The Pelicans made a pretty loud statement Thursday evening, and it had less to do with surprise than with role definition. New Orleans signed Saddiq Bey to a three-year, $55 million contract extension, and that move says plenty about where he fits as Jamahl Mosley starts sorting out a crowded rotation for 2026-27.
The biggest takeaway is simple: Bey looks positioned to be the primary scoring punch off the bench. With the extension in hand, he appears locked into that sixth-man lane, giving the Pelicans a clear answer for one of the biggest questions hanging over the roster.
That makes sense when you look at what Bey gave them last season. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 36.7 percent from three across 72 games. The ball was in his hands a lot, and New Orleans seems to have decided that the best way to keep getting that production is to let him lead the second unit.
It also fits the way the rest of the roster is built. Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, and Zion Williamson already give the starting group plenty of shot creation and scoring, which makes Herb Jones the cleaner fit in the other wing spot as a defensive specialist. If Bey started, he’d be asked to play a different kind of game than the one the Pelicans just rewarded him for.
The better fit is beside Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears off the bench, where he can keep doing what he does best: create off the dribble, attack hard downhill, and space the floor with catch-and-shoot threes.
That doesn’t mean Bey is stuck watching from the sideline when games tighten up. He can still finish games and share the floor with starters.
His value is in how easily he can plug into whatever lineup needs a jolt. If Murray is out, New Orleans can go big with Z at the point.
If Murphy III or Jones needs a breather, Bey can step in and handle that job. If Zion sits, Bey adds spacing.
If Yves Missi is off the floor, the Pelicans can go smaller at center with Zion and Bey in the frontcourt.
There’s always the chance the picture changes if New Orleans makes a trade involving Murphy III or Jones. For now, though, that isn’t where things stand. And with all the talk about how the second unit will shake out, Bey’s extension makes the team’s thinking pretty clear: they see him as their sixth starter.
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Scouts, though, are offering a mixed read on the pieces around him, especially when it comes to Williamson, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears. The concerns are less about talent than about how well the fit ultimately works and whether the on-court strengths line up cleanly enough to solve the questions that have lingered around this group. [Read more 🡒]