Throughout the entire NBA offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans have been under attack from several major sports media outlets. Most of the negative discourse surrounding the Pelicans stems from the fact that the front office traded away an extremely valuable 2026 first-round pick in the draft to acquire Derik Queen from the Atlanta Hawks.
Other hate has come from analysts not being a fan of the addition of Jordan Poole, with many stating he isn’t a winning player. I find this label funny because Poole was pivotal to the Golden State Warriors' NBA championship-winning season in 2022.
While I don't feel like the Pelicans had an A+ offseason, the roster is much improved from the one that took the floor in 2024-25. Which is why I find it hard to come up with logical reasoning as to why FanDuel has the Pelicans' total wins line set at 29.5 for the 2025-26 season.
This line has the Pelicans finishing second-worst in the Western Conference next season behind only the Utah Jazz. Meaning FanDuel has the Sacramento Kings, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers all ahead of this Pelicans team next season. I find this absolutely ridiculous, as New Orleans has a way more well-rounded and balanced team than these other four teams ahead of them.
The NBA media continues to sleep on the Pelicans' offseason.
The NBA world is acting like the Pelicans' disastrous 2024-25 season means they can’t bounce back in 2025-26. Don’t get me wrong, New Orleans would have to have a flawless season to end up as a top 6 seed out West, but to cap them at 29 wins is just disrespectful.
The additions of Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, Saddiq Bey, as well as the three rookies, are going to be a significant step up from what this team had to work with last season.
Poole automatically is going to be better than the injured and banged up version of Dejounte Murray New Orleans got last season. Same goes for Kevon Looney who will be a huge level up compared to Daniel Theis in 2024-25. Looney is a better defender, screener and brings championship experience to this young Pelicans squad.
With Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, and Trey Murphy III all expected to be healthy, there’s no scenario where I can see this team winning fewer than 29 games this season. Their absolute floor would be the 13th seed, which would have put New Orleans at 34 wins last season, again smashing that 29.5 win line that FanDuel set.