It's clear that the New Orleans Pelicans' first offseason under the leadership of Joe Dumars hasn't been picture-perfect. Many fans and media members, including myself, have voiced concerns about some of the moves Dumars made this summer. However, ESPN's Kevin Pelton took the criticism too far in his most recent piece.
The article was titled: "NBA offseason grades: How every team fared before 2025-26 season". In this article, Pelton assigned a letter grade to every front office for how well they did this offseason, with A+ being the highest and F being the lowest. Across all 30 teams, only one was given an F, which happened to be the New Orleans Pelicans. Pelton's reasoning was this:
"The Hawks-Pelicans draft-night swap was seemingly the most lopsided transaction of the summer. It could pay off for New Orleans, but it was far too risky to be sensible -- particularly in the context of the Pelicans' other moves. New Orleans is betting on Jordan Poole being a playoff-caliber starting point guard and has overloaded its depth chart at center by drafting Derik Queen and signing veteran Kevon Looney. Just three West teams have longer odds of winning the conference at ESPN BET, and the Pelicans traded away their safety net now that they no longer control their 2026 first-round pick."
While the decision to trade up to draft Derik Queen remains a questionable one, even now, a month removed from the draft, it isn't the end-all be-all. Completely discrediting the other additions that New Orleans made because of their draft-night trade with Atlanta seems extremely unfair.
The good out weighs the bad
The Derik Queen trade is casting a cloud over all the good that the Pelicans' front office has done this offseason. Joe Dumars has done a great job improving this roster by bringing in depth and talent with the additions of Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, Micah Peavy, and Kevon Looney.
Poole is coming off a career year and has grown into an elite three-point shooter, which was one of this team's most significant needs entering this summer. He also gives them a viable starting point guard while they wait for the return of Dejounte Murray. Saddiq Bey was another great addition as he is going to be a deadly three-and-D threat off the bench. And don't even get me started on Micah Peavy, who is one of the most NBA-ready players coming out of this year's draft.
Outside of the three additions from the CJ McCollum trade, the signing of Kevon Looney was a massive win for the Pelicans. With a young center tandem of Derik Queen and Yves Missi, New Orleans desperately needed experience at the five, which is exactly what Looney brings as a three-time NBA champion.
Dumars' good moves didn't stop there as he also extended Herb Jones on a 3-year $68 million deal. This contract is a bargain for the Pelicans as Jones is one of the best defenders in the entire NBA, and New Orleans was able to sign him for less than $30 million a season.
Giving the Pelicans front office an F for this offseason is just ridiculous. Not only did Dumars improve the roster, but he also managed to retain the core, setting them up for a promising 2025-26 season.