Jordan Poole May Have Already Played His Last Game As a Pelican

The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night to improve to 20-44 for the season. While they are unlikely to climb enough in the standings to challenge for a Play-In spot, the Pelicans are playing better basketball lately and have a chance to build some momentum for next season. Most importantly, they are evaluating the team to make healthier roster decisions in the offseason.

One of those decisions will relate to Jordan Poole and his future with the organization. It seems like the decision may have already been made. Even with Dejounte Murray out in Sacramento, the Pelicans made Poole a healthy scratch. For the third straight game, and the 12th time in the last 17 games, Poole was a DNP-Coach's Decision.

Jordan Poole's DNP in Dejounte Murray's Absence Says It All About His Pels Future

If Poole can't see the floor even when Murray is unavailable, he is unlikely to make his way into the rotation again this season. The Pelicans chose to play without a point guard in the starting lineup and only had Jeremiah Fears as a backcourt player coming off the bench. Head coach James Borrego would rather have no guards on the floor than give Poole minutes.

Murray missed Thursday's game for precautionary reasons as he is playing himself into game conditioning. He is sitting out on one leg of back-to-backs, and should be available on Friday when the Pels take on the Suns. That will only push Poole further down the pecking order.

With 18 games left in the regular season, the Pelicans want to prioritize internal development and team chemistry. They want to rely on players who will be in New Orleans next season and prioritize internal development. The fact that Poole is not a part of the rotation underlines that he is not in the team's plans going forward.

What complicates matters is that Poole doesn't have any trade value due to his $34 million salary for next season. Perhaps a team could be willing to take it on as an expiring salary if they can offload their own negative assets. Another option for the Pels would be agreeing to a buyout with Poole. Since he is not playing at all, the 26-year-old guard could agree to sacrifice some of his salary for greener pastures.

Things can obviously change between now and the end of the season. Injuries to Fears and Murray could push Poole back into the rotation. There could be pressure from the front office to showcase Poole to boost his trade value before the offseason. While these are certainly possible, it is not probable. What is more probable, instead, is that we won't see Poole on the court in a Pelicans uniform again this season.