The New Orleans Pelicans finally made their first genuinely interesting move of the offseason this week, agreeing with Bennedict Mathurin on a two-year, $16 million deal with a player option . Shams Charania reported it after Mathurin spent basically all summer sitting out as a restricted free agent, giving New Orleans another scorer who averaged 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season when he was split between the Pacers and Clippers.
That makes sense for a team coming off a 26-56 season and an 11th-place finish in the West. The Pelicans scored 115.5 points per game but finished only 21st in offensive rating at 114.4, while the defense was an even bigger problem at 118.9 points allowed per 100, 25th in the league. They also shot just 34.7% from three and averaged 25.1 assists, so this roster still needs more shooting and someone to actually create around Zion Williamson .
Mathurin isn't the only thing that changed. Jamahl Mosley takes over as head coach after Willie Green got fired, and James Borrego finished last season as interim, while Kevon Looney left for the Lakers and DeAndre Jordan came back for one more year.
There could still be another move before opening night. Jordan Hawkins has been floated in trade discussions, with Jake Fischer reporting the Pelicans were exploring ways to move his $7.0 million salary while chasing Mathurin, and Jordan Poole still has that $34.0 million expiring deal sitting there. For now, though, this roster has enough young talent to put together a pretty interesting 10-man rotation around Williamson, Trey Murphy III , and Dejounte Murray .
Point Guard: Dejounte Murray
Shooting Guard: Herb Jones
Small Forward: Trey Murphy III
Power Forward: Saddiq Bey
Center: Zion Williamson
This would be an extremely weird starting five on paper, but I actually like the idea of the Pelicans going small here. Dejounte returned late last season and averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.6 steals on 48.4% shooting. His three-point shot was still rough at 30.6%, but having an actual lead guard back should help Williamson spend way more possessions attacking the rim instead of becoming an offensive connector.
The main offensive weapon probably needs to be Trey Murphy III at this point. He led the Pelicans with 21.5 points per game last season while adding 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals, shooting 47.0% from the field, 37.9% from three, and 88.6% from the line. He made 3.2 threes per game on 8.6 attempts, and that volume gets super important in a lineup that already has Murray, Jones, and Williamson.
Saddiq Bey gives them another pretty solid scorer and shooter. He averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 45.1% shooting and 36.7% from three last season. Herb Jones is basically the opposite type of player. He averaged just 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists and had a rough shooting year at 38.3% from the field and 30.9% from three, but his 1.6 steals and overall versatility still make him the defensive piece this lineup desperately needs.
Everything still comes down to Zion. He averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on a ridiculous 60.0% shooting last season, and using him as the center could create some really nasty offensive mismatches. The problem's obvious too. Zion's not a rim protector, Jones isn't a big man, and Bey isn't either. The Pelicans would be trading size for speed, spacing, and five-out possibilities, so Mosley probably needs to change that alignment against bigger frontcourts.
Point Guard: Jeremiah Fears
Shooting Guard: Bennedict Mathurin
Small Forward: Micah Peavy
Power Forward: Derik Queen
Center: Yves Missi
The second unit is where the roster actually gets way more interesting. Jeremiah Fears had a really encouraging rookie season, averaging 14.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.2 steals across all 82 games. He started 49 times and shot 43.4% from the field, although that 33.0% mark from three still needs to come up. Moving him into more of a sixth-man role behind Murray would give Mosley a legit downhill guard against bench units.
Then there's Mathurin, who immediately becomes the most proven bench scorer on the roster. He put up 17.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season on 43.0% shooting, 31.5% from three, and 86.9% from the line. He also averaged 17.8 points while hitting 37.2% from three in his 28 games with the Pacers before the midseason move to the Clippers, so there's at least some recent evidence the shooting can be better than that final season percentage.
Derik Queen is probably the guy with the highest upside in this group. He averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.9 blocks as a rookie, showing some really unusual passing ability for a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man. His efficiency needs work after shooting 47.3% from the field and only 26.1% from three, but a second-year jump could make Queen one of the most important players on the entire team.
The awkward part is spacing. Micah Peavy averaged just 4.3 points and shot only 25.9% from three, while Yves Missi averaged 5.7 points and 5.8 rebounds without making a single three all season. Missi did provide 1.5 blocks in only 19.7 minutes per game, so his defensive role's pretty clear, but playing Fears, Mathurin, Peavy, Queen, and Missi together would shrink the floor way too much. Mosley almost certainly needs to stagger Murphy, Bey, or another shooter into these groups instead of just running a full five-man bench unit.
Guard: Bryce McGowens
Forward-Center: Karlo Matkovic
Center: DeAndre Jordan
McGowens could absolutely steal some rotation minutes if the shooting stays consistent. He averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 42 games last season on 48.1% shooting and 40.9% from three. The volume was only 2.2 three-point attempts per game, but on a roster that finished at 34.7% from deep, that kind of skill gives him a real pathway into Mosley's rotation.
Karlo Matkovic is another pretty interesting depth big man after averaging 5.7 points and 3.7 rebounds last season. He shot 60.4% from the field and 42.2% from three, and his ability to play away from the rim gives New Orleans a completely different look from Missi or DeAndre Jordan. Jordan's the emergency veteran center after averaging 4.4 points and 6.3 rebounds in just 16.6 minutes across 12 games last season.
The Pelicans still don't look like a finished playoff team to me, mainly because the shooting situation remains questionable and this roster has several guys who need the ball to actually score. But Mathurin gives them another legitimate creator, Murray should finally enter the season healthy, and Murphy has already developed into a 20-point scorer. If Williamson stays available and Mosley can turn last season's 25th-ranked defense into even an average unit, this group has way more talent than a normal 26-win team actually should have.
