Joe Dumars Is Setting the Pelicans Up to Fail Again Next Season

The New Orleans Pelicans are making a big mistake by seemingly running it back.

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans had a very disappointing season, winning only 26 games. More disappointing than the record, however, is the lack of vision the organization is demonstrating at every turn. This couldn't have been more obvious in the Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars' end-of-season press conference.

In this presser, Dumars had several remarks that raised eyebrows. When he was discussing the team's offseason plans, it became very clear that the front office is setting the Pelicans up to fail.

The biggest takeaway was Dumars' announcement that the Pels have no interest in trading Zion Williamson. The 25-year-old power forward will stay in New Orleans and "play great again," according to Dumars. Dumars being satisfied with Williamson's performance is concerning by itself, but the fact that the Pelicans aren't even exploring their options is a big problem.

It was great to see Zion healthy and available for most of the season, but he was nowhere near as productive and unstoppable as he was earlier in his career. Plus, the defensive and rebounding concerns remain as significant as ever.

Dumars also said that he believes Williamson and Queen can play together. If Williamson stays in New Orleans, they will obviously have to. Making that claim after the Pelicans had a net rating of -12.3 with Williamson and Queen on the court for the whole season is deeply concerning. Neither player can shoot, protect the rim, or rebound the ball, making their fit on both ends of the floor a difficult one.

"We're gonna build. We believe we're gonna win. We believe we're not far from winning... I understand being discouraged but I firmly believe we're gonna win and its not some long rehaul process... We're grinding on this every day"

-- Joe Dumars message to the fans pic.twitter.com/1FjLkuTPTO

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) April 14, 2026

Pelicans Front Office Has No Idea What the Problem Is

Another questionable remark was Dumars' claim that the Pelicans "are not far from winning" and that "it's not some long rehaul process" to get there. This suggests that the Pelicans are going to keep their core together because the front office thinks this team is good enough to be a sustainable winner.

This could not be further from the truth. The Pelicans failed to win 30 games despite being relatively healthy for most of the season and desperately trying to win games all the way to the end, when around a third of the league was intentionally tanking.

Yes, they were better when their veterans were healthy, and they relied on them instead of their rookies. Yet, they only had a net rating of +1.3 when Fears and Queen were on the bench, per Cleaning the Glass. That would have made the 17th-best team in the league, not exactly world-beaters that Dumars seems to think they can be.

In his seven-year career, Williamson has yet to appear in a playoff game. The Pelicans have won an average of 23.5 games in the past two seasons. However, the front office seems to think that this same group can somehow be winners next season. What is that word that means "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" again?