After years of injury setbacks, questionable roster building, and a turbulent front-office overhaul, the New Orleans Pelicans have entered the 2025–26 season with both urgency and uncertainty . The appointment of Joe Dumars as President of Basketball Operations and Troy Weaver as General Manager signaled a willingness to make aggressive moves. But the aggressive win-now tone of the offseason has been undercut by a lack of cohesion in the long-term plan.

The Pelicans’ summer was marked by a polarizing draft-day trade that saw them leap from the No. 23 pick to No. 13 at the cost of a future unprotected pick, a move that left rival executives baffled. Their biggest veteran move was trading CJ McCollum’s expiring deal for Jordan Poole’s inefficient, big-money contract. All the while, Z

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