New Orleans Pelicans Have Grim Championship Outlook for Upcoming Season

Despite making a major splash this offseason, the New Orleans Pelicans are unlikely to win an NBA Championship.

Dec 31, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) and forward Brandon Ingram (14) share a laugh after a play against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half at Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

After making the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, the New Orleans Pelicans spent the offseason trying to get better for the next year. 

This offseason, the Pelicans made one of the biggest splashes of the summer as they acquired Dejounte Murray from the Atlanta Hawks in a blockbuster trade. The deal for Murray gives New Orleans yet another player who has the potential to be an All-Star caliber guy.

Murray is capable of being a very good player at both ends of the court. On offense, Murray can be an explosive playmaker and, on defense, Murray has the length and size to really bother opposing guards. 

While the deal for Murray certainly makes the Pelicans a better team, this is a roster that doesn’t seem to fit nicely together. 

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report recently ranked championship aspirations for teams that have yet to win a title coming into this season. For the Pelicans, their outlook wasn’t too good as they were ranked 6th.

“Leave it to the Pelicans to fill their playmaking void with an aggressive move for Dejounte Murray yet still not emerge as obvious offseason winners. They simply can't when the oft-discussed deal for Brandon Ingram never materialized, and their big-man rotation appears to be the Association's worst by a wide margin (Jonas Valančiūnas and Larry Nance Jr. out; Daniel Theis and rookie Yves Missi in)."

"It's tempting to wager on a team this talented figuring things out, but the pieces seemingly come from several different puzzles, and that center rotation is an eyesore. The Pelicans should be in play-in contention, but writing their name in anything other than pencil or erasable ink feels overly ambitious given the depth of the Western Conference.”

While the deal for Murray was a good one, there are still a lot of questions regarding Brandon Ingram’s future with the team. Ingram was one of the big pieces that the Pelicans received in the Anthony Davis deal years ago. Even though Ingram has been a good player in New Orleans, he certainly isn’t a star. 

The trio of Murray, Ingram, and Williamson definitely looks good on paper, but Ingram hasn’t been a great fit next to Williamson so far. Adding Murray into the mix likely won’t make that pairing better either, as Murray is a player who thrives on-ball as well. 

New Orleans has some nice talent on their team heading into the 2024-25 season, but the Western Conference is going to be very tough once again. Even though they added Murray this offseason, it’s hard to imagine that the Pelicans will move into the Top-6 of the conference next year. Furthermore, don’t count on them getting their first NBA Championship either.