The New Orleans Pelicans may already be staring at a problem they waited too long to solve.
After a 26-win season, plenty of teams would have treated this offseason as a reset point. New Orleans didn’t.
Instead, the Pelicans decided to keep the group together, even with two promising rookies in the mix and a chance to start shaping a new direction. That choice could look a lot worse if the team again falls short in 2026-27.
That warning has been building for a while, and Yossi Gozlan raised it again on a recent episode of the Third Apron: the Pelicans’ chance to cash in on Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones is slipping away. That idea has been hanging around since last deadline, when New Orleans’ only move was sending Jose Alvarado to New York for two second-round picks.
The biggest concern may be Jones. In truth, the Pelicans might already have missed the sweet spot on his value because of how the last two seasons have played out.
After 2024-25, there was still a case for getting a strong return, since it was his first down year and injuries were part of the story. But after last season, when he shot below 40 percent from the field and 30.9 percent from three while his defense dipped, it’s fair to wonder whether New Orleans could even get a first-round pick back.
His three-year, $66-plus million extension also doesn’t begin until 2027-28, which only complicates things further.
Murphy III is the more interesting piece. If he can deliver another season with better than 37 percent shooting from three and land in that 20-21 point-per-game range, his market should hold. He’s on one of the league’s best contracts, he’s still in his prime, and his game would fit just about any contender.
Still, there’s another hurdle here: Dumars may never see an offer that matches the sky-high valuation he has reportedly placed on Murphy III before. Rumors have pegged the asking price at three to four first-round picks plus players for the 6-foot-7 wing.
There’s no reason for Dumars to give him away cheap if he remains one of the team’s best assets, but there’s also a difference between holding firm and ignoring reality. Until that balance changes, a deal may not happen.
The cautionary tale is easy to see. After the Chicago Bulls finally decided to sell at the 2026 trade deadline, they moved most of their pieces for second-round picks.
That’s the kind of outcome the Pelicans need to avoid. If this season goes sideways again, the time to move on from Murphy III or Jones may be before their value drops any further.
In Other News...
Pelicans Face One Defining Question Bigger Than Their Win Total
The Pelicans enter the season with a familiar kind of pressure: not just to be better, but to make a real jump. A modest step forward would still leave them short of respectability in the standings, so the conversation around New Orleans is less about incremental progress and more about whether the roster and coaching staff can push the team into a completely different tier. Past trends around the league show that turnarounds can happen, but they usually require more than just health and good intentions.
For New Orleans, the important question is whether the pieces around the core can produce a record that actually changes the tone of the season. Key player development and coaching consistency will matter, but the article frames a winning record as an optimistic outcome rather than the default expectation. That distinction matters for a team trying to move from hopeful to credible, because the gap between being competitive and finishing above .500 is still a meaningful one. [Read more 🡒]
Hornets Suddenly Have A Backcourt Decision Fans Should Watch
D'Angelo Russell is back on the open market after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies, and the ripple effect reaches a few teams that could use another ballhandler. For the Pelicans, it is the kind of situation worth tracking closely, because adding a veteran guard in free agency always changes the conversation around the backcourt, even before any move is made.
Russell's recent play has kept him in the mix for teams looking for shooting and creation, with the Heat, Pelicans and Hornets among the clubs tied to the discussion. No new contract has been confirmed, which leaves the picture unresolved for now and keeps the focus on whether New Orleans decides to explore a fit or stay patient as the market sorts itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Offseason Moves Are Quietly Setting Up A Different Team
The Pelicans offseason has been easy to miss in the wider NBA conversation, but New Orleans has been steadily reshaping the roster with moves that look more practical than flashy. Saddiq Beys three-year, $55 million extension gives the club another long-term piece, while the trade that brought in Benedict Mathurin after dealing Jordan Hawkins and other assets changed the look of the wing group in a more immediate way. Julian Reeses two-way deal rounds out a summer that has been defined less by headlines than by fit.
What stands out is how deliberate the front office has been in treating each addition as part of a broader roster reset. The contracts have drawn favorable reviews for value, and the common thread is that these moves seem aimed at building a different kind of Pelicans team rather than simply adding names to the depth chart. There is still an evaluative order to how the deals stack up, but the larger picture is already clear enough: New Orleans has spent the offseason making subtle changes that could matter a lot once the games start. [Read more 🡒]