Pelicans Offseason Grade
The New Orleans Pelicans are coming off a season in which they were the eighth seed and won 49 games. They were eventually swept in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was the second straight year they were eliminated by the Thunder, as during the 2022-2023 season they were eliminated by Oklahoma City during the Play-In Tournament. The highlight of the Pelicans offseason was acquiring Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks.
The players that the Pelicans sent to Atlanta from this Murray trade were former lottery pick Dyson Daniels, veteran Larry Nance, EJ Liddell, and Cody Zeller. The picks that the Pelicans sent were the Los Angeles Lakers 2025 first-round pick and the less favorable of the 2027 Bucks or Pelicans first-round pick. The Lakers 2025 pick is the final pick from the Anthony Davis trade. It should be noted that New Orleans has 10 first-round draft picks over the next five seasons.
The Pelicans added Yves Missi, center out of Baylor, and guard Antonio Reeves, out of Kentucky via the draft. The Pelicans lost starter Jonas Valanciunas and rotational player Naji Marshall to the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks respectively. The Pelicans have a projected starting lineup of Murray, Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram, Zion Williamson, and Missi. They will likely send CJ McCollum to the bench to go along with Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, Trey Murphy, and Jeremiah Robinson Earl.
The Pelicans have four players who averaged at least 20 points per game last year. They needed to address rim protection and they drafted Missi, likely a project player whose strength is rim protection. They let go of their two centers from last year and now are lacking depth in that department. They are loaded on wings in their projected starting lineup plus Murphy. They have three guards off the bench that are expected to be in the rotation. Should they bring McCollum off the bench, they will have McCollum, Murphy, and Hawkins as their primary shooters off the bench.
