Jaron Pierre used to come to the Smoothie King Center as a kid with a pretty simple goal: get a free T-shirt.
He wasn’t thinking about draft night then. He wasn’t picturing a Pelicans jersey with his own name on the back.
He just wanted one of the shirts shot into the crowd, and one night he finally got his hands on one. It was way too big, but that hardly mattered.
“The shirt was a size 3X, down to my feet,” Pierre said. “I was dancing so hard.
I wasn’t even watching the game anymore. I was just happy I had a shirt.”
Now the shirt fits. So does the moment.
On Monday morning, Pierre stood next to Joe Dumars at his introductory news conference and held up his No. 10 Pelicans jersey, a sight that clearly hit him hard.
“I almost dropped a tear,” Pierre said of when he got the news of his selection. “It felt surreal.”
Pierre was taken with the No. 58 overall pick Wednesday, and the Pelicans are betting he can be more than just a hometown feel-good story. Dumars, entering his second season as executive vice president of basketball operations, had only one pick in this draft, and he made it clear the team was looking for a specific kind of player.
“We’re trying to hit on every pick that we bring in here,” Dumars said. “We don’t take any of them for granted.
There’s a certain type of player that we are looking for. We are looking for guys who are competitive.
We are looking for guys who have toughness. And we are looking for guys who really want to be here in New Orleans.
Jaron checks the box for all of those.”
Pierre’s connection to New Orleans runs deep, and it shows in the chain he wore with a gleaming “5” hanging from it. That number points to the 5th Ward, where he grew up, and it followed him through St. Augustine High School and SMU, where he wore No. 5 and averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in one season with the Mustangs.
His path to the league took time, and plenty of detours. After graduating from St.
Aug in 2020, he spent two seasons at Southern Mississippi and wore No. 55 in Hattiesburg. Then came transfers to Wichita State and Jacksonville State before he finished at SMU.
Through all of it, the constant was persistence.
“Never giving up,” Pierre said. “Staying the course. Keeping my head down and working.”
Avery Johnson, the former NBA guard and St. Aug alum, knows that kind of road firsthand.
“I’m incredibly proud of Jaron and all his hard work and tenacity,” Johnson said.” Like Jaron, I transferred colleges before finding my home at Southern University.
Sometimes, the journey isn’t a straight line. But good things come to those who grind.”
Pierre’s work didn’t stop once the college stops ended. He worked out for the Pelicans last year and again this year, and he said he felt good about how those sessions went. He sees himself as a guard who can score at all three levels, but he also believes he brings more than offense.
“Being an older guy, I’m very seasoned already,” Pierre said. “I bring a lot of things.
Defense. Toughness.
Competitiveness. Energy.
I bring a lot of things to the table that I know (Dumars) wants to see.”
He’s also had help along the way from another Louisiana guard who made the jump to the NBA, Gretna native and former Pelican Elfrid Payton. The advice was straightforward.
“Stay consistent. Stay level-headed.
Keep the distractions out. Stay locked in and your time will come.”
That time arrived last week when Pierre got the call telling him he was headed to the Pelicans. The wait wore on him a little as the draft went along, though he said he’s not dwelling on the fact that only two players were picked after him at Nos. 59 and 60.
What matters now is the chance in front of him, and the setting makes it even sweeter. He gets to do it in New Orleans, in the same building where he once chased T-shirts as a kid, and just 3 miles from his high school at 2600 A.P. Tureaud Ave.
In Other News...
Pelicans Make A Two-Way Roster Call Right Before Free Agency
With free agency set to begin Tuesday night, New Orleans made its first two-way roster call by keeping its options open at center and clearing a path at guard. The Pelicans used a qualifying offer on Hunter Dickinson, putting him on track to remain tied to the team as a restricted free agent, while also signaling that they want the ability to control what happens next on that end of the depth chart.
The other side of the decision came with Trey Alexander, who was not extended a qualifying offer and will now hit the market unrestricted. The move also fits with the teams broader roster picture after drafting Jaron Pierre Jr., a player expected to occupy a two-way spot next season, leaving the Pelicans with some sorting to do as the negotiating window opens. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Eye Major Frontcourt Upgrade But The Price Could Sting
With the offseason still taking shape, the Pelicans are at least kicking the tires on one of the bigger frontcourt names available: Jalen Duren. The Detroit center is a restricted free agent, and the fact that he wants a sign-and-trade has opened the door for teams looking to make a bold move, with New Orleans among those weighing whether the upside is worth the cost.
The appeal is obvious for a team still sorting out its long-term identity in the middle. But the market is not quiet, and the Pelicans are not alone in their interest, with other clubs also monitoring the situation. For New Orleans, the challenge is less about whether Duren could help and more about how far the franchise is willing to go to land him while protecting enough flexibility for what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Move On From Kevon Looney As Center Problem Grows
The Pelicans have moved on from Kevon Looney, declining the veteran centers team option as they continue sorting through a frontcourt that never quite settled last season. Looneys lone year in New Orleans was limited from the start, and the numbers reflected a player who struggled to make much of a steady imprint while trying to work back into rhythm.
The decision clears roughly $8 million in salary cap space, but it also leaves the Pelicans with a thinner center picture than they would like at this stage of the offseason. Yves Missi is now the only true center on the roster, which puts even more pressure on New Orleans to address the position soon and gives this quiet roster move a lot more weight than a simple cost-cutting decision. [Read more 🡒]