After what appears to be a failed attempt to retool its roster to make a run at the Western Conference Play-In Tournament, are the New Orleans Pelicans ready to embrace a complete rebuild?
Once again, the Pelicans have been besieged by injuries. The Pelicans join Washington and Indiana as the teams that have lost the most player games to injury this year. The Pelicans had the fifth-most player games lost, with 24 players suffering injuries.
Pelicans Reversing Course, Considering Trading Much-Desired Two-Way Forward?
New Orleans went 21-61 last year while finishing in the bottom five in both offense and defense. As a result, the Pelicans revamped their front office and have 18 newcomers on their 18-man roster. But things haven’t gone as planned, and Joe Dumars fired head coach Willie Green after 12 games.
New Orleans sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings at 3-21. The Pelicans, who fell to Brooklyn for their sixth straight loss, are slated to produce the fewest wins in franchise history. The Pelicans, 1-11 since coach James Borrego took over the reins on an interim basis, are on pace for 11 wins this season. The franchise’s fewest victories are 18 by the 2004-05 squad.
Dejounte Murray has yet to play this season, although he is on track to be available after the New Year. Jordan Poole has missed the 16 games with a quad injury, and Zion Williamson has sat out the last three with a right abductor injury and 13 overall. There is no word on how long Poole will be out, though he won’t play tonight against Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Williamson is expected to be out until at least Christmas.
Herbert Jones will miss his eighth game in a row tonight against the Nets with a calf injury, and there is also no word when he will return, despite initially being expected to miss a month. Yves Missi returned
What Can The Pelicans Do?
New Orleans doesn’t have a 2026 draft pick as the Pelicans traded away both their selections this past summer. The Pelicans sent Indiana its own first-round selection back to the Pacers for the No. 23 pick in June’s draft. They sent that pick to Atlanta to move up 10 spots and select Derick Queen.
The Pelicans are $1.9 million under the luxury tax this year. While the Pelicans have $123 million committed to Williamson, Murray, Poole, and Jones, they still project to be under the luxury tax next year and have some flexibility. Williamson’s deal isn’t guaranteed, while Kevon Looney ($8 million) and Karlo Matkovic ($2.3 million) have team options. Jose Alavarado has a player option.
The first decision that Dumars has to make in the coming months is what to do with Williamson. Williamson has a lot of money left on his deal, though teams may be willing to take a chance since his contract is nonguaranteed going forward.
“You can rest assured the Pelicans will be listening to trade offers for (Williamson),” said Jake Fischer on Thursday’s Bleacher Report stream.
Regardless of what exactly Dumars decides to do with Williamson, the Pelicans are unquestionably Trey Murphy and Jones’ team for now. Murphy had a breakout season last year and has built on that success in the early going, and Jones is one of the top defensive players in the league.
However, one day after ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel said that the odds of a deal involving Jones have grown “exponentially” in recent months, Fischer noted that some teams believe the Pelicans are now open to offers for Murphy and Jones.
Will The Pelicans Trade Trey Murphy and Herbert Jones?
Murray and Poole seem to be the two players most likely to be traded. However, both players are injured, and Poole struggles with shot selection and defensive lapses. Murray is a very good two-guard, though he is not great from behind the arc, and he is also only 29. The Pels should be able to get a first-rounder and a young wing or point guard for Murray at the trade deadline.
Alvardo is a high-energy defender who is an excellent facilitator and ballhandler. As a result, the 27-year-old is one of the top backup point guards in the league. While the Pels would likely prefer to keep him, he has a player option and should draw interest at the trade deadline.
If Jones and Murphy do become available on the trade market, the Pelicans will likely hold out for a haul. Jones is one of the top defenders in the league. He is also an efficient scorer who is reliable from deep, averaging 1.1 threes a game and shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc for his career.
“The Pelicans are going to hold a high asking price and are going to need multiple first-round picks to move on from either of those guys (Murphy and Jones),” added Fischer. “That’s my understanding as of now. But right now, it is pretty clear that the Pelicans, with interim head coach James Borrego, are moving in a direction of a team built around Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.”
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