New Orleans Pelicans Team Review

2023-24 record: 51-31

The 23-24 season represented a proverbial “pushing your chips to the middle of the table” moment for the Pels, as they made several trades forfeiting youth and draft picks in favor of players that, while not old themselves, are a clear indicator that they are ready to win now, a mindset that does not seem primed to change this coming season. 

Season Highlight: I think any time you acquire one of the best players in the NBA in Luka Doncic, it’s gonna be a candidate for highlight unless you also win the title. I’ll dig into this trade in a bit, but it was a clear upgrade to the team, and the biggest reason why they won 51 games.

Season Lowlight: Running into the buzzsaw that was the KD/Steph Lakers, and only taking one game off of them for a 2nd round exit. 

Major Trades:
Pels receive Luka Doncic for Ja Morant, Obi Toppin, and a 2026 NO 1st - This was by far the most important trade of the year for New Orleans, and I love this trade for them. It’s not that the shine is off Ja, he’s still a heck of a player and still very young and promising, but he has to earn some trust back after his off-court nonsense, as well as his injury troubles. Obi Toppin is a fine rotation player, a bit of a late bloomer, and the 1st is very likely late. I think Luka is very well worth that.

Pels receive Brandon Ingram and Marvin Bagley for Keldon Johnson, WCJ, Terance Mann, and a 2028 NO 1st: This is a more up-in-the-air trade that depends entirely on how you feel about some polarizing players. BI has been thought of in some circles as a bit of empty calories, but he’s still a star player. Keldon is a bit questionable as to what his long term role is in the NBA, same with Mann, while WCJ just got paid but is also a rotational guy. 3 good rotation players and another potential late 1st (though who knows really), for 1 rotation player and a star? I think that’s fine.

Pels receive Rudy Gobert for Pascal Siakam: No issues here, Gobert is well-known as a defensive force but siakam has more offense to his game. A clear trade to address some stylistic weaknesses.

Pels receive Kyrie Irving, NAW, and Daniel Theis for Brandon Ingram, Austin Reaves, and Dereck Lively: This is the trade I am the least into, but I am a kyrie hater so I’m a little biased. There is no denying Kyrie’s on-court prowess, but much the same as Ja, he has a history of not being reliable for both on-and-off court reasons, and a much lengthier one at that. BI we’ve discussed, Reaves though is potentially one of the premier contracts in the league. Lively is also a very solid rookie who wasn’t really expected to bust on the scene like he did his rookie year according to many draft pundits. It is a lot to give up for a guy who, when he does play, is a superstar, but the question will always be how much does he play? 

Upcoming Season:
Since the above trade, the Pels have traded Kyrie and Al Horford for Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, and a 1st/2nd in 2029. I like this trade for them and think their current starting 5 is one of the most all around great in the league. 4 of the 5 can shoot the 3, and Gobert is good enough to hold the paint on his own defensively. 

Beyond that, their depth is nothing special, with only 3 players at 76+ ovr. Furthermore, as of right now they are looking at the taxpayer MLE, so the ways to fill in another rotation spot are a bit thinner than one would hope, as well as any bench players that they’d potentially trade for a better rotation guy having low salaries, making matching rather difficult for the type of player they’d want. Ultimately though, if health holds, they have for my money one of the most well-balanced starting 5s in the league and it’ll serve them well if a player besides luka misses some time. I like this team better than their playoff roster last season, and think they could take a series from anyone given a bit of Luka magic.

Beyond this season however, there are major question marks. 3 of the 5 above players have player options next season, and it’s within the realm of possibility to me that all 3 decline them. Gordon and Randle almost certainly, Gobert a little more iffy. Regardless, if they are intent on keeping this core together they will have to go well past the 2nd apron to do so. The good news is, they own their own picks every other year starting this season, so if for some reason the writing is on the wall and NO decides to get out (unlikely but you never know), they shouldn’t suffer too badly. But for this season, I rate them firmly in contender status.