The New Orleans Pelicans are entering the 2025-26 season as an incredibly slept-on team, mainly because of the hate they received for trading away a future first-round pick to draft Derik Queen. The decision to trade for Queen has been made. In my opinion, the entire NBA media has decided to neglect all the good Joe Dumars did this offseason because they didn't like the move he made on draft night.
But for me, Dumars' work this offseason goes beyond the addition of Jordan Poole, Kevon Looney, Saddiq Bey, and the three rookies he added. For me, the best thing he did was put the Pelicans in a position to address any shortcomings during the course of this season.
Now, what I mean by that is the Pelicans have a ton of talent and depth, but to reach their goals, someone is going to have to step up, especially off the bench. When healthy, the Pelicans have a perfect sixth man in Jordan Poole, but outside of him, they don't have someone who has a secure role off the bench.
However, with the way Dumars filled out this roster, the Pelicans will be able to make a trade to address whatever need they have when the trade deadline rolls around.
The Pelicans could make a splash or just round out their roster even more
Come mid-season this is what I expect the Pelicans rotation to look like:
PG: Dejounte Murray SG: Herb Jones SF: Trey Murphy PF: Zion Williamson C: Kevon Looney 6: Jordan Poole 7: Saddiq Bey 8: Jose Alvarado 9: Derik Queen 10: Jeremiah Fears
My reasoning behind not having Jordan Hawkins or Yves Missi ahead of Fears and Queen is that the front office just invested a lottery pick into both men and will likely put pressure on Willie Green to play both of them. If my prediction is right, the Pelicans will need another wing off the bench.
Although I do think depth is critical to this team's success, if Missi and Hawkins aren't playing, it would be worth it to trade either or both of them for a player that fills a need. Additionally, if a star player like Trae Young or LaMelo Ball did become available, package these two off with some draft capital, and Dejounte Murray could be interesting.
Assuming no stars are available, the Pelicans could still get a quality role player in return for Missi or Hawkins. Guys like Keon Ellis, Julian Champagnie, and Ochai Agbaji all come to mind and would be good additions to the second unit.
I know it's incredibly early to be thinking about next year's trade deadline when the offseason isn't even technically over. But at the same time, I feel like these are conversations the Pelicans front office is already having.