5 Pelicans Who Are Entering Their Final April in New Orleans

The New Orleans Pelicans have six more games left in what has been a disastrous season. Between now and April 12, the Pelicans will try to get as many wins as possible to give their fans some hope for next season.

What the fans really need, however, is radical changes. Instead of putting out the same core over and over again and expecting different results, Pelicans fans want to see the organization commit to a vision and execute it. There needs to be a focus on the future, which means that certain departures between now and the end of next season are needed. There are at least five players on the roster who the Pelicans have to move on from by this time next year. Let's take a look.

Zion Williamson

Despite widespread expectations to the contrary, Zion Williamson managed to finish the season in New Orleans. After seven years in the league, however, the 25-year-old has yet to play in a playoff game.

The 2025-26 season may have been a disappointment for the Pelicans, but there were a ton of positives for Williamson. He was healthy for most of the season, played in 35 consecutive games, and looked athletic. He was efficient and productive, which should help boost his trade value.

There is very little reason for the Pels to keep Williamson around, especially after they invested in Derik Queen last season. Queen and Williamson are a bad fit, creating serious defensive and rebounding concerns. It's time to end the Williamson era and start fresh with a new, younger team.

Dejounte Murray

Another player who boosted his trade value this season was Dejounte Murray. After a 13-month absence with an Achilles rupture, Murray has exceeded all expectations since returning to action. The 29-year-old guard appeared in 13 games this season and has been looking as close to his pre-injury self as anyone could have realistically hoped for.

There is a scenario in which both the Pels and Murray want to extend their relationship for another full season. However, it behooves New Orleans to pursue trading him for positive assets. The Pelicans need several years before they are a playoff team, and they need to focus on the development of Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Murray doesn't fit in that timeline, and the Pelicans should prefer future assets instead of the veteran guard.

Jordan Poole

This may be easier said than done. Ideally, the Pelicans would love to trade Poole in the offseason. Realistically, they may have to wait until the trade deadline because of his salary situation. Regardless, it's difficult to imagine the 26-year-old combo guard finishing out another season in New Orleans.

Poole is due $34 million next season, but fortunately for the Pelicans, it's an expiring contract. A team may be interested in acquiring Poole as an expiring asset at the deadline to create some cap space in the offseason.

If a trade doesn't materialize, the Pelicans can always offer a buyout to Poole and allow him to sign somewhere else. Since he is not a part of the rotation anyway, it wouldn't be a significant loss, whether it's done this summer or during the season.

Jordan Hawkins

In his third season in New Orleans, Hawkins failed to take a step forward once again. He spent most of the season riding the bench and was almost exclusively deployed in garbage time.

Looking at Hawkins' stats, it's impossible to blame head coach James Borrego for not playing him. The former UConn star shot 33% from the field and 31.5 from downtown for the season. At 44.1% True Shooting, the 23-year-old shooting guard was one of the least efficient players in the league. Considering that scoring and shooting are supposed to be his best qualities on the basketball court, one can't justify keeping Hawkins around for much longer.

Kevon Looney

Another big swing and a miss by the Pelicans front office. When they signed Looney to a two-year, $16 million deal last offseason, they were hoping that the former Warriors center would help the team's rebounding and interior defense concerns. Instead, Looney only added to the team's problems before losing his rotation minutes when Willie Green was fired.

Looney has only appeared in 12 games since Borrego took over in November. Besides rebounding, there is very little the veteran center can do on the court these days. The fact that the Pelicans trusted DeAndre Jordan significantly more than Looney when they needed more physicality speaks volumes about where he is at this point.

New Orleans has an $8 million team option on Looney for next season. It would be organizational malpractice to exercise that option. Looney will be a free agent and will likely sign elsewhere on a minimum deal.