Pelicans' Biggest Offseason Mistake Will Be Obvious When the Season Starts

New Orleans failed to address a fatal flaw in their roster construction this summer.

Jan 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen (22) 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 | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

When the New Orleans Pelicans tip off the NBA season in about two months, some lingering issues from last year remain unaddressed. The team didn’t address these problems this offseason, instead electing to remain largely intact from last year. One major issue is finding a true, starting-caliber two-way center.

Last year, New Orleans brought in veteran centers Kevon Looney and DeAndre Jordan to assert some leadership and muscle in the interior. Looney was a disaster for the team, playing just 21 games before eventually being completely out of the lineup. Jordan played a short stint after the All-Star break, but the then-36-year-old veteran clearly isn’t the same player he was five or six years ago.

DeAndre Jordan in the W against the Sixers:

6 PTS
15 REB
4 BLK
+13 pic.twitter.com/VyZjv03A2o

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) February 23, 2026

Pelicans Don't Have the Size to Keep Up With West Contenders

The Pelicans declined the team option for Looney, allowing the veteran to re-sign with another team. They did bring back Jordan on a surprising two-year deal, but there is little expectation that he'll play a lot of minutes for most of the season.

That left the door open for New Orleans to target a starter in the offseason, but they failed to secure a quality two-way option, something they may surely regret when the season starts.

New Orleans ranked near the bottom of the league in opponent points in the paint and defensive rebounding percentage. Their inability to prevent second-chance points hurt the team even when they forced a miss on defense. There were also issues with spacing the floor when pairing both Zion Williamson and Derik Queen on the court together.

Neither of those players has developed an outside shot, so an automatic outside threat is eliminated when both players share the floor.

Both Williamson and Queen are undersized for frontcourt players, leaving the Pelicans at a disadvantage height-wise on the boards. Yves Missi is expected to play a key role this season, as one of the only legitimate bigs on the team.

While the Cameroonian-born center has good athleticism for the position, he often gets lost on defense and has issues making plays when the pick-and-roll requires more than a lob. He also lacks any outside shooting ability.

Yves Missi at WORK pic.twitter.com/p9WMdiZfYM

— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 19, 2026

The Pelicans were adamant that the lack of movement wasn't due to a lack of effort, with executive head of basketball operations Joe Dumars saying the team was constantly seeking roster improvements this summer.

"The lack of moves being made right now is not from a lack of effort or us deciding we didn't want to do anything," Dumars said. "We've engaged with a lot of teams this offseason. But there was just no big deal that I felt was going to make us better for us to pull the trigger on."

For a team that won just 26 games last season, it doesn’t seem logical that running the same team back will yield substantially better results. There is some hope that newly hired head coach Jamahl Mosley can bring more stability and accountability to the team, but the mismanagement of the roster will make it difficult for him and his staff to succeed right away.

The Western Conference will be unforgiving, with powerhouses like the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, and others able to put large lineups on the court. New Orleans will be at a decided disadvantage in the interior against these teams, a decision they may regret soon when the season starts.