Who Will Be The Pelicans' Biggest X-Factor For The 2025-26 Season?

Looking ahead to a pivotal 2025-26 season, Pelicans On SI dives into who could be the team's biggest X-factor for success

Jan 15, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram, guard CJ McCollum, guard Dejounte Murray, forward Zion Williamson, center Yves Missi, and forward Herbert Jones watch from the bench during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans could've headed into the 2025-26 season with no pressure on being a playoff contender in the Western Conference. While the team surely has the pieces in place to make the postseason, like they did in 2024, this current roster has a lot of new faces and young players that may take time before they are contributing to winning basketball.

However, executives Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver decided to gamble on themselves, making a trade with the Atlanta Hawks to deal off the rights to their 2026 first-round pick unprotected in a draft-night move to land Derik Queen. It's not really a knock on Queen, but rather a knock on the Pelicans for giving up so much to move into the back end of the lottery.

"WHAT ARE THEY THINKING!?”@getnickwright could not believe what the Pelicans traded to the Hawks during the NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/9RZ8kBcOOi

— What’s Wright? with Nick Wright (@WhatsWrightShow) June 26, 2025

Now, coming off an injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign, the Pelicans will want to turn things around to avoid regretting their draft night deal. While the health of their players will surely be a determining factor in how their season pans out, which player has a chance to significantly alter the outcome of the season through their play?

The X-Factor In New Orleans: Jordan Hawkins

Jordan Hawkins 21 PTS (5/11 3P) at PHI pic.twitter.com/oCeb7ap6lW

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) January 11, 2025

Hawkins was definitely on the NBA's radar during his breakout 2022-23 season with the UConn Huskies, but his stock took a major jump after his performance in the NCAA Tournament, which ended in a National Title victory for the Huskies. With all that, Hawkins ended up being selected 14th overall by the Pelicans in the 2023 NBA Draft.

During his time at UConn, Hawkins flashed an ability to be an elite on-the-move shot maker, similar to that of a Duncan Robinson or Klay Thompson. However, this past season with New Orleans, Hawkins shot just 34.6% on 4.2 catch-and-shoot three-point attempts per game. If Hawkins' main offensive weapon is his outside shooting, that's not going to cut it if he wants to carve out an NBA career.

Jordan Hawkins 24 points on 8-of-12

Beyond instrumental in the comeback win pic.twitter.com/N4DpukEuFM

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) October 26, 2024

Even though Hawkins has produced a true shooting percentage of less than 54% in each of his last two seasons, that doesn't mean his chances of becoming a productive player are over. In games last season where Hawkins played at least 30 minutes, he averaged 21.1 points per game on 39.1% shooting from three. While it didn't translate to winning, it's still a positive takeaway.

However, Hawkins will have to prove in training camp that he deserves a spot in this rotation, as the 2025-26 season is his chance to prove himself before becoming extension eligible in the 2026 offseason. With a guard rotation featuring Jordan Poole, Jeremiah Fears, and Dejounte Murray once he's healthy, Hawkins can stand out if he provides consistent outside shot-making off-ball.

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