After another season that landed below 30 wins, the New Orleans Pelicans spent the offseason making a clear bet: that Jamahl Mosley can get more out of this group than a roster overhaul alone ever could.
The Pelicans did bring in one notable addition, signing restricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. But the 24-year-old wing isn’t a fix-all, and New Orleans is still leaning heavily on Mosley’s arrival to push the team’s young core forward faster.
That’s a sharp pivot for a franchise that went 26-56 last season. Instead of tearing everything down, the Pelicans stayed mostly quiet and turned to a new voice on the sideline. Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said this offseason the organization wanted “leadership, accountability, and vision necessary to move our franchise forward” in its coaching hire.
That description fits the reputation Mosley has built. Wendell Carter Jr., one of his former players, once said, “He expects great things from his players and not giving everyone necessarily their freedom, but he wants everybody to be great, and he wants everybody to live up to what their potential is; and also he coaches you really hard, especially on the defensive end. He wants guys to sit down and guard.”
That hard edge has already shown up this summer. Videos have surfaced of Mosley working with Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III, and the early emphasis around Williamson appears to be broadening his game beyond pure rim pressure. The Pelicans seem to be pushing him toward a more layered offensive package, with pick-and-pop reads and midrange pull-ups part of the mix.
That matters for a team that could use more shot-making from multiple levels. If Williamson adds that layer, it gives New Orleans another way to stress defenses and helps cover for the club’s inconsistent three-point shooting.
Murphy is another important piece in Mosley’s plan. A further defensive jump from him would fit neatly with what the new coach wants. Last season, Murphy was one of the league’s most versatile defenders, spending time guarding all five positions.
The fit is obvious. Mosley has long favored an aggressive switching style, and the Pelicans do have some individual defenders who can support that approach. Last season, New Orleans had three players, including Murphy, who averaged at least 1.5 steals per game.
Still, there are obvious cracks in the roster, especially in the frontcourt. Yves Missi is the only viable starting-caliber center on the team, and he’s entering his third season. The Pelicans also struggled near the bottom of the league in opponent points in the paint and defensive rebound percentage last year.
That’s why the biggest part of this experiment may not be scheme at all. It may be whether Mosley can build the kind of accountability that raises the entire group’s defensive awareness. That pressure falls directly on young players such as Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, whom New Orleans needs to keep climbing after both were named to the All-NBA Rookie Second Team last year.
The rest of the roster has to follow that lead, too. The Pelicans finished 23rd in defensive rating last season, and the organization is hoping Mosley can replicate the kind of results he helped produce in Orlando, where his teams finished in the top four defensively in two of the last three seasons.
If that happens, New Orleans can start to look like a competitive, defense-first team that has a real chance to win most nights. If it doesn’t, the pressure on the front office will ramp up quickly, and the trade market will become the obvious next stop. For now, though, the Pelicans are betting on internal growth as the way out.
In Other News...
Pelicans Look Ready To Move On From Jordan Hawkins
The Pelicans have already made one clear move in the backcourt this offseason, and it has only sharpened the sense that Jordan Hawkins time in New Orleans may be nearing an end. After signing Bennedict Mathurin, the teams guard rotation looks different, and Hawkins uneven recent seasons have left the front office weighing a trade rather than keeping him around on a longer look.
A move could come together with several teams that make sense on paper, including the Grizzlies, Kings and Mavericks, all of whom could use shooting or backcourt depth. New Orleans would prefer to find a deal instead of stretching Hawkins contract, which adds another layer to the decision as the Pelicans continue sorting out their roster and trying to turn a crowded, uncertain situation into something cleaner. [Read more 🡒]
Bennedict Mathurin Could Force A Tough Pelicans Roster Decision
The Pelicans added another scoring piece to the mix by signing Bennedict Mathurin to a two-year, $16 million contract, and it is the kind of move that can ripple through a roster quickly. After averaging 16.2 points per game last season, Mathurin arrives with a clear chance to matter in New Orleans, especially as the team looks to sort out how its rotation will take shape entering the new season.
What makes the signing even more interesting is the roster math surrounding it. New Orleans already has 16 players, which means another move will have to come before the team can get down to the leagues 15-man limit, and that puts some pressure on the front office to decide where Mathurin fits and who, if anyone, has to be moved aside to make it work. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Still Have One Real Reason To Believe In 2026
The Pelicans have spent too much of the last two seasons looking up at the standings to pretend otherwise, but there are still reasons the organization can talk itself into a brighter 2026. Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen give New Orleans a younger core to point at, and the arrival of Jamahl Mosley brings a coach with a reputation for helping teams climb out of the mud, just as he did with Orlando.
Money may end up being the quietest reason for optimism. With several large contracts set to come off the books over the next two years, the Pelicans could finally have some salary cap breathing room to reshape the roster instead of constantly working around it. For a team that has needed both talent and flexibility, that combination at least gives New Orleans something real to build around. [Read more 🡒]