The Pelicans’ latest roster move may have quietly put Karlo Matković in a tough spot.
By signing Trendon Watford and completing a 15-man roster, New Orleans added another forward who fits into the same crowded, undersized power forward mix. That leaves Matković looking like the player most at risk as the season approaches.
Matković got a vote of confidence earlier this summer when the Pelicans picked up his team option. The former second-round pick appeared in a career-high 62 games last season, building on the path that brought him to New Orleans after being selected No. 52 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft and stashed in Europe for two seasons before arriving in 2024.
The 6-foot-10 Croatian forward brings energy and activity, and he has shown flashes on offense as a rim runner with some outside shooting touch. But Watford adds a different layer.
He lives around the basket, with roughly 75% of his shots last season coming from inside 10 feet, and he can handle the ball, get to a floater, or move the ball to an open teammate. Over the last two years, he averaged about 2.6 assists per game, giving New Orleans a big-man playmaking element that neither Matković nor Yves Missi has consistently offered.
The age comparison doesn’t help Matković much either. He and Watford are the same age, but Watford has played in twice as many NBA games and started four times as many.
That matters because Watford’s skill set overlaps with what the Pelicans already have in Zion Williamson and Derik Queen. He isn’t on their level as a player, but his passing and ability to keep the offense flowing could help New Orleans if one of them misses time. Queen played all 81 games in his rookie season, and Williamson logged the second-most games of his career last year, even though durability has been an issue in most seasons.
Saddiq Bey also played a key role last season by giving the Pelicans flexibility in small-ball lineups late in games.
With no true starting-caliber center added this offseason, New Orleans appears headed toward a smaller, quicker offensive look. That setup suits Watford, especially as a ball-handler in the frontcourt.
It also creates a squeeze with Bey, Williamson, and Queen in the mix, while Missi is expected to get minutes as well. That’s where Matković can get pushed to the edge.
The approach is also a shift from how new head coach Jamahl Mosley worked in Orlando last season, when he had Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero sharing the frontcourt at 6-foot-10. In New Orleans, the Pelicans are expected to lean heavily on Williamson and Queen for most of the frontcourt minutes, which would be a different setup for Mosley and his staff.
Both Matković and Watford are on one-year deals, so this season doubles as an audition. If Mosley wants offensive connectivity and extra playmaking around second-unit scorers, Watford looks tailor-made for the role. That leaves Matković heading into camp with a clear task: prove his rim-running and energy can outweigh the versatility Watford now brings.
In Other News...
Pelicans Just Sent Another Clear Message About Their Frontcourt Priorities
The Pelicans kept trimming and reshaping the back end of their roster this week, waiving second-year center Hunter Dickinson to clear a two-way spot after adding Malik Dia on a two-way contract. Dickinsons time in New Orleans was brief after he went undrafted in 2025 and appeared in five games last season, but the move fits the teams continued search for the right mix of size and developmental depth around the frontcourt.
New Orleans is still not done sorting out those two-way slots, and the opening left behind should only sharpen the competition when camp gets going. Players like Kobe Bufkin and Christian Koloko are among the names now in position to fight for that space, which means the Pelicans roster churn at the bottom is still very much tied to how they want to build out the big-man group. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Camp Battle Could Decide More Than One Key Roster Spot
The Pelicans have already done some of the housekeeping ahead of training camp, signing Trendon Watford to a one-year deal and Malik Dia to a two-way contract while building out a roster that still features established pieces like Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson. Caleb Houstan is also under contract and expected to be around when camp opens, giving New Orleans another young name to sort through as it tries to balance immediate depth with longer-term development.
The two-way picture is where things get especially interesting, because the front office has left itself room to keep competing for one of the remaining openings. With Hunter Dickinson out of the mix after the move that cleared the spot, the Pelicans now have a camp battle that could shape more than a single line on the roster sheet, and the outcome may say plenty about how they want to blend upside, fit and readiness entering the season. [Read more 🡒]