Heading into the 2024-26 season, expectations were high for the Pelicans. With a healthy Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, a true point guard running the show in Dejounte Murray, and two emerging young wings in Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, the team boasts a strong lineup. But, then injury after injury, off-court issue after off-court issue, and New Orleans ended up as a bottom two finish in the NBA with their 21-61 record.
This disastrous season led many fans to believe that, under new front office leadership in the form of Joe Dumars, a potential hard reset could be on the horizon. However, Dumars went in a different direction. He recognized that health and a lack of depth were the primary reasons for New Orleans' failure in 2024-25, and thus decided to address the need for depth by introducing younger, winning players to align with the team's timeline.
Although a lot of what Dumars did this summer got hate online, one thing people can’t deny is that this team is going to be better than they were last season.
Improvement is never a bad thing
Whether you are a fan of the additions and departures Dumars made this offseason, he did improve the roster, and this team will be better in 2025-26. Sure, the bar may be really low after a 21-win season where the Pelicans rostered over 20 different players, but improvement is never a bad thing.
Given Dejounte Murray's poor play last season due to off-court issues and frequent injuries, Jordan Poole is likely to be an upgrade over what New Orleans received from Murray last year.
Coming off a career year last season, the 2025-26 campaign could seriously be a career-defining year for Poole. At 26 years old, he is entering the prime of his career, and if he has a good year, he could change the consciousness around him. He could prove that he isn’t a high-volume inefficient scorer, but rather a good starting guard who can contribute to winning at the highest level.
Even if Zion Williamson doesn’t play more than 50 games, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones should be ready to shoulder some of that load and help the Pelicans be better than they were last season.
Murphy is coming off a year where he sneakily averaged 21.2 points per game and improved both his playmaking and rebounding. This type of step in just his 4th season means that a potential All-Star level season isn’t out of the question in 2025-26. For Herb, I expect an offensive jump from him, too, and we already know what he’s going to bring defensively.
Outside of the prominent names, additions like Kevon Looney and Saddiq Bey are going to help put a culture in place this season and help this group win more games. All three of the Pelicans' rookies, especially Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, are in prime spots to have good rookie years.
People can and will say what they want about the current state of the New Orleans Pelicans, but one thing they can’t say is that this team won’t be way better than they were last season.