When the Pelicans used the 58th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Jaron Pierre Jr., they weren’t just adding a second-round guard. They were bringing home a New Orleans native, the first player in franchise history drafted by the Pelicans who was born in the city.
Pierre’s path to that moment was anything but direct. The 24-year-old guard made his way through Southern Miss, Wichita State, Jacksonville State, and SMU before getting the chance to suit up for the team in his own backyard. That hometown angle made the selection easy to celebrate, but Summer League quickly showed the tougher part of the equation: feel-good stories still have to survive the roster grind.
Pierre arrived in Las Vegas with a clear job to do. His college profile pointed to a three-level scorer who could help stretch the floor, and his 38% shooting from deep over his final two seasons in college was part of what made him appealing.
New Orleans could use that kind of shooting, even if the Summer League numbers from behind the arc didn’t jump off the page. He went 3 for 10 from three.
Still, Pierre found ways to matter. In the Pelicans’ 81-75 win over the Phoenix Suns, he led the starters in scoring and delivered in the closing stretch, knocking down a pair of important free throws with less than 20 seconds left to push the lead from three to five. He finished with 16 points, three rebounds, and a +7.
Across three games in Las Vegas, Pierre averaged 12.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. That last number matters. One of the questions attached to his scouting report was whether he could become a disruptive defender at the NBA level, and while Summer League competition is far from a final test, he did flash some of that edge.
At 6-5 and 210 pounds, Pierre has the build of a combo guard who can handle the physical side of the league. The steals per game offered a small sample of what he can bring on defense, and that effort will matter for any player trying to carve out a role under new head coach Jamahl Mosley, who values defensive discipline and accountability.
The challenge, of course, is the traffic in New Orleans’ backcourt. Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, Jeremiah Fears, Jordan Hawkins, Herb Jones, and Micah Peavy all occupy the same general space Pierre is trying to enter.
Pierre sat out the fourth Summer League game for New Orleans, and it remains unclear whether he’ll play Saturday against the Indiana Pacers. If not, his next real chance to make a case may come in training camp, where he can go head-to-head with the rest of the Pelicans roster.
For Pierre to turn this into a permanent spot or even a strong two-way deal, the shot selection has to sharpen and the efficiency has to climb, especially from beyond the arc. But so far, he’s shown New Orleans a tough, confident, versatile guard who already sounds like he knows exactly what this opportunity means: "Just me being from New Orleans, I'm showing that dawg that I got" - Jaron Pierre Jr.
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For Pelicans fans, the familiar part is the asking price. New Orleans has already made it known it would need a substantial return to even consider moving Jones, and that is why this latest idea reads more like a thought exercise than a real path forward. Still, it is the sort of proposal that reminds everyone how much the Pelicans prize Jones, and how hard it would be for any team to pry him loose. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Fans May Have Overlooked A Familiar Frontcourt Answer
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For a Pelicans frontcourt that could use more reliable depth, that familiarity matters. Oduros case is less about flash than fit, and the organization already has a baseline for how he plays and how he handles the NBA level. The lingering question is whether that blend of toughness and know-how is enough to push him from a name on the roster sheet into a real two-way conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Face A Familiar Roster Dilemma As Summer League Ends
As summer league winds down, the Pelicans are left with a familiar front-office puzzle: how much room there really is for another guard when the roster still needs to be sorted out elsewhere. Kobe Bufkin has made a case for himself with his scoring punch, including a 30-point debut and a team-best summer showing overall, but the bigger question in New Orleans is whether that production translates cleanly to a regular-season role.
Bufkins shot profile has only sharpened the uncertainty. He opened by knocking down five threes in nine tries, then cooled off over his next two games, and his NBA track record has already raised enough questions about efficiency to make every possession matter. With roster spots at a premium and the Pelicans still weighing where their final openings should go, Bufkins summer has at least given them something worth debating. [Read more 🡒]