Pelicans Insider Reveals Truth on 2025 Season

Pelicans Insider Reveals Truth on 2025 Season

I mean, there’s no doubt it’s it’s moving on from David Griffin, uh, who ushered in a new era post Anthony Davis, uh, made so many, you know, big changes with this team. Uh, some good, some bad, and then bringing in Joe Dumars, who’s bringing in a new era. He’s already made some massive changes this offseason. And I don’t know, you may have heard of a few uh that have been controversial in some circles. Uh but Joe Dumar has has made his presence felt. I think not just with the moves on the roster, but I think kind of culturally he’s already doing some things behind the scenes. I think, you know, uh, at the forefront is just his outward, uh, you know, wanting to kind of develop a relationship with Zion Williamson and, you know, hearing stories about him bringing Zion and them watching playoff games together, uh, during the NBA playoffs, them spending time together with uh, Troy Weaver, I think he he he he’s really wanted to come in and make an impact on this team and make his presence felt in the front office. And we’ll see how much of it works. Obviously, some of the stuff people are looking at as pretty crazy as some of these moves he’s make, but I think he’s come in and really put his imprint on this team. And I think more than anything, he wants this team to be younger. He wants them to be more flexible and and I think he’s kind of put himself in a position where they’re hoping to win this year, but they have some pieces on the roster where they can build towards the future if things don’t work out this season. No, I think number one has to be trading a a future unprotected first round pick uh to to go get Derek Queen. And listen, there are a lot of people who love Derek Queen. There are a lot of people who hate Derrick Queen. I you know, I still want to see I’m one of those people who’s who are waiting to to pass judgment on Derk Queen. But for this team to be in the position they’re in trading an unprotected pick in a 2026 draft that a lot of people are in love with, especially the top, you know, three or four five guys in that draft. uh to to give away that unprotected pick knowing I mean we just saw the Dallas Mavericks go from the playing tournament to the number one pick. So like the lottery is just so unpredictable these days to give up an unprotected pick is wild and I think probably right under that you got to go to CJ McCollum for Jordan Pool trade which you know I I don’t necessarily hate you know I I can get where that thinking is. I think a lot of people are very anti- Jordan Pool based on his uh Washington Wizards experience and you know, rightfully so. They they did a whole lot of losing and he was the face a lot of of a lot of bad basketball with the Wizards, but I think he’s still a talented player. Uh and we’ll see what he looks like in this situation. And uh let’s go for the the bronze medal. We we could throw to Kevin Looney. Uh two-year $16 million deal in there, which again I don’t hate. Um, but you know, multiple years for Kevin Looney, who was struggling to to break the rotation in in Golden State, probably not something that a lot of people saw coming this summer. Um, yeah, and one of the hilarious side plots in this is in his first uh press conference as a member of the Pelicans, Derek Queen came out and said, “Yeah, the Pelicans are right for making that trade cuz I’m better than all those dudes in a 2026 draft class. I played them in high school and I beat them when I was in high school.” So, uh, one of the things I love about Derrick Queen doesn’t hold his tongue for anybody. Uh, so we’ll see how much, uh, that’ll come back to bite him. But yeah, I think, you know, I think when you watch Derrick Queen, it’s obvious a ton of talent. You can see why the Pelicans fell in love with him. Uh, from a game standpoint and from a personality standpoint, like I said, the guy is extremely confident. Uh, he he walks in the building and people want to follow him. Uh, but he’s still a very young player. He’s still got a lot to learn. He’s still got a lot of growing to do to find out how he fits in this league. And because of the position they put him in, just like you said, he doesn’t have that time that they need to win now. He needs to look good immediately or people are going to continue to rip this trade. So, looking at the this roster, who who’s the player you think has a chance to take the biggest step forward? I I’m really really excited to see what Trey Murphy can do this season. I think uh among the the the league pass, you know, Neo fights, everybody kind of already loves Trey Murphy. We all know he’s kind of the the prototypical uh shoots a whole lot of threes, gets a whole lot of shots at the basket type of offensive player. Uh fun personality on Twitter. Uh, but I think now he can really step into a guy who really can consistently score 20 points a game every season, be in that all-star conversation, be a guy who can really make plays consistently with the ball in his hands. I think we saw some of that last year. You know, he had a careerhigh in points last year. Uh, but, you know, a lot of that was, you know, on a team that was out of it very early in the season. Uh it was a whole lot of Trey Murphy ISOs while Jeremiah Robinson Earl and uh Lester Kenyoness watched uh along. So I think now can he do this with Zion Williamson out there with Jordan Pool out there uh with Sadique Bay with some of these other talented players that they have on this roster? Cuz if he can, this team can be competitive. They can potentially be a playing team. if you have Zion Williamson playing at a high level, if you have Trey Murphy playing at an all-star level. Uh, but I I think they’re gonna need, especially those top two guys, uh, to really step up in a major way. And, you know, as we always say with the Pelicans, they got to be healthy. They got to be on the court. Trey Murphy missed a lot of time last year. Herb Jones missed a lot of time last year. Uh, we we know the ongoing saga with Zion Williamson and those hamstrings. Uh, this team undoubtedly has talent. Uh, but they just need these guys to play and and I think a big part of that is Trey Murphy kind of stepping into that Brandon Ingram role now that BI has moved on to Toronto and really showing that he can be that second shot creator next to Zionention too. Already great value on that contract. Oh my gosh. Yeah. What? I’m I’m going to pull it up right here. Yeah. 20 Yeah. 25 million this year, 27 the next 29 and 31. by the by the time you get to 20 28 29 31 is going to look comical for a player mid-level exception basically. Yeah. Yeah. There’s that’s no joke. Uh let’s talk about Zion. What are the expectations for him this year? You talked about Joe Dumar’s you know forming a relationship with him. It felt like early on whenever Joe De Mars was hired that they may possibly move on from Zion like relatively soon. It seems like that has quieted at this point, but what are the expectations for him moving into this year? It just it feels a little bit like a mystery box. I feel like I’ve gone in on this same spill probably like four years in a row on a podcast with you, Andrew. Uh but the pressure is higher than ever before on Zion Williamson this year. Uh and I think, you know, we’ve said this before and I think a part of that has been attached to, hey, look at all this talent with the Pelicans. If they can get Zion Williamson, they could be so fun in the West, they could be a contender. We we remember that December where they were the one seed in the West and they had everything going with BI and Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado and all of these guys. And I think they were always waiting for Zion to be that guy who can lift them up to be a true contender in the West. And now with a bunch of those guys going, I think that hope is basically out the window now. I don’t think anybody’s looking at them as a true contender in the West. But really the the pressure is on Zion Williamson to save this team from disaster because it feels like if Zion has another year where that he’s playing 20 30 games, they’re going to crater. And we’re going to be talking a whole lot about that first round pick. We’re going to be talking about teams coming in trying to poach Trey Murphy, trying to poach Herb Jones. So I think now more than ever, they need Zion Williamson to lift this team up to to save them from basically having to go into a hard rebuild. I think they’re trying to do a a bit of a soft rebuild like I said with BI moving on, Naji Marshall, Dyson Daniels, some of these key figures uh in that playoff team that got swept against OKC a few years ago. Uh and now they need Zion to step up not just on the court but off the court. I think as a leader in the locker room, as a guy who’s speaking up uh more often, as a guy who I mentioned before, the the the front office is trying to invest in. They’re trying to put their arm around him and say, “Hey, this guy is the face of our franchise. he’s going to be the leader. We’re moving on from BI. We’re really investing in Zion. And obviously that sounds good. But, you know, they still have the flexibility to move on from Zion and potentially put him back in the trade talks next summer. But I think they really want him to be that guy. They want him uh to be the figure. And listen, we saw last year, I mean, not a whole lot of us saw the the like 12 of us who were watching the Pelicans in March and April last year. Uh when Zion was healthy, he was incredible last year. It was the best basketball he’s ever played when he was healthy last year. He was incredible shape. The defense was at another level. Uh he was seeing the court at a high level. I I think if he can pick up where he left off last year, he’s going to be right there in the AllNBA discussion. I think he’s that talented. He was that good. And I think, you know, hearing from what I’ve heard this summer, he’s still got that same mentality as far as the work he’s putting in, the the the attention he’s putting to making sure he’s in shape. But again, with Z, none of it matters unless he plays. He’s got to stay healthy. He he’s got to keep those hamstrings in order. Uh he’s got to find a way to be on the court consistently cuz if he can, all of these pieces come together. You see Trey Murphy in the right role. You see Herb Jones in the right role. you see Jordan Pool playing with more talent than he has since he was in Golden State. I I think when you look at all of these pieces, it it kind of makes sense what they’re striving toward, but they’re putting so much on Zion Williamson and a guy who frankly just hasn’t been very reliable as a number one option. And now they’re relying on him more than ever. Uh which I think is a dangerous place for this team. Yeah. What what’s your what’s your level of concern for him physically heading into the season or what what have you heard about how he’s doing physically? I mean, like I said, I think he he’s been in in amazing shape. I think he’s figured some things out as far as how to take care of his body, how to eat right. Uh mentally, I think he’s in a good place. Uh you know, obviously there’s always a little bit of noise going on with him uh off the court, but I think he’s kind of used to that now. Uh, and I think uh I think he’s been very appreciative of how much Joe Dumar has embraced him. Uh, you know, we’ve written before at the Athletic about how shaky that relationship has been at times between him and David Griffin. And I think while it has it did improve over time, I still don’t think it was ever where it needed to be as far as a communication standpoint, as far as a fully trusting each other standpoint. And I think with Joe Dumar’s and Zion, they probably have more of a relatable background. I think those guys walk into a room and probably understand each other better than a David Griffin and a Zion Williamson would. Uh, so I think that’s the hope there is those guys can kind of establish something and build on that. Um, but again, he’s got to stay healthy. You can be in as good a shape if you want to. You can do all the push-ups and sit-ups, but if you’re in street clothes uh when the game start, then none of it matters. And I think it’s going to put pressure on all the rest of these guys uh to to step up more than they need to. Uh, but I if Z can be there, uh, then I think you can see all of the pieces in this team click and I think they can be a fun team to watch with Z there because he’s so talented. And I and I think again watching him play last year, he was incredible. I want people uh to to go pull up Zion Williamson in his final game of last regular season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. That man literally won that game by himself against Anthony Edwards. The the full Minnesota roster was out there. I think maybe Julius Randle was hurt. Uh but he completely dominated that game and then the Pelicans basically left the arena and said, “Hey, we need Zion Williamson to stop winning games for us because we’re trying to get Cooper flag.” So they immediately shut him down after that game. Uh but go pull up him in Minnesota last year and you can see what I’m talking about just how dominant he can be when he’s healthy. We mentioned Derrick Queen earlier, but they they picked Jeremiah Fierce earlier in the draft. What what are what are your thoughts on Fears and what kind of role he could have on this team? When I tell you they love Jeremiah Fierce, they love that kid. And when I say a kid, I think that’s the one thing with him. He’s still very young. Uh still 18, right? Still 18 years old. I think he turns 19 maybe in September or something like that. Uh October, I’m looking at it now. October 14th. October 14th. Uh so yeah, he’s still a very young kid. Still got a lot of growing to do. Uh but the attitude he brings to the gym, I I think they really are excited about uh you know, everybody kind of makes the zero fears joke. Uh but he he kind of embodies that. He plays uh such a fearless brand of basketball, is able to get to the rim consistently. You know, this team has been desperately looking for a point guard for so long. Basically, since Chris Paul left the building, they’ve been looking for a point guard. And I think they really wanted to invest in one this year, especially where they were in the draft. There were so many good guards in that range and I think they feel very fortunate that Jeremiah Fierce fell to them the way he did. Now we’re going to have to see, you know, how much he can actually play. You know, they’ve got Jordan Pool, they’ve got José Alvarado, they’ve got Deonte Murray coming off of the Achilles injury. Uh so we’ll see how much he can really factor into the rotation, but they’re they’re huge believers in what this guy can be going into the future. uh how he can kind of be the floor general for them moving forward and how they can kind of develop him very early in his career at a young age, kind of show him the way, have him be around some of these vet guys. And I think they’re really excited about what he can be. And he has some ups and downs in summer league. Uh you know, I think he had a real aversion for bassing the ball at certain times. Uh that there was that one game against the Lakers. I believe they had zero assists in the second half where Jeremiah Fierce played a whole lot of that second half. think, you know, if you’re going to be a big a good point guard in this league, you might have to pass it a few times. Uh, but I I think I I think this kid has a really bright future. Uh, and he still I I’ve talked to, you know, a couple people close to him during the offseason and I think they’ve said, you know, even during summer league, they saw him doing things that he wasn’t doing at Oklahoma. And that’s the exciting thing that he’s still got so much room to grow in his game because he’s so young. and getting an opportunity to play under some of these vet guys. I think it’s going to be a a really good experience for him and I think it’s going to be good for him that he’s not going to get thrown in the fire early on. I I think it’s going to be a beneficial for him to learn on the bench to kind of play some of those stay fit games, maybe even spend a little time in the G-League. Uh and I think once they finally unleash him, I think he’s going to be a really good piece on this team. You mentioned Deonte. What’s what’s the expectation for him? Do we do you expect to see him in uniform at all this year? I think so. I mean I mean he tore his Achilles last year end of January. Uh I think you know I think I would bet that he’s more likely to come back post new year versus before the new year. Uh but I think you know if you follow him on social media he’s been posting a lot about the work he’s putting in on a daily basis. Uh he’s really attacked this rehab head on. Uh, I think he’s in a much better mental space uh than he was last year. I think if you weren’t following the Pelicans, it was hard to grasp just how much Deontay Murray was going through last year. His brother had a stroke right before the start of the season. Um, got traded. Uh, came in and broke his hand his very first game as a member of the Pelicans. He’s talked in interviews this summer about, you know, losing a few people close to him. Uh, and, you know, obviously coming back, dealing with the Achilles. So, I think he went through a lot last year mentally, physically, uh wasn’t necessarily happy in New Orleans at times. Uh but I think now he’s in a much better place. Uh Joe Dumar has been active again with uh Dejante Murray, uh bringing him in, kind of utilizing him as a mentor for some of these young guys. So, I think he’s really excited about attacking this rehab. Uh but again, I mean, they went out and got Jordan Pool for a reason. Uh they they they believe that it’s going to be a while before Murray comes back. And again, with these guys coming off Achilles, who knows what they’re going to look like once they’re back. He might be playing in January, but is he going to be Deontay Murray in January? Will it take until the following season before we actually see it? And if you, you know, last year, Deontay Murray wasn’t very good, you know, when he was playing with the Pelicans. I think part of that was some of the mental stuff he was going through. But I think he’s got to figure out his fit, you know, next to Trey Murphy, next to Isiah Williamson, especially if they’re going to be, you know, putting the ball more in in some of these other guys’ hands versus allowing DeJonte to be a pure point guard that he kind of envisions himself to be. Uh so I think there are a lot of questions about his fit, you know, his future. Uh, but I think it’s been good to see him in a much better mental place uh than where he was last season because I think last year I think he’ll probably admit it was probably the worst year his career uh just from everything he dealt with on and off the court. Yeah, this does this team have two playable centers? I think is going to be a real question. Uh Eve Mei was a young guy they were really excited about last year. Played a ton of minutes as a rookie. uh I think had some really bright spots, but this team was also bottom five in rebounding last year with Eve Mei playing a ton of minutes at the center position and they kind of made a decision late in the season that hey, we’re better off playing double big lineups with Eve Mei and Kelly Oolen. And I think part of that was Eve Mei struggled at times with rebounding, especially on a defensive end. How much is he going to be able to step into that role? Be a guy they can trust at the center position, be a guy who can rebound, defend, be a complimentary piece, and then once Eve Mei goes to the bench, who are they going to be able to trust? Is it going to be Kevin Looney? Is Kevin Looney going to be be playing more than he has in years uh for this team? It feels like Kevin Looney is like 42, but he’s still not even 30 yet. He might be 30 on the dot. Uh, so he’s still a relatively young player just from an age standpoint, but obviously he’s got a ton of miles under his belt. Can they utilize him? How much can they play Derek Queen as a backup center? I I think that’ll be a big question. He he he really struggled at times in summer league with defense and rebounding. They’ve got, you know, Carlo Makovich, who’s a guy that not a lot of people know, but he’s a very talented big, kind of undersized at the center position. So, we’ll see how much they use him. Four or five. Uh, but I think that’s a big question for this team. Do they have enough bigs to be functional? And I think uh uh and I think in today’s NBA, we’re going to see more and more teams lean into these double big lineups. We talk about, you know, Houston having Capella, Shangon, Steven Adams, uh Memphis having Jiren Jackson, Zack Edy, uh you we saw, you know, Minnesota obviously leaning into their big lineups with Julius Randle, Nas Reed, and Rudy Gobear. I think so many teams obviously the the defending champs with Isaiah Hardenstein and Chad Homegrren. I think more teams are going to play big, stay big, uh they’re going to say, uh, we’ve got bigs who are versatile. We’ve got bigs who can defend in multiple ways and you got to be able to match up with that. And I think there they don’t they want to trend more towards Zion Williamson as a perimeter player versus a a post guy who’s going to be defending some of these bigs. And if that’s the case, you’re going to be leaning even more on some of these younger bigs they got on their uh bench or Eve Mei in the starting lineup. And how much can these guys step into those roles and be productive? And if not, uh where can you find that production or are they going to have to look outside the building uh to get bigs who can give them consistent minutes? I think that’s going to be a huge question for this team because they were so bad rebounding last year and they were so rough defensively, especially after Herb Jones went down. And I think that’s going to be a huge question for them. Yeah. Cavon, he does seem old. Like if you were to pull NBA NBA fans, like how old do you think he is? Probably 35, 36, 29. Yeah. Turns 30 in February. Uh, also, fun fact, Nick Young is his cousin. I didn’t I didn’t realize that. Um, shout out to the Swaggy family. Shout out to the Swaggy. Not making the playoffs. Uh, I think I don’t think they’ll be like one of the two or three worst teams in the league like some people are predicting. I think even if Zion gets hurt, I think they got some talent on the roster where they’ll be relatively competitive and they obviously have, you know, motivation to not tank toward the end of the season the way they did last year. Uh, so I I think that I can see them being around that 35 to 40 win range. Uh, maybe competing for the plan if Zion’s healthy. Uh, but I think, you know, in previous years there, they had hopes of being a 50- win team. I I I find a hard time believing that’s a realistic possibility seeing, you know, just how tough the West is this year. Uh, but I do think that they’ve got Tyler on this team that they can be dangerous if all the pieces come together. But it’s just hard to bet with this team that everything’s going to work out because nothing ever works out with this team. So, I think if everything goes great, they look pretty good. But if if history repeats itself, nothing will go right with this team, they’ll be heard again. And I think we’re going to have be facing some major questions with this team. As far as Scion’s future, as far as Trey Murphy’s future, uh Willie Green, we haven’t mentioned him yet. How are they going to factor in his future as a head coach? Uh I think they’re going to be some some major questions for this team if they can’t figure it out this year. and some major criticisms for Joe Dumar’s if they end up giving up a top five pick potentially, which you know they’re hopeful that that won’t be the case, but it certainly is a possibility. Uh, which you don’t want to be a position you don’t want to be in as you begin a rebuild is giving up a top five pick or even a top 10 pick. Uh, so we’ll see where it goes.

Pelicans insider Will Guillory sits down to deliver a truthful take on the New Orleans Pelicans’ chances in the 2025 NBA season.

In this discussion, we cover:

Zion Williamson’s outlook and leadership role

Trey Murphy’s growth as a rising star

Do the Pelicans have enough centers to compete?

The controversial Dereck Queen trade

Willie Green under pressure as head coach

Joe Dumars’ influence on the franchise’s direction

With new faces, bold moves, and major expectations, can the Pelicans finally break through in the loaded Western Conference?

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