to restart the roster around a top-tier rookie or taking advantage of the rare opportunity to add a top draft pick to an already-established team.
We thought that the trade deadline would force New Orleans into picking a clear direction for the future, but the team somehow managed to make two moves while continuing to tread water. From this point, they could still choose either path at the end of the season. All the Pelicans really did at the trade deadline was table that decision until the offseason, when they'll have to make some drastic choices that will ultimately determine the future of this franchise.
The Pelicans will have to answer some tough questions this offseason
Now that the trade deadline's passed, New Orleans will have to wait until the end of the season to answer some pressing questions that will have ramifications on their franchise for years to come. One of the most pressing ones is: is Zion Williamson still the Pelicans' cornerstone?
This season amid all of the injuries, Trey Murphy III stepped up and became a star in his own right. He was dubbed one of New Orleans's untouchable players ahead of the trade deadline as part of a short list that didn't include Zion. On top of TMIII's emergence, the Pelicans will likely have a new prized rookie after the draft. If they come away with a player like Cooper Flagg, will they pivot to build around him or still base all of their decisions on building a contender around Zion?
In building their new roster, do they trade their veteran pieces like CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray? Or do they keep them as guiding forces for their young players?
The Pelicans also have Bruce Brown Jr.'s expiring contract to deal with. He came to New Orleans as part of the Brandon Ingram trade, and they didn't reroute him to a contender before the deadline. Will they re-sign him this summer or just let him walk?
Those are just some of the pressing issues surrounding their personnel moving forward. There's one crucial question that they'll have to answer before dealing with those points though: do they keep Head Coach Willie Green?
Even if they wind up keeping most of their roster, the Pelicans are about to embark on a new era, one sans Brandon Ingram, with an exalted Trey Murphy III, and likely featuring a new prized rookie. New Orleans will have to decide if they want Willie Green to lead them in this next chapter of their franchise. The other decisions they make would be severely hampered if they wind up holding onto Green just to fire him a season or two into their new era.