The New Orleans Pelicans have filled out their roster, but the biggest question hanging over next season still sits in the middle of the floor. With Trendon Watford now in the 15th and final spot, New Orleans is looking at a team that still has real gaps, especially if this group opens the year against the Indiana Pacers. After a 26-win season, the Pelicans are banking on new head coach Jamahl Mosley to get more out of a roster that mostly stayed intact.
That puts a lot of pressure on Yves Missi.
Missi may not be the loudest name on the roster, but he could wind up being the most important reserve the Pelicans have. His production slipped last season after a strong rookie year, yet New Orleans may need him more than ever because the frontcourt doesn’t offer many clean answers.
Interior defense and rebounding are major concerns, and the team’s attempt to fix that last year with Kevon Looney didn’t last. The former three-time NBA champion appeared in only 21 games before the Pelicans declined their team option, opening the door for him to move on.
Instead of bringing in another starting-level center, New Orleans brought back 37-year-old DeAndre Jordan on a two-year contract. That leaves Missi and Jordan as the team’s only true centers, with Karlo Matkovic, Zion Williamson, and Derik Queen also soaking up frontcourt minutes.
For Missi, the promise has already been there. Selected No. 21 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, the former Baylor standout made enough of an impression as a rookie to earn All-NBA Second Team Rookie honors. He averaged 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game, flashing the kind of athletic profile that made him look like a real long-term option at center.
Last season looked different. His minutes dropped by seven per game, and he went from 67 starts as a rookie to just 14.
Even so, he still found ways to matter. Among Pelicans players who appeared in at least 50 games, he ranked second on the team in net rating.
And of the four five-man lineups from last season that included players still on the roster now and finished with a positive net rating, Missi was in two of them.
He’s still a work in progress. Missi needs more polish in pick-and-roll reads and more confidence creating offense for himself.
But the athleticism is real, and so is the energy he brings on defense. That matters on a roster that figures to lean on plenty of small-ball looks, including stretches with Williamson, Queen, and Saddiq Bey on the interior.
The Pelicans were near the bottom of the league last season in defensive rebounding percentage and opponent points in the paint. With an undersized front line and an aging Jordan, that burden is going to land heavily on Missi. New Orleans may not need him to play 25 to 30 minutes every night, but when he does get on the floor, his impact could be as important as anyone’s on the team.
In Other News...
Pelicans Camp Battle Could Decide More Than One Key Roster Spot
The Pelicans have spent the days leading into training camp tweaking the edges of their roster, adding Trendon Watford on a one-year deal and Malik Dia on a two-way contract while moving on from Hunter Dickinson. It is the sort of late-summer roster housekeeping that rarely grabs headlines on its own, but in New Orleans it also shapes the backdrop for a camp where the front office is trying to balance established pieces like Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson with younger players who still have something to prove.
Caleb Houstan is already under contract and expected to be in camp, which only adds to the sense that the final roster decisions may be more complicated than they first appear. With experience and development both in the mix, the Pelicans could use this week to sort out more than one important spot, and the competition around the bottom of the roster may turn into one of the more interesting subplots of camp. [Read more 🡒]
Pelicans Just Got More Fuel In The Fight For NBA Respect
The Pelicans are heading into the new NBA season with something to prove, and the league schedule did them no favors. New Orleans landed only two nationally televised games, and both are tied to a January trip to Europe against the Spurs, a setup that leaves the team out of the spotlight while it navigates one of the tougher slates in the league, including 16 back-to-backs and the most stretches of three games in four nights.
Tyrese Haliburton added a little extra edge to the conversation when he discussed his return from injury on a podcast, expressing disappointment that his first game back would be on the road against New Orleans rather than at home. The comments landed as another reminder that the Pelicans are still fighting for respect, even before the season tips and before they get a real chance to answer on the court. [Read more 🡒]
Dejounte Murray Could Decide Whether Pelicans Finally Finish Close Games
As the Pelicans get set for their first season under new coach Jamahl Mosley, Dejounte Murray looms as one of the most important pieces on the roster. New Orleans brought him in during the summer of 2024 to give the offense another experienced handler, and after a stretch defined by a fractured hand and a ruptured Achilles tendon, he is finally expected to enter camp fully healthy.
Murrays presence matters even more because the Pelicans have been looking for steadier late-game execution, and his ability to organize possessions could shape how often they can protect slim leads. If he stays on the floor and gives Mosley the kind of reliable backcourt play this group has lacked, it could go a long way toward changing the feel of those final minutes. [Read more 🡒]