Recent Reports Signal Unforgivable Pelicans Mistake at Trade Deadline

All signs are pointing to the New Orleans Pelicans making a mistake before the February 5 trade deadline.

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The trade season is officially upon us. The Atlanta Hawks kicked things off by moving on from their franchise star Trae Young on Wednesday, with many more moves expected between now and the February 5 trade deadline. While Pelicans fans are desperately hoping for their team to be aggressive at the deadline, recent reports suggest that New Orleans may have a quieter-than-expected next few weeks. This would be organizational malpractice that could set the Pelicans back for years to come.

Even though the Pelicans are 8-31 for the season and will finish with one of the worst records in the league, there has been very little trade buzz about their valuable veterans. The reasonable expectation is that the front office would listen to offers on Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and Zion Williamson, but reporting around those three starters paints a different picture.

Pelicans Are On the Verge of Making Big Trade Deadline Mistake

Most recently, it was Sam Amick of The Athletic who said that he doesn't expect the Pelicans to move on from any of the three starters. New Orleans is reportedly firmly turning down offers on Jones and has a very high price tag on Murphy. For Williamson, the Pelicans continue to evaluate, but there is reportedly very little buzz around the All-Star power forward. Amick added that if he had to guess, Williamson would stay in New Orleans past the trade deadline.

Considering that Jordan Poole is a negative asset with his contract, and Dejounte Murray is nowhere near returning, the Pelicans will almost certainly finish the season with the same core they started. There may be a few moves on the margins, like trading Jose Alvarado or Yves Missi, but neither player will bring back any significant assets. This means that despite being one of the worst teams in the league, the Pelicans will not have added any draft capital or future assets to their coffers.

The Pelicans already owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks. They have no additional incoming first-round picks in the future, and don't have a second-round pick until the 2030 draft. This severely limits their ability to add young talent to their roster going forward.

Joe Dumars & Co. seem to be delusional about what the Pelicans are when fully healthy. Injuries have obviously played a large part in the team's struggles this season, but it's not like the Pelicans have been good when they have had their starters available.

This season, the Pels have a -1.1 net rating with Williamson, Jones, and Murphy on the floor together, per Cleaning the Glass, which would be the 17th-best team in the league. This suggests that even the best-case scenario for this group is not worth holding onto, making the intention to keep them around until the end of the season that much more questionable.