The Pelicans enter this season with a lot to sort out, but the biggest swing factor may be Yves Missi. New Orleans is trying to climb out of last season’s 26-win mess under new head coach Jamahl Mosley, and the roster still has the same basic shape - which means the pressure is on the pieces already in place to play cleaner, healthier basketball.
Missi sits right at the center of that conversation. The third-year big man is coming off a step backward after a promising rookie year, and the Pelicans could use him to steady a frontcourt that has been anything but stable.
He made enough noise as a first-year player to earn NBA All-Rookie Second Team honors, putting up 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. That looked like the beginning of something real for New Orleans alongside Williamson.
But the front office complicated things by swinging big in the 2025 NBA Draft, bringing in former Maryland standout Derik Queen and sending out an unprotected first-round pick to get him. That move changed the shape of the rotation, and it meant Missi spent far more time on the sideline. His starts dropped from 67 as a rookie to 14 last season, a major hit for a player who didn’t begin organized basketball until age 15.
That matters because the Pelicans still need size badly. Last season’s defense was rough enough to show the problem clearly: New Orleans finished 25th in opponent points in the paint and had the third-worst defensive rebounding percentage in the league.
The team already learned the hard way that veteran stopgaps aren’t guaranteed answers, after Kevon Looney’s one-year run was a disaster and ended after 21 games. Then came another odd turn, with the club re-signing 38-year-old DeAndre Jordan to a two-year, guaranteed deal.
Missi does help in some of the areas New Orleans needs most. Per NBARPM, opponents shot 3.6% worse at the rim when he was on the floor than when he was on the bench. He also graded well on the glass, ranking in the 91st percentile of his position group in defensive rebounding.
Still, the limitations are real. Offensively, he’s mostly a lob target at this stage.
He doesn’t create much for himself in the paint, his shooting on anything other than dunks is poor for his position, and he finished at just 54% from the field. He also isn’t much of a connector as a passer, and defensively he leans heavily on athleticism for blocks and deflections rather than consistently winning his own matchups.
How much he plays will tell a lot about what the Pelicans think they have. Executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said this summer that Zion Williamson and Queen will keep logging heavy minutes together, even though that pairing presents obvious issues on both ends. New Orleans also has a crowded backcourt and plenty of guards and wings, which points to more small-ball looks and fewer traditional minutes for Missi.
That’s the tension for New Orleans. Missi has the physical tools to matter, but the role, the development curve and the rotation all pull in different directions. After last season’s drop to 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in under 20 minutes per game, he’s the Pelicans’ biggest wildcard - and maybe one of the few hidden levers they can still pull.
In Other News...
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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
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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 🡒]