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Lou Williams: I’m going to throw some names out there and you give me your guess on where they'll be next year. All right? Sam Amick: Yes, sir. Williams: Let's start with Ja Morant. Amick: Ja Morant, I mean, the only two teams I've heard and I'll pick one of them is New Orleans and Sacramento, so I'll probably push it to New Orleans way. Chandler Parsons: I'm going to throw Minnesota out there just for fun. Chandler Parsons: I'm going to throw Minnesota out there just for fun. Amick: Yeah, that one's in there, too. Good call, Chandler.
“Life has a way of doing that to you and taking you full circle,” Byron Scott said. “My son’s time in New Orleans is when he really started getting the bug about getting involved in basketball. One thing about him is he’s worked his (butt) for years to get in position to do something like this. I’m so proud and happy for him."
External trade interest in New Orleans' Trey Murphy III remains intense, league sources say. Yet I was told this week that the inquiries have all been of an inbound nature. League sources say that the Pelicans have not offered Murphy anywhere and that this is the first time their new front office regime headed by Joe Dumars has been truly willing to field offers for Murphy. As one team interested in Murphy put it to me this week: "They want a lot." Two teams known to have expressed interest in the 25-year-old sharpshooter, I'm told, are Detroit and Indiana.
After trading into the lottery last year to select Derik Queen, the New Orleans are trying to trade into the lottery again in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft, league sources told HoopsHype. The Pelicans are believed to be targeting a specific player in the top-10 range.
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Chris Mannix: "The big question moving forward in New Orleans now is will Zion Williamson be part of this next iteration of Pelicans teams? From what I was told during this interview process with coaches, the plan is to hold on to Zion, to keep him in New Orleans. He's got two full years left on his contract. And maybe one of the silver linings in a disappointing 25-26 season was Zion was relatively healthy. He played 62 games, averaged right around 21 points per game, shot a good percentage from the floor. That's the second highest most number of games that Zion has played in his career. So getting him back, getting him healthy is a great sign for the Pelicans. And as of right now, the plan is to hold on to Zion and continue to build him out as a coach."
Darren Wolfson: "I just I've always come to the conclusion, if Rudy Gobert is playing 30 to 35 minutes a night, you're not winning a championship. I've thought that for years, I continue to think that, but he's an incredible floor raiser. Like if you're Charlotte, he would be great. If you're New Orleans, think about hiring defensive-minded head coach Jamal Mosley. What about New Orleans for Gobert? Toronto. They were good, but Jakob Poeltl, like no. Toronto's had interest in Gobert for a while. Chicago too, but I don't know exactly what Chicago's thinking, they just hired a new front office. But like you can trade Rudy Gobert."
The widely presumed explanation circulating at the Chicago draft combine this week: New Orleans has held a longstanding affinity for former Magic coach Jamahl Mosley — as The People's Insider Jake Fischer first reported here in November — and is believed to be taking as much time as possible to allow for Mosley to become a full-fledged prime candidate for the post after his recent dismissal in Orlando.
K.C. Johnson: Point of emphasis: Bryson Graham will be given leeway/resources to build out front office as he sees fit. He does have ties to Brian Hagen and JJ Polk from New Orleans days and worked with Pat Connelly’s brother, Tim, also in New Orleans. But Graham’s call on structure/hires
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Royce Young: The Thunder have won 12 straight first round playoff games. Three consecutive first round sweeps (New Orleans, Memphis, Phoenix).
Marc Stein: San Antonio's Sean Sweeney and former All-Star guard Rajon Rondo are among the candidates to emerge in New Orleans' coaching search, league sources tell @JakeLFischer and me.
Jake Fischer: There were indeed some sweeping changes in New Orleans today, where a significant number of Pelicans staffers were told their contracts won’t be renewed under chief executive Joe Dumars. New Orleans is in the beginning stages of its head coaching search, and there will be a lot of roles to fill once that primary decision is made.