The New Orleans Pelicans enter a second season with Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver in charge still stuck in the same familiar debate: keep pushing the veterans, or finally lean into the youth movement. For now, the front office has clearly chosen to keep competing, turning away trade interest and staying committed to winning games. But after back-to-back seasons of fewer than 30 wins, the question hanging over the roster is obvious.
At the center of it all is Zion Williamson, who remains the face of the franchise. He’s paid like one, and his status as the first overall pick still carries the weight that comes with that label.
Williamson was once supposed to be the answer that changed everything for New Orleans, and last season gave the Pelicans some reason for optimism. Still, it wasn’t enough to fully settle the issue.
At 26, with just two years left on his deal, he may be facing a defining stretch. If he misses significant time again, New Orleans could decide moving on is the cleaner path.
The team has pushed away trade offers for now, but without results, a rebuild becomes harder to avoid.
If Williamson is still the headline name, Trey Murphy III might be the player who looked the most like a true star last season. He was one of the biggest talking points on the trade market this offseason because contenders wanted him, and the Pelicans made it clear they weren’t moving him cheaply.
Murphy put up 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 47.0/37.9/88.6. If that kind of production keeps climbing alongside team success, an All-Star case is coming into view.
Jeremiah Fears represents the other end of the timeline entirely. If the Pelicans stumble and fall out of the playoff picture, the shift toward the future could come fast, and the 19-year-old point guard is built to be part of that.
He averaged 14.3 points as a rookie and showed just how dangerous he can be when the offense runs through him late in the season. Over the final three games, he scored 112 points.
No matter who was on the other side, that kind of burst stood out.
Derik Queen also flashed enough to make the future look a little brighter. He proved why New Orleans traded up for him in the draft, including a 33-point triple-double against the San Antonio Spurs.
He nearly had a couple more like it, and he teamed with Fears for a 30-point, 22-rebound showing in one of those final games. The defense has been shaky and the offense hasn’t always been steady, but when Queen is rolling, he’s tough to take your eyes off.
For New Orleans, the bigger picture is still unsettled. The roster has veteran ambitions, but the talent pool is young enough that the franchise-player conversation is very much alive around Williamson, Murphy, Fears and Queen.
In Other News...
Jordan Pooles Pelicans Role Suddenly Looks A Lot More Fragile
The Pelicans spent the summer leaning into continuity, and the move to add Bennedict Mathurin on a two-year deal only sharpened the competition around the backcourt. For a team that already had a fairly defined roster shape, that matters for Jordan Poole, who is coming off a down 2025-26 season and now has to fight for a meaningful spot in a rotation that does not appear to have many easy openings.
Jordan Pooles offense has always made him a tricky fit to evaluate, but the margin for error gets smaller when the shot is not falling and the defensive questions start to loom larger. Under Jamahl Mosley, the Pelicans will have to decide how much patience to show with a player whose style can still create scoring bursts, while also weighing whether the rest of the roster makes it harder for him to carve out the kind of role he wants in 2026-27. [Read more 🡒]
Saints Showed Real Fight In Detroit But Left Fans Arguing More
For a team that has spent too much time on the wrong end of ugly Sundays, New Orleans at least found a way to make one of them unforgettable in Detroit. The Saints rallied from a 21-point hole and turned a game that looked lost into a wild overtime finish, with Tyler Shough airing it out for 410 yards and three touchdowns and Chris Olave stacking up 10 catches for 182 yards along the way.
Still, the mood afterward was bound to be more complicated than proud. Shoughs three turnovers were part of the same story as the comeback, and the Saints never got the final answer they needed after a failed two-point conversion in overtime left them on the edge of a statement win and instead stuck with another narrow defeat, one that will fuel plenty of debate about what the offense can be when it opens up. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Still Have One Back-End Roster Spot Worth Watching
The Pelicans continue to round out the edges of their offseason roster, and Christian Shumate is back in the picture after signing a training camp contract. The 24-year-old forward, who spent four seasons at McNeese State, first came into the organization on an Exhibit 10 deal and later spent time with New Orleans G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.
With 21 players already under contract, the roster math still leaves one two-way spot open, and that is where the real intrigue sits for the back end of camp. Shumates return gives the Pelicans another familiar name to evaluate, while the final opening remains available for a player who can make a case over the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]