What the Pelicans Actually Need at the Trade Deadline- And What They Don't Need

With the trade deadline less than a week away, it's imperative the New Orleans Pelicans make the right decisions.

Jan 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III (25) celebrates with Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) against the Washington Wizards in the second half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The NBA trade deadline is a week away, and the New Orleans Pelicans find themselves at a crossroads. Without a first-round pick next season, New Orleans has no incentive to tank, with their pick going to the Atlanta Hawks in next year’s draft. There have to be some roster changes on a team that is currently 12-37 on the season, but the Pelicans must make sure they don’t fall into the same pitfalls as they have in the past.

New Orleans has not advanced past the first round of the playoffs in seven years and has never reached the conference championship round since returning to New Orleans in 2002. With a small, relatively undesirable market for big free agents, the trade deadline and draft are the only ways to change their teams’ fortunes drastically, so it's paramount for the Pelicans not to make mistakes at the deadline. Here are the Do’s and Don’t’s for New Orleans before next week.

What the Pelicans Need

The Pelicans don’t need a player per se, but they definitely need picks. New Orleans does not have its first-round pick next year and does not have any second-round picks until 2030. They seem to have knocked this year’s draft out of the park, with rookies Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen looking like cornerstone pieces for the future. Even second-round pick Micah Peavy looks to be a nice future rotational piece for the team. Reportedly, New Orleans wants multiple first-round picks for either Herb Jones or Trey Murphy III.

If they decide to keep those players on board, reports indicate teams are interested in Jose Alvarado, who they could fetch a couple of second-round picks for.

New Orleans must also try to shed salary before next year, namely by offloading the contracts of either Jordan Poole or Dejounte Murray. Both players are due to make a combined $66 million next season, but they have yet to play together on the court. Murray is still recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture he suffered last January and has not played this year. Poole has been highly inconsistent through the first few months of the year, and the former NBA champion has been a healthy scratch in the last two games.

Neither seems to be in the team’s long-term plans, so shedding the salary now will give the team cap relief in the future to avoid paying into the luxury tax.

What the Pelicans Don't Need

The team must avoid more mismatched lineups. Roster construction in the last few seasons has left much to be desired, and the Pelicans must do a better job of matching players and skill sets. There was an earlier report that New Orleans had interest in Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. While the excitement of having a player like Morant on the team would re-energize the fan base for a period of time, having another undersized guard who struggles to defend, is shooting a career-low from beyond the arc, and has an extensive injury history isn’t the best recipe for future success.

New Orleans ranks near the bottom of the league in three-point attempts and three-point makes per game. The team hasn’t done a great job of addressing their three-point woes over the last few seasons, so a change in either philosophy or roster needs to address that issue almost immediately. Acquiring players who fit that mold shouldn’t be done at the expense of a panic move to offload Jones or Murphy III.

Unless the Pelicans receive a “king’s ransom” for either player, the team shouldn’t panic to unload them now. Both are not only under contract but on team-friendly deals that would dictate both remain in New Orleans at least through next season.

The team is also reportedly seeking at least a first-round pick for Yves Missi, so there are other ways to acquire draft capital without panicking to offload core players. New Orleans may have to play the waiting game with those two.

Yves Missi going off tonight:

10 PTS
14 REB
2 AST
1 STL
2 BLK
30 MIN pic.twitter.com/05mFW15DBF

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 26, 2026

We’ll find out soon enough which direction the Pelicans take with the deadline. Smart decisions need to be made now so the team can rebuild and become a contender in the future.