New Orleans Pelicans 2028-2029 CSL Season Preview
Fresh off a deep postseason run, the New Orleans Pelicans are looking to repeat their playoff success in the upcoming season, with some new faces and some returning faces. They were looking to replicate the magic of last season's mid-season trade, all while adding value where possible. So let's take a look at what New Orleans did throughout the offseason.
The Draft. Coming up to the draft, New Orleans had little interest in the 2nd Round Pick[from Minnesota] that they owned. They had thoroughly scouted the expected draft range throughout the regular season, and were left rather unimpressed by the selection of talent remaining near the bottom of the 2nd Round. Although they looked for trades across the league, New Orleans reportedly had minimal success in trade talks. That's why, with the 48th pick of the 2028 CSL draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Marko Guduric, the 6'6 wing out of Serbia. Out of all the remaining prospects left available to draft, New Orleans felt that Guduric had the most potential to solidify himself as a consistent CSL player throughout his career due to his two-way abilities and his well-roundedness as a combo guard. After some rather delayed contract discussions, Guduric eventually signed a 3-year contract with the team.
Free Agency. In free agency, New Orleans's main goal was to, if possible, replicate some of the success of their mid-season acquisitions. Justin Anderson and Julius Randle played vital roles throughout the Pelicans' playoff run. This free agency, the Pelicans signed Joe Ingles to fill-in in Anderson's role, and resigned Nassir Little to a 4-year max contract. They also signed an entirely new bench unit, composed of both new and returning players. Jordan Adams, Austin Rivers, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Emmanuel Terry were signed as new players, while Jawun Evans and Ivica Zubac saw a return on minimum contracts. Despite some minor, but expected, tribulations, the Pelicans moved on from free agency with everything as expected.
Training Camp and the rest of the offseason was relatively uninspiring for the Pelicans. Reddish, Johnson, and Terry all saw minor improvements during training camp, while HC Renard Grant drilled them and the rest of the squad with defensive rotations. Still, for a relatively quiet offseason for the Pelicans, the team is optimistic about their future in the league. Their bench unit is relatively impressive, and arguably an upgrade to last season's, while retaining the cohesive starting unit. In DDS:PB19, one of my main goals in creating this team was the ability to be flexible both offensively and defensively. I did this through utilizing Fultz and Markkanen as opposing offensive talents; Fultz played the role of a high-volume floor spacer, or a creative pick-and-roll ball handler, while Markkanen played the role of an elite post-scoring threat, or a 3-way offensive talent capable of popping out or rolling hard. Little was an odd pick at the end of the day, but proved to be an efficient post-scoring weapon, which means I could afford to play him next to Markkanen despite his[Little's] offensive ineffectiveness. All-in-all, the 3 players formed a capable offensive core, able to play in multiple different systems when needed.
Starting Lineup:
Markelle Fultz | Cameron Reddish | Nassir Little | Lauri Markkanen | Mohamed Bamba
Bench Lineup:
Jawun Evans | Jordan Adams | Joe Ingles | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | Ivica Zubac
Austin Rivers | Marko Guduric | Juan Toscano-Anderson | Jaylen Johnson | Emmanuel Terry
We really like the flexibility of both the starting lineup and the bench lineup. Especially our bench unit, where backup point guard through to power forward are all capable if not elite defenders, and Zubac is capable offensive option. We're really excited for this upcoming season, despite the engine transition. Hoping to make some noise in the playoffs again.