After months of waiting, Big Easy basketball fans have some free agency news that might help fill Smoothie King Center seats. With apologies to DeAndre Jordan, the New Orleans Pelicans made their first significant signing of the 2026 offseason, agreeing to a two-year, $16 million deal with high-scoring wing Bennedict Mathurin.
On August 22, I wrote about the two remaining NBA restricted free agents, Jalen Duren and Bennedict Mathurin. Just four days later, on August 26, Mathurin is expected to join the New Orleans Pelicans.
Bennedict Mathurin couldn't get the restricted free agent offers he was hoping for this summer. Instead, he's going to bet on himself.
The Pelicans have reportedly agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with Bennedict Mathurin. Now they just need to create a roster spot and a little more room below the luxury tax.
In the history of the NBA, a player has scored 50 or more points in a playoff game on 51 occasions. How many can you name in six minutes?
The regular season is important, but NBA legends are made in the playoffs. More specifically, it's the Finals where the all-time greats have built their otherworldly reputations.
The New Orleans Pelicans have finally landed a player they’ve been pursuing for more than a year.
The restricted free-agent market is still very much unresolved as multiple players wait for their next contract. With the Jalen Duren saga taking center stage this summer, Clippers guard Bennedict Mathurin also remains without a deal as August turns to September.
When the New Orleans Pelicans drafted Zion Williamson in 2019, there was a ray of hope for the franchise after they traded away Anthony Davis. Williamson was dubbed as a generational talent that could lead the Pelicans to the promised land.
Now that the New Orleans Pelicans have filled their 15-man roster and no more moves seem imminent, attention turns to the best way new head coach Jamahl Mosley can maximize the current personnel.
Typically, the path to the NBA for most players is to spend at least a season in college to get high-level basketball and important development under their belts.
Toughness is one of those NBA words that can mean almost anything until a team is forced to prove it. EVP Joe Dumars has said the word so often this offseason that it has become shorthand for everything the Zion Williamson-era New Orleans Pelicans are trying to fix.
When the New Orleans Pelicans tip off the NBA season in about two months, some lingering issues from last year remain unaddressed. The team didn’t address these problems this offseason, instead electing to remain largely intact from last year.
Dejounte Murray could have taken the safer route last season. Instead, the Pelicans guard wanted back on the floor. Murray returned from a torn Achilles in February, more than a year after suffering the injury, and appeared in 14 games despite New Orleans sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference.
It would have been easy for Dejounte Murray to sit out all of last season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, but the Pelicans guard explains in an interview with Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype why it was important for him to return to action.
The New Orleans Pelicans rounded out their 15-man roster after signing versatile forward Trendon Watford this week. His arrival means an undersized but crowded power forward position in New Orleans, which puts one player on thin ice this season: Karlo Matković.
The New Orleans Pelicans' recent acquisition of Trendon Watford fills their 15th and final roster spot heading into the NBA season. If this is the lineup that tips off opening night against the Indiana Pacers, then there are plenty of holes in the roster that will need patching.
For quite some time during the early days of the offseason, New Orleans Pelicans were the only team that had not made any new roster moves. They re-signed veteran DeAndre Jordan to a contract and re-signed second-year big man Hunter Dickinson to another two-way contract, but were pretty much quiet otherwise.
The Pelicans have waived Hunter Dickinson, Michael Scotto reports for HoopsHype (via Twitter). Dickinson re-signed on a two-way contract with New Orleans in July after playing on a two-way contract for them last season.
Undrafted free agent forward Malik Dia has signed a two-way contract with the Pelicans, per NBA.com’s transaction log. Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link) broke word of the agreement.
The NBA season is creeping up on the calendar, and while most fans cannot wait for the action to start, others are wondering when their front office will get with the times.
Contract negotiations in the modern NBA have evolved into a high-stakes balancing act between talent evaluation and cap risk, especially in small markets needing to sell tickets.
The New Orleans Pelicans are adding a new forward to their fold. On Monday, NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the Western Conference franchise has come to terms with former Philadelphia 76ers forward Trendon Watford.
The Indiana Pacers have been without their superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton since Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals when he suffered a torn Achilles.
These five former All-Stars had better produce this season or face irrelevancy much sooner than expected.
The New Orleans Pelicans won only 26 games last season, but the front office has largely stood pat this summer. Maybe that's a good thing.
Team insider Dan Woike reports that they might not even be done adding big men to their frontcourt, as they're still keeping tabs on three young players.
It made sense for the New Orleans Pelicans to bring back 2026 Teammate of the Year DeAndre Jordan. But giving him a guaranteed two-year deal was another mistake from team president Joe Dumars.
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