When the Pelicans moved on from Jordan Hawkins last week, the trade package left plenty of people scratching their heads. New Orleans dealt Hawkins, promising young forward Micah Peavy, and a second-round pick to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for AJ Johnson and veteran forward Taj Gibson.
The reaction was swift, and for good reason: the Pelicans had exercised Hawkins’ team option only to flip him, then sent out a pick as well. That also leaves New Orleans with limited second-round picks over the next several years.
Gibson was waived the next day to make room for the Bennedict Mathurin signing, which leaves Johnson as the lone piece still tied to the deal. Reports say the Pelicans plan to bring him to training camp next month, giving him a real shot to earn a spot.
Johnson’s path already looks crowded. He’s headed to his fifth team in three years since the Milwaukee Bucks made him a first-round pick in 2024.
The 6-foot-5 guard has played in 77 career games and is averaging 4.9 points, 1.6 assists, and 1.5 rebounds. The glaring issue has been his perimeter shooting: he’s a career 24.5% shooter from three.
Still, there is a clear lane for him if he sticks. New Orleans could use another ballhandler, and Johnson would give them a legitimate third-string point guard. That kind of depth would help keep Jordan Poole or Herb Jones from having to shoulder more creation duties than necessary.
Poole, in particular, had a rough go last season when the offense asked him to handle the ball more. The 27-year-old posted the lowest field goal percentage since his rookie season in his first year in New Orleans. He’s better when he can work off the ball and catch it on the move, but with Dejounte Murray returning from a torn Achilles injury the year before and Jose Alvarado dealt away at the deadline, Poole was forced to initiate far more offense than ideal.
Johnson could matter if Murray or Jeremiah Fears were to miss time this season. That’s the role New Orleans appears to have in mind for him.
The concerns, though, are obvious. Johnson is just 160 pounds, and that small frame has made life difficult on defense, where opponents can target him and overpower him.
The same lack of strength shows up on offense, where his speed off the dribble is real but his finishing is not. He has trouble getting all the way to the rim and rarely lives at the line, averaging only one free throw attempt per game for his career.
New Orleans not cutting him immediately after the trade suggests they want to see what he can do in camp. The Pelicans are loaded with guards and wings, but the need for extra ballhandlers could keep the door open. Johnson is still only 21, but with another team already on the résumé, the pressure is on to show he can finally stick.
In Other News...
Saints Loss Sparked A Frustrating Officiating Debate Fans Wont Drop
The Saints overtime loss to the Lions has lingered well beyond the final whistle, largely because of a handful of officiating calls that left New Orleans fans replaying the night over and over. The most talked-about sequence came when a defensive touchdown was taken off the board and changed to an incomplete pass after officials ruled the quarterbacks arm was in a throwing motion, a decision the league has publicly defended even as frustration around the game has only grown.
Two other moments have kept the debate alive, including a disputed low-hit penalty against New Orleans and a potential missed pass interference call on the final two-point try. Those plays have not drawn the same official league acknowledgment, which is why the conversation has shifted from a single controversial call to a broader question about whether the officiating stack-up altered the outcome of a game the Saints had every reason to believe was still there to be won. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans May Have A Two-Way Big Worth Watching Closely
The Pelicans have filled out their training camp roster, and one of the more interesting additions is forward Malik Dia, who signed a two-way contract after a college path that took him from Vanderbilt to Belmont and then Ole Miss. Dia made enough of an impression in Summer League to earn a longer look, and he will begin with New Orleans G League affiliate, the Laketown Squadron, while the organization keeps him in the developmental pipeline.
For a team still sorting out its frontcourt depth, Dia offers a profile worth monitoring because of his rebounding and offensive touch. New Orleans believes those traits could eventually help on the main roster, especially if the need for extra size and defensive rebounding becomes more pronounced over the course of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Have One Edge That Could Change Everything In The West
The Pelicans have spent the past two seasons working through the kind of issues that can flatten a promising roster, from injuries to a coaching change. Now they enter 2026-27 with Jamahl Mosley in place and a deeper group around the core, a shift that gives New Orleans a different kind of path than the one it has been forced to take recently.
Bennedict Mathurin is one of the new names that makes the roster look more layered, and that matters in a Western Conference where surviving the grind is often as important as star power. If Mosley can get the depth to function the way it should, New Orleans may have the one edge that changes the conversation around the team entirely. [Read more 🡒]