The 2026 NBA draft is later this month, and the New Orleans Pelicans just hired their head coach. They've begun hosting players on pre-draft workouts, giving some insight into what they're hoping to add to their squad.
The latest player to reportedly work out with the Pelicans is former SMU Mustangs star guard Jaron Pierre Jr., their second New Orleans native to receive a workout so far. Pierre was a St. Augustine Purple Knight in high school.
The guard started his collegiate career with the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles back in 2020/2021 and has jumped around between a few schools since then. He didn't really break out until 2024/2025 when he put up 21.6 points a night for the Jacksonville St. Gamecocks.
That breakout year prompted him to transfer to the Mustangs as a four-star for his final season in college. SMU went 20-14, but Pierre walked away with a solid individual season.
Pierre averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists with 1.0 steals per night on 46.2/37.0/75.8 shooting splits. He averaged 6.4 three per game, which is an important metric that the Pelicans need to be paying attention to.
While guard isn't the biggest need for New Orleans, it would be a bigger one if they decide to shake their roster up and trade guys like Jordan Poole and Dejounte Murray. Also, with their only pick being at No. 58, they just need to find guys who can stick around at that point.
Pierre is the fourth player known to be worked out by the Pelicans and is a little bit different as the others would be described by many as "defense-first." Pierre is much more of a scorer, which would also be welcome.
