The New Orleans Pelicans are back in camp with a new coaching staff and a few fresh faces, and that alone has them aiming for cleaner basketball on both ends of the floor. After years of uneven stretches, the hope is simple: this group should look sharper, more organized, and a little harder to break.
One of the biggest changes has been on the defensive side, where the staff is already drawing strong buy-in. The tone is intense, but the players seem to respect it, and the system itself is something this team has lacked at the NBA level. Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey have both liked what they’ve seen so far, which matters because those are exactly the kind of players Joe Dumars would want everyone else to follow.
The offense needs a similar lift, and the clearest target is cutting down on wasted possessions. That goes beyond turnovers. The Pelicans also want better communication and more cohesion, both of which fed into shaky decision-making last season.
That issue showed up a lot with Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, who handled the ball frequently as rookies and naturally made plenty of mistakes. As they keep developing, the expectation is that they’ll become more dependable with the ball.
Dejounte Murray should help in that area too, with the veteran finally healthy and set to take on more of the offense. His presence should bring a steadier feel.
Then there’s the three-point line, where New Orleans knows it has to do more to stretch the floor and open things up inside. Bennedict Mathurin is supposed to add a little more punch as a new arrival, while the team is also counting on returning players to raise their level. Trey Murphy and Saddiq Bey are already the shooters who don’t need much adjusting.
And it’s not just the perimeter guys. Zion Williamson has been told to make 50 threes before he can leave practice in camp, and Derik Queen has been working on his shooting too, even if he isn’t giving away much about it.
The talent is there. Now the Pelicans need it to show up with regularity.
In Other News...
Pelicans Fans Just Got More Ways To Watch This Season
Pelicans fans will have a few more familiar voices and a few more viewing options when the season tips off. New Orleans announced its broadcast team for the upcoming year, keeping Joel Meyers and Antonio Daniels on the call, with Andrew Lopez back as sideline reporter and Kelly Crull and Kalia Butler joining the crew. On the radio side, WWL will again carry the games with Todd Graffagnini and John DeShazier.
The bigger change is on the distribution front, where the Pelicans will lean on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network as the main home for telecasts, with some games also set to air on FOX 8 and stream on Pelicans+ and Amazon Prime. For a fan base that has had to track down games across different platforms before, the range of options should make the season a little easier to follow, even as the full setup settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Zion Is Giving Pelicans Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Zion Williamson is giving Pelicans fans a familiar kind of offseason optimism, only this time theres a little more reason to take it seriously. Entering his seventh NBA season in New Orleans, he reportedly came into training camp at 271 pounds, lighter than the 284 pounds he has usually been listed at, and his trainer, Chris Chrisp, has been putting clips of his offseason work on display to back up the buzz.
The health piece still hangs over everything with Williamson, but last season offered the clearest sign yet of what the Pelicans can look like when he stays on the floor. He played a career-high 62 games, and if the improved conditioning translates into another durable year, New Orleans suddenly has a centerpiece who can change the mood around the franchise in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Still Have One Roster Problem That Could Sink Their Playoff Push
The Pelicans enter the season with the kind of top-end talent that can make the West interesting, and Jamahl Mosley arrives with a fresh voice on the sideline. But the fit still looks fragile. Trey Murphy III is one of the best spacing pieces on the roster, Zion Williamson changes how defenses load up, and the whole group has to find a cleaner way to blend scoring with structure if it wants to look like more than a collection of parts.
The bigger concern is that New Orleans still has obvious holes on both ends, especially with shooting and defense. The front office has made it clear more roster movement is expected, which only adds to the sense that the current mix is not quite finished. For a team trying to turn talent into a real playoff push, solving the balance issue may matter as much as any individual breakout. [Read more 🡒]