The New Orleans Pelicans are playing hardball at the bottom of the NBA standings - and not in the way you'd expect from a team in their position. Most franchises near the basement this late in the season are subtly (or not-so-subtly) pulling the plug, chasing lottery odds and praying for ping-pong ball miracles.
But the Pelicans? They’re going the other way.
And it’s making things very interesting for the Atlanta Hawks.
Here’s the situation: Atlanta owns New Orleans’ unprotected first-round pick. Just a week ago, that pick was projected to be the second-best asset in the upcoming draft.
But after the Pelicans won three of their last four games, that pick has slid to fourth in the lottery standings. That may not sound like much, but in a draft with a murky top tier, every spot matters - not just for the team drafting, but for the teams holding those picks.
Now, let’s be clear: this little winning streak doesn’t mean the Pelicans are suddenly good. They’re still one of the league’s most dysfunctional rosters - a mix of mismatched pieces, injured stars, and young players thrown into the deep end.
There’s no real identity, no clear direction, and certainly no cohesion. But what they do have is effort.
And that’s a rare commodity in a tank-heavy landscape.
Start with the roster. They're rolling out rookies at point guard and center - two of the toughest positions to learn on the fly.
Dejounte Murray, the veteran they brought in to stabilize the backcourt, hasn’t played a minute this season due to an Achilles injury. On top of that, he reportedly wants out.
Zion Williamson, once the face of the franchise, is putting up career-low scoring numbers. The vibes are off, to put it mildly.
And yet, the Pelicans are pushing. While other bottom-feeders are strategically sitting key players - Utah, Washington, and Brooklyn come to mind - New Orleans is doing the opposite.
They’re playing to win. Not because they think they’re a playoff team, but because they have to.
There’s no incentive to lose. Their pick is gone.
So why tank?
That’s the uncomfortable truth at the heart of this: the Pelicans traded away their unprotected first-round pick. And now, they’re stuck in a spot no rebuilding team wants to be - bad, but not bad enough to benefit from it.
This wasn’t a surprise to the front office. When they made the deal, they weren’t expecting a playoff run.
Joe Dumars even said as much - there were no illusions about being a contender this season. But they probably didn’t expect to be dead last at the halfway mark either.
If that pick ends up in the top three and goes to Atlanta, it could haunt the Pelicans for years. It would turn the Derik Queen trade into a cautionary tale - the kind of move that sets a franchise back a decade. Even if Queen turns out to be a star, the optics of giving up a premium pick for him could be brutal.
Compare that to the rest of the lottery crowd. The Nets are quietly cheering every loss.
The Wizards are desperate to stay in the top five so their top-8 protected pick doesn’t end up in New York. The Jazz are resting key players in what’s become a not-so-subtle tank job.
Everyone’s playing the long game - except New Orleans.
So no, the Pelicans aren’t good. In fact, they might be the worst team in basketball.
But they’re fighting. They’re competing.
And in a league where plenty of teams are doing the opposite, that effort might just be enough to mess with the lottery math - and maybe, just maybe, salvage a little pride in the process.
For the Hawks, every Pelicans win chips away at the dream of landing a top-tier pick. For New Orleans, every win is a small step away from embarrassment. It’s not the kind of drama you’d expect from the bottom of the standings, but it’s drama all the same - and it could have real consequences for both franchises.