Dec 7, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray (5) gathers teammates including New Orleans Pelicans guard Trey Murphy III (25) and New Orleans Pelicans guard Javonte Green (4) for a huddle as the team falls behind against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Pelicans Rookie Projected Over $112 Million Star For 2025-26 Depth Chart

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 2:28 PM ET

The NBA won't even be back in action until October, and teams around the league still have plenty of moves to make before the season starts. From filling up their two-way spots to still making key additions to their rotations, several quality free agents remain on the market as August nears.

Looking at the New Orleans Pelicans, they appear to have a roster that is largely set for next season. After making a move to trade away veterans CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk, they added Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey to their rotation as younger options. Recently, HoopsHype released their projections for 2025-26 depth charts, making a bold choice for New Orleans.

Trey Murphy III 40 points on 15/20 pic.twitter.com/2UXVYQoSJ2
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) February 1, 2025

Projecting the depth chart, HoopsHype listed the starting lineup for New Orleans as Jordan Poole, Jeremiah Fears, Herbert Jones, Zion Williamson, and Derik Queen. While that might not seem wild at first glance, a notable omission from that is Pelicans' $112 million star Trey Murphy III.

Murphy is the second-highest returning scorer from last season, after Brandon Ingram was dealt to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline. In 53 games, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while having 45.4/36.1/88.7 shooting splits. While Fears would give the team another ball-handler next to Poole, putting him over Murphy is a bold move as of this moment.

Jeremiah Fears Final Summer League Stats:

17.4 PPG
2.8 APG (5.4 TOs per game)
3.8 RPG
1.4 SPG

40% FG
18% 3P pic.twitter.com/bPTGGayT3Q
— Brady (@sideshowbrady) July 19, 2025

Looking at how Fears performed in the Summer League, he posted averages of 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 5.0 turnovers across five games. Putting Fears in the starting lineup alongside Poole would likely be to add more playmaking, but the seventh overall pick didn't really show that at all in Vegas.

Additionally, it's hard to imagine the Pelicans will also start the season with Derik Queen over Yves Missi, given that Missi was an All-Rookie performer last year and brings a ton of value as a rebounder on both ends of the court.

According to @KeithSmithNBA here’s what a Pelicans front office executive said about Zion Williamson.

“We believe in Zion, he wants to make it work, and so do we.” pic.twitter.com/uiEudY3uLF
— Justin (@ProPelsTalk) July 23, 2025

Given all of this, a lineup that could make more sense (excluding Dejounte Murray since he's injury) would be Poole, Jones, Murphy III, Williamson, and Missi. Of course, with how the NBA works and injuries, the rotation for the Pelicans could change several times. Coming off a 21-61 record, the pressure is on for New Orleans to improve without their first-round pick.

This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: