The New Orleans Pelicans have spent the early part of free agency mostly on the sidelines, and that silence has left one issue hanging over the roster: who exactly is manning the middle?
So far, the only move New Orleans has made is bringing back veteran center DeAndre Jordan on a one-year deal. Beyond that, the front office has stayed quiet while the rest of the NBA has been busy reshaping rosters.
That inactivity matters because the Pelicans still look thin up front. They’ve been mentioned in trade chatter around Trey Murphy III, with the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, and Detroit Pistons among the teams reportedly checking on his availability.
If New Orleans does eventually move him, the hope would be to bring back frontcourt help. For now, though, no deal has materialized, and the center spot remains a major question.
The Pelicans tried to address that area last offseason by signing Kevon Looney to a two-year contract with a team option on the second year. The idea was simple enough: add a proven veteran who could bring size, toughness, and leadership.
It never really clicked. Looney got hurt in the preseason, missed the first week and a half of the season, and when he finally got back, the fit never took hold.
He spent most of the year on the bench.
New Orleans ultimately declined the second year of his deal, clearing roughly $8 million in cap space. But that savings didn’t lead to a replacement.
The Pelicans didn’t have a first-round pick this year, having sent it to the Atlanta Hawks in the deal to acquire Derik Queen last year. And the center market dried up quickly, with free agents such as Mitchell Robinson, Andre Drummond, Mark Williams, and others landing elsewhere.
That leaves New Orleans leaning on internal answers, starting with Queen and Zion Williamson. Executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said this summer that he expects the two to play plenty together, even as some have questioned the fit.
"I always kind of chuckle when I hear people say, 'Well, can they play together?' ...uh, Tatum and Brown like, 'Ah, they can't play.' Like, you got to allow people to grow in this league", Dumars said.
He added, "And sometimes you got to let players figure it out. It can't just be, 'Well, they can't play together.''"
The numbers from last season were not encouraging. In 681 minutes with both players on the floor, New Orleans posted a 123.7 defensive rating and a -12.9 net rating, according to Databallr. The Pelicans also finished as one of the league’s worst defensive rebounding teams.
Still, Dumars made it clear that Williamson is part of the franchise’s future, and the team is betting that Queen and Williamson can become a workable frontcourt pairing. New head coach Jamahl Mosley is also expected to help on the defensive end, with the hope that he can bring some of the same early defensive discipline he showed with the Orlando Magic.
Yves Missi is another piece in the mix. The Pelicans still have him on the roster, and they’ll need him to provide real defensive presence when he’s on the court. The Cameroonian-born center has averaged seven rebounds and 1.4 blocks over his first two seasons, though he’ll need to add strength to handle the grind of an 82-game season in the paint.
For now, New Orleans appears willing to roll into the season with what it has in the interior. A move involving Jordan Poole or Dejounte Murray could still open the door to more size, but nothing is settled yet. And until that changes, the center position remains one of the biggest unanswered questions facing the Pelicans.
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Pelicans Trade Target Could Force A Huge Frontcourt Decision
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Still, the appeal comes with real roster math attached. New Orleans would have to decide how much it is willing to give up to make the numbers work, and there are already questions about whether the player in question gives enough on the glass to justify the investment. The Pelicans have avenues to explore through salary matching and protected draft capital, but any serious pursuit would force them to confront a frontcourt decision that could shape the next few seasons. [Read more 🡒]