New Orleans Pelicans: Breaking News, Rumors & Highlights

New Orleans Pelicans Derik Queen Praised By 3-Time MVP

New Orleans Pelicans rookie Derik Queen delivered a breakout performance against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, and his impressive play earned high praise from one of the league’s best: three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

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Kendrick Perkins Slams Zion Williamson: 'You Can’t Depend On Him'

The New Orleans Pelicans appeared to be on top of the NBA world when they won 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, securing the right to draft Zion Williamson. Six years of injury woes later, Williamson has yet to play a single playoff game.

New Orleans Pelicans News / The SportsRush / November 20

Comparing NBA Trades to Buying a House, Rachel Nichols Discusses Zion Williamson’s Fit With Pelicans

The NBA regular season is about 20% done for most teams. It’s a small sample size, but also a large enough one for some teams to realize that competing this year just isn’t going to be in the cards for them.

New Orleans Pelicans News / New Orleans Pelicans on SI / November 20

Zion Williamson-Derik Queen Pairing Passes 1st Big Test Despite Nuggets Loss

After missing the New Orleans Pelicans' last eight games with a hamstring injury, Zion Williamson returned to action against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Lakers News / Yardbarker Quizzes

The '1,000 double-figure NBA games' quiz

How many of the 30 players in NBA history to score in double-figures at least 1,000 times in their career can you name in five minutes?

The 'Multi-time NBA MVPs' quiz

The 'Active 30-point games in an NBA season leaders' quiz

The '2024-25 NBA scoring leaders by team' quiz

NBA News / Yardbarker

Who is the most-iconic player for every NBA franchise?

Who is the best player in the history of every NBA franchise? That’s a tough question. Who is the most iconic player in the history of every NBA franchise?

New Orleans Pelicans News / EasySportz / November 20

Derik Queen is The Future in New Orleans, Not Zion Williamson

NEW ORLEANS — At some point, reality stops knocking and simply kicks the door down. For the Pelicans, Wednesday night against Denver might have been that moment — because while New Orleans took another loss, it also watched rookie big man Derik Queen go toe-to-toe with Nikola Jokic and look like someone you can build an actual franchise around.

NBA News / Yardbarker / November 20

Jokic shares spotlight with Watson in Nuggets win

Nikola Jokic shares spotlight with Peyton Watson in Nuggets win

On a night Nikola Jokic recorded his ninth triple-double of the season, one of his teammates stood out in his own right.

Pelicans' Derik Queen lives up to 'Baby Jokic' nickname vs. Nuggets

Who is the most-iconic player for every NBA franchise?

The 'Active 50-point NBA games' quiz

NBA News / Yardbarker / November 20

Pelicans' Queen lives up to 'Baby Jokic' nickname vs. Nuggets

Pelicans' Derik Queen lives up to 'Baby Jokic' nickname vs. Nuggets

New Orleans Pelicans rookie center Derik Queen earned the nickname "Baby Jokic" during his college career at Maryland. He showed why on Wednesday night.

Nikola Jokic shares the spotlight with Peyton Watson in Nuggets win

Steve Kerr 'very concerned' about worrisome trend plaguing NBA

Luka Doncic snubbed Austin Reaves during postgame interview

Blowing the whistle on NBA's scoring explosion this season

NBA All-Star Game/weekend, time, location, how to watch

NBA News / EssentiallySports / November 19

Is Zion Williamson Playing Tonight? Pelicans vs Nuggets Injury Report, Where To Watch & More (Nov. 19)

The New Orleans Pelicans face a tough task tonight as they host the Denver Nuggets. The Pelicans are mired in a deep slump, while the Nuggets are looking to bounce back from a surprising home loss.

New Orleans Pelicans News / New Orleans Pelicans on SI / November 19

There Is Only 1 Trade That Can Help Pelicans Salvage This Season

The New Orleans Pelicans are 2-12 already and are headed to the lottery for the second straight season. This time around, however, they don't have their own first-round pick.

James Borrego News / New Orleans Pelicans on SI / November 19

Only 3 Head Coaches Pelicans Should Consider Hiring Over James Borrego

The New Orleans Pelicans, in the midst of a disastrous 2-12 season, are currently conducting a head coach search. Interim head coach James Borrego will obviously be a candidate to win the full-time gig, but the Pelicans reportedly have other options as well, including Darvin Ham and Kevin Ollie.

New Orleans Pelicans News / Larry Brown Sports / November 19

Report: Pelicans could try to hire 1 currently-employed NBA head coach

The New Orleans Pelicans may be aiming high as they look to fill their head coaching vacancy. New Orleans is interested in potentially hiring current Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, veteran NBA writer Jake Fischer reported to Substack this week.

New Orleans Pelicans News / The SportsRush / November 18

Kendrick Perkins Rips Apart Zion Williamson for Killing the Pelicans’ Culture

The Zion Williamson experience continues to grow grimmer by the week. The former No. 1 pick has been sidelined for a huge chunk of his NBA career. In his first six seasons, he played only about 214 out of 472 possible regular-season games, meaning he’s missed more than half of his team’s games.

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The 'NFL single-game completions leaders' quiz

The 'NFL QB rushing TD leaders' quiz

The 'NFL yearly tackles-for-loss leaders' quiz

The 'Men's Final Four hosts since 2000' quiz

New Orleans Pelicans News / New Orleans Pelicans on SI / November 18

Pelicans Must Embrace the Jeremiah Fears-Derik Queen Era

There aren't too many positives with the New Orleans Pelicans through the first month of the 2025-26 NBA season. The Pelicans are one of the worst teams in the league, but they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, so the fans can't even look at the bright side of their disappointing start to the season.

James Borrego News / Field Level Media / November 18

Pelicans interim coach James Borrego seeks 'players' spirit' vs. Nuggets

Two games into James Borrego's head-coaching stint for New Orleans, the Pelicans are still struggling. The team might continue down that path when it hosts the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

New Orleans Pelicans News / Bleacher Report / November 18

Watch: Derik Queen crashed the pregame show

New Orleans Pelicans News / NBA on ClutchPoints / November 18

5 fixes Zion Williamson’s Pelicans need James Borrego to engineer immediately

Hope has flickered like a faulty scoreboard for far too long in the Smoothie King Center, so the New Orleans Pelicans made a not-so-bold pivot to James Borrego.

Joe Dumars News / NBA on ClutchPoints / November 18

Pelicans rumors: Joe Dumars leaving rivals ‘baffled’ in almost every way

Joe Dumars’ tenure as the New Orleans Pelicans’ president of basketball operations has been a pleasant surprise; it’s just that it’s only been really pleasant for the other teams around the NBA, not the Pelicans.

New Orleans Pelicans News / Hoops Wire / November 18

Report: Some Pelicans felt Willie Green didn’t hold Zion Williamson accountable

The Pelicans didn’t just make a coaching change. They apparently made a culture change. According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, several Pelicans players and staffers felt former coach Willie Green didn’t hold Zion Williamson accountable during his tenure.

New Orleans Pelicans News / EssentiallySports / November 15

Trey Murphy Reveals Joe Dumars’ Private Team Meeting After Willie Green Firing

Looks like the NBA has quietly agreed on a new formula: if your team is floundering in the standings, it’s time to swap out a front-office face. Dallas, sitting at 3-8, waved goodbye to GM Nico Harrison, not exactly a tearful farewell, more like a ceremonial shrug for the fans.

New Orleans Pelicans News / Hoops Wire / November 15

Multiple names already linked to Pelicans coaching job

The Pelicans didn’t even make it 24 hours into the post-Willie Green era before names started circulating. And one of the first belongs to former UConn coach and Nets interim boss Kevin Ollie, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

New Orleans Pelicans News / Yardbarker / November 15