The New Orleans Pelicans opened free agency with a move that likely warmed the hearts of all Pelicans fans as the front office agreed to terms on a new deal with DeAndre Jordan.
Free agent DeAndre Jordan has agreed to a deal to return to the New Orleans Pelicans for his 19th NBA season, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/gmAULFUi2r
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2026
DJ was brought in last season as an emergency signing with the Pelicans' center position depleted by injuries, and it couldn’t have worked out better. It wasn’t about his on-court impact, despite him being great at times—it was the leadership he provided to a young, inexperienced core.
Jordan’s efforts to help be that locker room voice for a struggling Pels team even saw him be awarded the league’s Teammate of the Year award.
While all of this seems great, the decision to give Jordan a contract next season may seriously hinder the Pelicans' ability to improve their roster heading into 2026-27. After picking up Karlo Matkovic’s team option, New Orleans entered free agency with two open roster spots, and now, with Jordan signing, they are left with one opening. For an organization that hasn’t made any major roster changes over the last two seasons and has a combined 36 wins during that stretch, they aren’t in a great place to get better.
The Pelicans didn’t have space for DeAndre Jordan
In no way am I suggesting that Jordan doesn’t provide value to this Pelicans team, because he does in many ways. It’s rare to see a team go through the lows this Pelicans group did last season and still have guys on the sidelines smiling rather than sulking or complaining in the media. Jordan left an imprint on everyone from rookies like Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen to the more experienced players like Trey Murphy III and Zion Williamson.
The value is there, 100 percent. But when you’re on a roster crunch like the Pelicans and are trying to build a competitive roster, resigning a 37-year-old big man who played 12 games can’t be the top priority.
It would be one thing if the Pelicans were entering a rebuild and had an incredibly young roster centered on not striving for winning results next season, but they aren’t. Joe Dumars has continued to suggest he believes this team isn’t far off competing next season, and to make that a reality, this team needed to see some form of roster improvement. So, using one of their two openings on someone who isn’t going to see the court more than 10 times this upcoming season is a huge mistake by the front office.
Even after a disappointing 2026 NBA Draft that saw the Pelicans make no shake-ups, fans still entered free agency optimistic that a big move could be coming, and once again, they were let down.
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