With how previous CSL seasons has gone, one would think that the New Orleans Pelicans would look to make big changes to their roster. Yet, here we are again, with a similar roster, with a similar core group of players, and relatively unsubstantial change. A perennial "treadmill" team, New Orleans has sat in the middle of the CSL standings for the better half of the decade. Their best placing was 6th in the West, during the 27-28 CSL season, where the Pelicans blew their expectations out of the water and ended their season in the conference finals with a 4-2 loss to the Luka Doncic Mavericks. We have only been one season removed since that brilliant breakout year, yet it seems so far way since the Pelicans first broke ground in the league. Truth be told, it's been a long time since the days of the Anthony Davis-era, and the Pelicans ownership has had difficulty trying to recreate the excellence of those Davis-era teams. Whether it be a lack of cohesion and talent on the team, or the inability of the front office to put together a capable CSL contender, they have been unable to find a light to the end of this championship contending tunnel.
Coming out of the 28-29 CSL season, the New Orleans Pelicans finished with a 35-47 record, their 4th 30 win record in 5 seasons. The team biggest struggles were creating consistent offense once the starting unit came off the floor. The starting unit had a 9.4 net rating, but because the bench unit had a -10.3 net rating, there weren't many options that Head Coach Renard Grant could play. The starting unit would create a lead to start the game, but once they were off the floor, the team fell to pieces. To address those issues, NOLA ownership tweaked the roster, so that the team would have less difficulty swapping between the starting unit and the bench unit. Let's take a look to see what's changed on the team.
The Trade
To start the offseason off, New Orleans sent away beloved fan-favourite point guard Markelle Fultz, in a deal that saw them receiving back Facundo Campazzo, Collin Sexton, and JT Thor. Markelle Fultz arrived in New Orleans as a combo guard who didn't quite seem to fit the mold of floor general that the New York Knicks were looking for. In his time in the Big Easy, Fultz grew into a dependable 3-level scorer, becoming a consistent threat to score while creating offense for his teammates at an acceptable rate. In New York, Fultz was maligned for his inability to create opportunities for his teammates and his excessive thirst to create offense for himself. In New Orleans, Fultz was embraced for his ability to create offense for himself, and find his teammates when the opportunities presented himself. Known as a score-first passer, Markelle Fultz's time in New Orleans enabled him to mature as a scorer and as a player, and he was molded to the capable starting point guard that he is now. In his 2nd year of a big near-max contract, he'll be looking to make his mark in Toronto.
As for the acquisitions, Collin Sexton will be given the opportunity to revive his career, and more importantly the opportunity to return some value on his contract. After being groomed for the starting point guard position in Toronto for over two seasons, Sexton failed all expectations with his transition to full-time starter, as his numbers dipped tremendously across the board. His previous stops as a starting-caliber point guard in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Indiana have shown that he at least has something in the tank as a competent floor general who can set the floor for his teammates. It remains to be seen if Sexton still has what it takes to be that competent floor general, but he certainly will have that opportunity.
Facundo Campazzo will have minimal opportunities, but New Orleans are, for the most part, happy with his inclusion in the trade. Campazzo is a certifiable floor general in the mold of Collin Sexton, and is largely only expected to be an injury replacement in the event of such.
JT Thor has already been traded twice in his short 1 year career in the CSL. He was drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies and traded to Toronto on draft night, and now he's been traded again in back-to-back offseason to yet another team, New Orleans. This man only knows the CSL as a business, having not been given any serious opportunities since his inclusion to the league. Still, it is to be expected, as Thor is an incredibly raw forward who's inability to score the ball consistently leads teams to not give him the ball often. Rather, instead of being a scoring forward, Thor is known as a potential future CSL all-defense candidate who's offense prevents him from getting the minutes needed to contend for the award[s]. His potential on the defensive end of the floor had scouts drooling during the draft last offseason, and Thor will be handed another opportunity to grow. He'll be playing a similar role to his role in Toronto, filling in as a backup forward. This should give him ample opportunities to develop his defensive capabilities, while also limiting his offensive touches to a degree. With any luck, Thor's development can lead him to better things, as a slashing forward with limited offensive capabilities; Not a good enough handle to play the Small Forward position, not a god enough rebounder to play the Power Forward position.
The Draft
With the 9th pick of the 2029 CSL Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans select Cole Anthony, out of the University of North Carolina. Anthony is coming out of UNC after a turbulent up-and-down season playing for Roy Williams and the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels finished with a 14-19 record and 6-14 in the ACC. This was due to UNC's limited offensive creation options, heavily relying on Anthony and fellow Tar Heel Garrison Brooks to create most of the team's offense. At UNC, Cole Anthony showcased is elite scoring ability; As both a top-end speedster and surprising vertical athlete, Anthony stood head-and-shoulders above what would be considered the average college athlete. He burst through small seams with ease, and was seen with a thirst to score. UNC wasn't all too successful at times, but Cole Anthony definitely proved that he had what it takes to be a top-end scorer in the CSL.
Coming into the CSL, Anthony will swap between starting point guard and backup 6th man for the New Orleans Pelicans. Oftentimes, rookies who are expected to produce from Day 1 underperform, and teams are left scratching their heads as to why. The jump from college men's basketball to the CSL is a big one, and rookies who are expected to produce often find themselves struggling to adapt to the CSL-level athletes they have to face. That is why Anthony will be integrated into the starting lineup as a full-time starter later rather than sooner; struggles are to be expected, Anthony just needs to develop through them. We are quite happy with our selection, seeing as Anthony was the best possible talent remaining on the draft board at 9th. Anthony's potential to become a top-tier scorer is undeniable, it just remains to be seen how long that development will take.
Free Agency
Free Agency was a big sticking point for New Orleans. 3 key players were coming off the books and entering free agency for the Pelicans: Cameron Reddish, Lauri Markkanen, and Mohamed Bamba, and the main goal of free agency for New Orleans was to retain all 3 players on respectable contracts. After some controversy, specialty of the CSL provacateur, Free Agency jumped right along for the Pelicans. First up, was Lauri Markkanen. Markkanen was offered a full 5 year max contract straight from the jump, and New Orleans only had to wait 2 days for Markkanen to accept his bid. Lauri Markkanen signed a 5 Year $109 million dollar max contract. Next up was Mohamed Bamba, who had a history of being avaricious. The man wanted to get paid, period. As such, a few days after Markkanen's signature on his deal, Bamba followed suit, with his own 4 Year $66 million dollar contract. To be frank, the Pelicans front office paid more than what they had originally projected, but Bamba had proven to be a stubborn man, previously accepting a similar contract from the OKC Thunder primarily due to the money factor(Toronto matched the contract). Money speaks, so to say. The New Orleans management opened up the checkbooks to guarantee Bamba's continued tenure on the Pelicans, and he conformed with his signature to his offered contract. Last remained Cameron Reddish, who was unsurprisingly not actively pursued by many other teams. After being selected 2nd in the 2025 CSL Draft by the Los Angeles Clippers, Reddish has missed his draft projection by a near mile, not being the proven alpha-score that then GM Dylan expected him to be. Reddish was swiftly traded after his rookie season, when the LA Clippers realized that he would not fulfill his draft expectations. Since then, in his short-lived CSL career, he's spent 1 season in LA, 1 and a half seasons in Sacramento, and another 1 and a half seasons in New Orleans, as an efficient floor spacer, consistently splashing open shots created by his teammates. Cameron Reddish signed a 5 Year, $48 million dollar deal, as his expectations have descended from team-leading top scorer to elite role player. Reddish suffers from a case of Lamar Odom-syndrome, also known as being too talented for his own good. Cameron Reddish is an elite CSL talent, hyper-efficient 3-level scorer who can handle the ball well enough to create offense consistently. Unfortunately, Reddish just doesn't have the aggressive scoring mentality, meaning that in spite of his talent level, Reddish's ceiling is to be an efficient role player, who's job is to hit open jumpers created by teammates. Still, New Orleans retained all 3 of their major free agents on respectable deals, albeit on more money than they were initially willing to spend.
Following the signatures on the aforementioned contracts, New Orleans finished their free agency with minimum 2 year deals to Travis Trice, Malik Pope, Dwayne Bacon, Josh Davis, and Andrey Desyatnikov. Among the New Orleans faithful, these signings were considered vital parts of their free agency, as it addressed the key point of last season's failures, their weak bench unit. Many wondered if New Orleans was going to continue rolling out a good starting lineup, only to lose their lead once the starters went to the bench. And their Front Office went about bolstering the bench unit in an impressive manner. To be fair, many other teams also successfully added strong substitutes on minimum deals, once the big-name free agents were signed. But that doesn't take away from what New Orleans has achieved this free agency.
Desyatnikov seen happily signing his 2 year contract with the New Orleans Pelicans
Training Camp is coming along soon, and in spite of that, there are no real expectations heading into camp. The only expectations, heading into the season, are to run it back yet another season, with the same core group of guys. This time, with a bolstered bench unit and a guard unit, the Pelicans hope to recreate the magic of just the season before last, and make it another 41+ win season.
Collin Sexton | Cole Anthony | Travis Trice | Facundo Campazzo
Cameron Reddish | Marko Guduric
Nassir Little | Malik Pope | Dwayne Bacon
Lauri Markkanen | Josh Davis | JT Thor | Jaylen Johnson
Mohamed Bamba | Andrew Desyatnikov
