The New Orleans Pelicans are about to get a real look at what this roster can be under a new coaching staff, and training camp should answer a few big questions fast.
With camp set to open in just over a week, the Pelicans are back in the spotlight as they try to push toward the playoffs for the first time in a few years. Joe Dumars and company resisted the rebuild talk and kept Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy in place, which leaves this group with what feels like one more run before the organization shifts its focus more heavily toward the younger players.
One of the first things worth sorting out is how everyone fits into Jamahl Mosley’s system. That process looked different when Mosley and his staff arrived in Orlando, where they were walking into a full rebuild and had time to figure out what worked while helping the Magic climb back into the postseason in just a couple of seasons.
New Orleans is a different challenge. This is a roster that management wants to compete right now, and several coaches have already tried to tap into the potential here without getting the team where it wants to go.
The biggest lineup battle may come at center. The Pelicans have two young options in Derik Queen and Yves Missi, and while some may naturally lean toward Queen because of how he was acquired, Missi could be the better fit.
The staff’s preference for defense over offense gives Missi an early edge, especially after his strong showing in the FIBA qualifiers and the step forward he made from Year 1 to Year 2. Queen is also entering Year 2 and has spent this offseason with DeAndre Jordan while working to reshape his body and add more on the defensive end.
It should be a real competition, but it would be a surprise if Missi doesn’t open as the starter.
Then there’s the bench, where the rotation could get crowded in a hurry. If Queen starts the season coming off the bench, he’ll be part of a group fighting for minutes that also includes Jeremiah Fears, Bennedict Mathurin, Bryce McGowens, Saddiq Bey, Trendon Watford and Jordan Poole.
Poole stands out the most in that mix. He’s due $34 million this season, but there’s a real chance he could wind up outside the rotation entirely.
His minutes were un-winnable last year, and the Pelicans already benched him then. This season opens with an assumed game plan that doesn’t seem to suit his skill set, though there may still be another plan in place.
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Pelicans Camp Plan Is Set But One Backcourt Decision Still Looms
The Pelicans appear to have their backcourt blueprint in place as training camp opens, with Dejounte Murray projected to handle the starting point guard duties and Jeremiah Fears set to steer the second unit. For New Orleans, that arrangement offers a clearer early-season structure, pairing Murrays steadiness and leadership with a younger guard whose role is built around growth as much as production.
Fears enters camp with a chance to sharpen the parts of his game that will determine how quickly he climbs the rotation, especially as a playmaker and on the defensive end. Murrays job, meanwhile, is to give the group stability from the start, but the bigger question for the Pelicans is how long that setup holds once the games begin and the coaching staff starts sorting out which backcourt combinations can finish nights on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Herb Jones Could Decide How Stable This Pelicans Season Feels
Herb Jones has already become one of the defining pieces of the Pelicans core, and not just because of what he does on defense. Entering his sixth NBA season in New Orleans after earning All-Defensive First Team honors last year, he gives the roster a rare kind of edge: a wing stopper who can tilt matchups before the offense even gets involved. With his three-year extension set to kick in soon, the Pelicans are looking at a long runway with a player who could stay in place well into the 2030/2031 season.
The bigger question, though, is whether Jones can give the team a steadier presence. He has been available for only about half of the games over the last two seasons, and that has made his value feel more theoretical than constant at times. Training camp gives him a clean start, with health and improved three-point shooting both sitting near the top of his personal checklist, and how well he handles those two areas may say plenty about how stable this Pelicans season can feel. [Read more 🡒]
Zion Williamson Has One Big Reason To Love Pelicans Keeping Saddiq Bey
The Pelicans made an investment in continuity by signing Saddiq Bey to a three-year extension worth more than $55 million, keeping one of last seasons most useful frontcourt pieces in place. Bey gave New Orleans a steady two-way presence and production that fit cleanly alongside Zion Williamson, averaging a career-high 17.7 points and 5.6 rebounds while logging significant minutes with the teams star.
For Williamson, the move matters because it helps preserve a pairing that already showed real value and gives the Pelicans a little more stability around him as they build out the roster. Beys return should keep the frontcourt from feeling quite so fragile, and it leaves New Orleans with a dependable option who can ease some of the burden on Williamson without requiring the offense to change shape. [Read more 🡒]