The 2025-26 season has generated very little to be positive about for the New Orleans Pelicans. A bottom-10 record in the league. No first-round pick in the upcoming draft. Bad trades were made in the offseason. Unclear what the plan is for the team's head coaching opening. No clear long-term direction. But one of the few bright spots has been Saddiq Bey, who, through all the ups and downs during this season, has been Mr. consistent and a true professional every day.
When he was first acquired, Bey was widely viewed as a throw-in piece in the Jordan Poole for CJ McCollum swap. Coming off an ACL injury that saw him miss the entire 2024-25 campaign, expectations were low. Quickly into his time with the Pelicans, Bey showed he was way more than just a throw-in, and this season he is averaging a career-high 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. He's also connecting on 36.6 percent of his threes and posting the highest true shooting percentage of his career.
With Bey set to expire not this upcoming offseason but the following one, many fans are pushing hard for the front office to extend the 26-year-old. However, Bey's up-and-down shooting throughout his five-year NBA career suggests this season could be fool's gold.
Patience may be the best path forward with Bey
With the Pelicans being one of the bottom seven teams in the league this season, it's not out of the realm of possibility that this could just be a one-season wonder for Bey. We see it all the time in the NBA: players have career seasons on bottom-level teams, only to fall back to reality when the lights get brighter. That thought becomes even more plausible when you factor in that this was his return season after being sidelined all of last year, and that he came into this year with a revenge-and-bounce-back mentality.
Before this season, Bey had never shot above 42.2 percent from the field in a season, and he has also had two seasons in his career in which he shot below 35 percent from three.
It's also worth noting that while Bey has had games where he's carried the Pelicans to victory or hit big shots, he's never been the primary focus of an opposing coach's scouting report. But if he were to be signed to a big-time extension, other teams' staff would focus on shutting him down more against New Orleans.
Seeing the way Herb Jones has regressed since signing his extension last offseason with New Orleans, the Pelicans have to be more cautious than ever when handing out contracts. Even though Bey has been excellent this season and one of the few bright spots for the struggling Pels, not extending him may still be the safest long-term option. Not only does it give New Orleans more flexibility, but it also keeps Bey a more flexible trade asset if next season doesn't go as planned.