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Southwest Notes: Davis, Morant, W. Green, Edey, Bassey

November 7th, 2025 at 1:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis‘ early-season injury is bringing back memories of the events that led to last season’s Luka Doncic trade, writes Christian Clark of The Athletic. Like Doncic, Davis reported to training camp weighing more than usual with a plan to work himself back into shape once the season began. The big man weighed in at 268 pounds for the start of camp, about 15 pounds heavier than last season.

Davis was productive in his first four games, although Clark states that some rival scouts and coaches said he didn’t look as mobile as he used to be. He was forced out of an October 29 game with a left calf strain, which is the same injury that hampered Doncic last season and eventually led to his departure. Davis hasn’t played since then and is listed as doubtful for tonight’s NBA Cup contest against Memphis.

The Mavericks were reluctant to make an investment in Doncic because of concerns about his physical condition, and Clark notes that they’ll soon be facing a similar decision with Davis. He’s owed $58.5MM for 2026/27 and has a $62.8MM player option for the following season. He’ll become eligible for a contract extension next summer and can earn up to $218.5MM by picking up his option and extending for three more years. He’s already 32 with a lengthy injury history, so general manager Nico Harrison will have to determine if he’s more deserving of a long-term deal than Doncic was.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Last week’s blowout between Ja Morant and the Grizzlies‘ coaching staff hasn’t affected his relationship with teammate Jaren Jackson Jr., sources tell Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. They remain united in their determination to turn the season around, and general manager Zach Kleiman hasn’t lost confidence in his two stars. Siegel states that there’s no indication that Kleiman has thought about trading Morant, and Morant hasn’t expressed a desire to be dealt. Siegel also hears that Morant received support from several teammates after clashing with coach Tuomas Iisalo over his unorthodox substitution patterns.
An 0-6 start increased speculation about Willie Green’s job security, and the Pelicans‘ front office had “serious internal conversations” about making a change, Siegel adds in the same piece. Controversial decisions may lead to Green’s demise, Siegel states, citing the choice of giving playing time to rookie point guard Jeremiah Fears ahead of Jordan Poole. Sources tell Siegel that the move caused “visible frustration” for Poole and “did not sit right” with some of his teammates. There was also consternation about starting DeAndre Jordan ahead of Yves Missi, who made the All-Rookie team last year, and lead executive Joe Dumars was unhappy early in the season that Derik Queen wasn’t getting enough minutes.
The Grizzlies announced (via Twitter) that they’ve assigned Zach Edey and GG Jackson II to practice with their G League affiliate. Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com notes that Edey has entered the front end of his projected “return-to-play” window following ankle surgery (Twitter link). Wallace adds that Charles Bassey is no longer with the team after his 10-day hardship contract expired on Wednesday.

Jordan Poole Sidelined With Left Quad Strain

November 7th, 2025 at 10:32am CST by Arthur Hill

Jordan Poole has been diagnosed with a mild left quad strain and will be reevaluated in seven-to-10 days, the Pelicans announced (via Twitter).

After playing 27 minutes Tuesday against Charlotte, Poole missed his first game of the season Wednesday at Dallas due to soreness in his left knee. Subsequent testing showed that pain was being caused by the quad issue.

The 26-year-old guard is enjoying a relatively strong start in New Orleans after being acquired from Washington in an offseason trade. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 3.4 assists in seven games, but he’s fallen into a shooting slump lately, going a combined 5-of-25 in his last two outings.

Saddiq Bey was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday and may keep that role while Poole is sidelined. Jose Alvarado and Jordan Hawkins also saw an increase in their minutes.

The Pelicans’ schedule for the upcoming week includes games against San Antonio (Saturday), Phoenix (Monday), Portland (Wednesday) and the Lakers (next Friday), so Poole may not miss much action if his next reevaluation is positive.

New Orleans is already playing without Zion Williamson, who’s sidelined with a Grade 1 left hamstring strain. The Pelicans have won back-to-back games as they try to rebound after an 0-6 start.

Pelicans Notes: Green, 0-5 Start, Poole, Looney

November 2nd, 2025 at 12:44pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans are reportedly having “serious” internal discussions about head coach Willie Green. Should they fire him?

Rod Walker of NOLA.com explores that subject, writing that while there is plenty of blame to go around for the team’s 0-5 start, the players seem like they’re tuned out to Green’s messaging at times. More importantly, the Pelicans largely haven’t played with the effort required to be competitive in an extremely difficult Western Conference.

After back-to-back blowouts at the hands of Boston and Denver, the Pelicans put up a much better fight in Friday’s game against the Clippers. They were down 17 points in the third quarter, but managed to even the score late in the fourth prior to a Kawhi Leonard game-winner. Yet it still counts as a loss all the same.

“Even through a difficult loss, the response we all saw tonight is a group that is learning each other and coming together,” Green said (story via Walker). “But they care. They went out and competed at a high level and gave everything they got.”

New Orleans has now dropped 12 straight games dating back to last season, Walker notes.

We have more on the Pelicans:

Jordan Poole, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Wizards, had his best game as a Pelican in Friday’s loss, Walker adds. The 26-year-old guard came off the bench for the second straight game and finished with a team-high 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting. “Jordan was great,” Green said. “It’s a tough adjustment for him (coming off the bench). We are all aware of that. He’s such a dynamic player. What he does for our second unit is he’s the hub.”
Kevon Looney is “extremely close” to making his Pelicans debut, Green said on Friday, according to Mark Medina of EssentiallySports. The veteran big man, who is recovering from a left knee sprain, is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Oklahoma City, per the league’s official injury report.
In an in-depth interview with Medina, Looney says he’s been trying to make his presence felt despite the injury. “I’ve still been trying to use my voice,” the 29-year-old center said. “It’s harder to lead and be that guy when you’re on the sideline. But the team and the guys respect me. I’ve done a lot of practices before I went down. I played two preseason games. So I was able to be on the floor with them some. They’ve been losing some games. So I’ve been trying to use my voice and use my experience. I’ve been in a lot of different circumstances in this league and have played a lot of different roles. So I’m just trying to connect with all the guys, talking to them and leading my way. And hopefully, when I get on the court, I can do even more. It’s been different. But it’s still been fun. We have a great group of guys. We have a young team who is excited to come to practice every day. We’ve had that joy and have been practicing hard. So it’s been a lot of fun just connecting and learning these new guys every day.”

Southwest Notes: Eason, Durant, Poole, Dumars, Johnson

October 21st, 2025 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After not reaching an agreement with the Rockets prior to Monday’s deadline for rookie scale extension, forward Tari Eason said on Tuesday that he still wants to be in Houston long-term, per Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

“Of course,” he said. “I got drafted here. This is home. The brought me in. Since kind of day one, Houston’s been like home and family to me. So of course.”

Eason seemed well positioned to sign an extension after the Rockets worked out a two-year, $90MM deal with Kevin Durant over the weekend that left them projected to be well below the second tax apron in 2026/27. Instead, he’ll look to boost his value with a strong contract year before hitting restricted free agency next summer. He indicated on Tuesday that he’s comfortable with that outcome and hopes to help the Rockets make a deep playoff run before his rookie contract expires.

“It’s business. It’s nothing personal,” Eason said. “I don’t think it really changes my goal. I’m here to try to win a championship with Houston. That’s really my main focus.”

We have more from around the Southwest:

Speaking of Durant’s extension, he referred to the decision to sign that contract as a “no-brainer,” according to Lerner (subscription required). “Just talking to (general manager) Rafael (Stone) and (head coach) Ime (Udoka) and how they wanted to build the team, and how I seen myself in this organization, I just thought it was a perfect contract for it,” Durant said. “So I’m glad we can get that out the way, won’t have to worry about external noise throughout the season if I didn’t have a contract signed. So just worry about basketball, and focus on the season.”
The Pelicans‘ trade for Jordan Poole over the summer was met with somewhat mixed reactions, but the former Warriors and Wizards guard looks like he could be an ideal fit in New Orleans, according to Les East of NOLA.com. Poole appealed to the front office due to his ability to play both on and off the ball and the fact that he’s “obsessed with basketball,” East writes. He also gained championship experience during his time in Golden State. “He won a ring,” teammate Zion Williamson said. “So he knows what it takes to get there and having that experience on this team with him is big for us.”
In a feature story for Pelicans.com, Jim Eichenhofer looks at Joe Dumars‘ first few months on the job in New Orleans and details why the Hall of Famer was willing to leave his position at the NBA league office to come home and run the Pelicans‘ front office.
While he has been the subject of some trade speculation in the past, Spurs forward Keldon Johnson continues to solidify his place in San Antonio with each passing year and has become one of the team’s culture bearers, per Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “His role has evolved numerous times, and he has never wavered in terms of his commitment and enthusiasm to be here,” head coach Mitch Johnson said. “I think that speaks more than anything I can say.”

Pelicans Notes: Peavy, Camp Vibe, Queen, Poole, Barnes

September 27th, 2025 at 3:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans have a pair of lottery picks in training camp but don’t sleep on their second-rounder. Rookie wing Micah Peavy has made a strong impression on head coach Willie Green during the first week of camp, team website reporter Jim Eichenhofer writes.

“He may be flying under the radar (in terms of media and fan interest), but not in practices,” Green said. “He’s standing out big-time. He’s one of our guys who is doing really well.”

Peavy could help at both ends of the floor. He averaged 17.2 points and 2.3 steals per game for Georgetown last season.

“He fits sort of our core characteristics of how we want to play,” Green said. “Number one, he’s a high-character young man. On the floor, it starts with him being competitive. He brings toughness, he’s a good defender, he’s smart. He makes the right plays offensively, doesn’t hurt you at all.”

Here’s more on the Pelicans:

The team began training camp on Wednesday and there were plenty of positive vibes to go around. “It’s refreshing,” Green said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “We all understand that last season was not a season we expected to have. Now we are turning the page. That’s the biggest thing I saw from this group (Wednesday).” Newcomer Jordan Poole certainly appreciated the upbeat atmosphere. “A lot guys at media day (Tuesday) mentioned how good of a group this is and how good the energy is and how well we get along with each other,” Poole said. “The vibes are good. I think we are just ready to get back on the court. We’re a competitive team, and guys want to get going early and want to find a way to expedite our learning curve.”
One of the lottery picks, Derik Queen, is recovering from left wrist surgery and has been a limited participant. “He’s stepping into some of our drills,” Green said, per Eichenhofer. “He can do some of that. But we won’t rush him. When he’s ready, we’ll get the heads-up… and he’ll be able to step in and have more contact.”
After starting out in a winning organization with the Warriors, Poole went through a whole lot of losing with the Wizards during the last two seasons. He’s looking forward to being on a team with a greater chance to turn things around this season. “Now I’m able to incorporate what it feels like to be on the tougher end of it when it comes to winning and losing,” Poole told Walker. “The last two years for me were a bit more challenging. We weren’t able to win as much as I’d like. But coming to a situation with a new front office, that is the goal. That is the expectation. Everybody’s on the same page and it’ll be fun to go out there and compete against a really tough Western Conference.”
The Pelicans revamped their front office this offseason but they made a significant in-house promotion this week. Adam Barnes has named assistant GM, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. He was previously Pelicans director of college scouting and the Birmingham Squadron’s GM, New Orleans’ G League affiliate. This is his seventh season with the organization.

Pelicans Notes: Williamson, Looney, Poole

September 24th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

Zion Williamson is getting some tough love from executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and that’s just fine with the talented Pelicans forward, according to Brett Martel of The Associated Press.

“He’s going to hold me accountable, and as he holds me accountable, he’s going to give me a lot of responsibility as well, which I’m excited for,” Williamson said. “I know he’s going to hold me to a really high standard, and if I slip up or anything, I know he’s going to be right there to make sure I get right back on the path.”

The oft-injured Williamson appeared in just 30 games last season. He’s had numerous frank conversations with Dumars and general manager Troy Weaver, who have been impressed with his commitment to conditioning.

“They embraced me,” Williamson said, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com. “I told them, ‘I’m not going to let y’all down.’ That helps a lot that they really believe in me. They are going to hold me accountable and with that accountability they will give me a lot of responsibility. And I’m here for it.”

We have more on the Pelicans:

Longtime Warriors big man Kevon Looney believes the Pelicans have the pieces in place to move up the Western Conference standings. Looney signed a two-year deal with New Orleans as a free agent. “It’s a young team that has a chance to be really special,” he said in a video posted by the team (Twitter link). “I want to be part of a team that’s striving in the direction where they feel like they can make that jump. Sometimes when you go to a team you feel that it’s a total rebuild, but I feel like they already had the pieces — they just had be healthy.”
Coach Willie Green says Jordan Poole, whom the Pelicans acquired in a trade with Washington, feels rejuvenated by the change of scenery. “We’re getting Jordan at a really key point in his career,” Green told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “He goes to Golden State after being drafted there and wins a championship. He signs the big contract. He goes to D.C. and he’s playing on a team where at the end of it they don’t have a chance to compete for the playoffs. So, coming here, he’s excited. He’s excited to have an opportunity to compete. I love what he brings to the table. He’s 26 years old. He works his tail off to put himself in a position to step on the floor and be really good. We’re getting him at a good time, man. So, I’m about having an opportunity to coach him.”
In case you missed it, Dumars touched on a number of topics with the media earlier this week. Get all the details here.

Joe Dumars Discusses Zion, Expectations For Pelicans, More

September 22nd, 2025 at 4:15pm CST by Rory Maher

As we relayed in a separate story, Joe Dumars told reporters on Monday that Pelicans wings Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones will be full participants in training camp this fall.

New Orleans’ new head of basketball operations made several other comments worth noting during his media session. Here are some highlights:

Addressing oft-injured star forward Zion Williamson, Dumars said he has reiterated “responsibility” and “accountability” to the former No. 1 overall pick (Twitter link via Will Guillory of The Athletic). Dumars also wants Williamson to fully grasp the heightened expectations that come with his level of talent.
Dumars said he told his colleagues during a meeting with the coaching staff this morning that he doesn’t have any set expectations for the Pelicans this season in terms of wins and losses (Twitter video link via the team). However, he does expect New Orleans to be a “high-competing team every night,” and believes that if that comes to fruition, “the wins will take care of themselves.”
Dumars said he has been speaking to head coach Willie Green on a daily basis. He added that his offseason communication with the coaching staff has been vital (Twitter link via Guillory).
According to Guillory (Twitter link), Dumars said the controversial draft-day trade to acquire big man Derik Queen doesn’t mean the Pelicans have a “playoffs-or-bust” approach this season. Dumars said the team was and still is focused on building a deep roster that can be competitive every game.
Speaking of Queen, Dumars said the Pelicans have been encouraging him to get in better shape while he rehabilitates from wrist surgery, as sideline reporter Erin Summers tweets.
The Pelicans have been hit hard by injuries for several seasons. Dumars said he has spent extended time with the medical staff and made some “tweaks” to their processes this offseason, per Summers (Twitter link).
Dumars has been encouraged by Jeremiah Fears‘ work ethic, as the team has had to force the 18-year-old guard to stay out of the gym at times (Twitter link via Summers). New Orleans selected Fears No. 7 overall in June’s draft.
“In order to be a contender you have to be obsessed with (basketball),” Dumars said, citing Fears and trade acquisition Jordan Poole as players who fit that bill (Twitter link via Summer).

Joe Dumars Unfazed By Criticism Of Controversial Moves

July 15th, 2025 at 9:42pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ new executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars has already made a number of eye-opening moves. He gave up CJ McCollum in a trade with the Wizards that brought Jordan Poole to New Orleans. He also traded up in the draft, giving up an unprotected 2026 pick in the process, to nab Maryland big man Derik Queen at the No. 13 spot.

Dumars took heat for those decisions, especially the latter. He told ESPN’s Marc J. Spears in an Andscape interview he doesn’t care about the backlash.

“I don’t mind the criticism. People say they don’t mind. But I really don’t mind,” Dumars said. “When you’re running a franchise, you make a determination of what you think you need to start growing your franchise. The opportunity presented itself that we could get two lottery picks, and to do that, you’re going to have to give up something. We gave up what we thought it would take to get these two lottery picks and we did.”

Dumars chose to return to his home state and take on the task of running a Pelicans franchise stuck in mediocrity. Dumars declined the vice president of basketball operations jobs with the Kings and Suns, according to Spears, but felt the New Orleans offer was “right place, right time, right people.”

Dumars addressed a wide range of topics in the interview. Here’s some of the highlights:

On the Poole acquisition:

“If you look around the league now, it’s almost a requirement to have high-level guard play, dynamic guard play. Jordan has a skillset that matches the most dynamic guards in this league. We’ve also seen him be a part of a championship team and contribute at a high level. So, with his skill set, he’s a dynamic guard and I know we have proof that he’s helped teams win championships.”

On how he approached the roster after taking the job:

“I felt the core guys like Zion (Williamson), Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray, I thought that was a really good group of guys all around the age of 25 years old. I looked at it from there and said, ‘OK, we need to build out and how do we complement each other?’ I thought the core was really good there and I thought if you have a good core, let’s build out around that core with the type of players that we need.

“And I thought Jordan Poole was a dynamic guard. I thought that Saddiq Bey was the perfect guy to come off the bench and add depth to your team. I thought that (free agent acquisition Kevon) Looney was the perfect guy for a team full of guys who were 25, 26 years old.”

On his relationship with Williamson:

“He and I have had some incredible conversations. We are in constant contact with each other. I’ve talked to him about the responsibility of being great and the responsibility of being a leader, of being a captain, of being the best player, of being the face of a franchise. I’ve talked to him about how all of those things come with responsibility and how it’s time now at 25 years old to embrace those responsibilities.”

On why he left his job with the league office to become a team executive again:

“I loved my job at the NBA. I didn’t like it. I loved it. And I always said it would have to take something special for me to leave, otherwise I wouldn’t. And so, this was what I considered special to be able to come back, run the Pelicans in New Orleans with quite frankly a lot of people I knew in the organization and outside the organization. That’s what made it special for me to say that I would leave the NBA and take this job because I really enjoyed working at the league office.”

Wizards, Pelicans, Rockets Compete Three-Team Trade

July 6th, 2025 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Wizards have rolled a pair of trade agreements with the Pelicans and Rockets into the same deal, officially completing the two deals as a single three-team transaction, per a press release from New Orleans.

The terms of the trade are as follows:

Wizards acquire CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk, Cam Whitmore, and the Bulls’ 2027 second-round pick (from Pelicans).
Pelicans acquire Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, and the draft rights to Micah Peavy (No. 40 pick).
Rockets acquire the draft rights to Mojave King, the Bulls’ 2026 second-round pick (from Wizards) and the Kings’ 2029 second-round pick (from Wizards).

The original trade agreement between Washington and New Orleans was reached on June 24, a day before the first round of the draft, with the Whitmore deal between Houston and Washington just agreed upon yesterday.

It was beneficial for the Wizards to combine the two deals into a single trade because they were sending out any matching salary to the Rockets for Whitmore. While they could have used one of several cap exceptions they had on hand to take on Whitmore’s $3.54MM salary for 2025/26, including him in this deal allows them to use their 125% allowance for Poole’s and Bey’s outgoing salary to acquire him, McCollum, and Olynyk.

The only new part of this deal is the Rockets acquiring the draft rights to King from New Orleans, which was necessary to ensure that Houston and New Orleans were “touching” as part of the three-team deal.

You can read our original story on the Wizards/Pelicans deal headlined by McCollum and Poole here, while our report on the Wizards’ deal for Whitmore is here.

Pelicans Trading McCollum, Olynyk To Wizards For Poole, Bey

June 24th, 2025 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans and Wizards have agreed to a four-player trade, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that guard CJ McCollum, forward/center Kelly Olynyk, and a future second-round pick are headed to Washington in exchange for guard Jordan Poole, forward Saddiq Bey, and the No. 40 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Both McCollum ($30.7MM) and Olynyk ($13.4MM) will be on expiring contracts in 2025/26, so this move will significantly increase the Wizards’ projected 2026 cap room. They were already going to have a lot of money coming off their books next summer, with Khris Middleton ($33.3MM), Marcus Smart ($21.6MM), and potentially Richaun Holmes ($13.3MM; mostly non-guaranteed) also on expiring deals.

Corey Kispert‘s $14MM is now the only fully guaranteed salary on Washington’s cap for 2026/27, though a handful of players on rookie scale contracts will join him once the Wizards officially pick up their ’26/27 options later this year. The team currently projects to have more than $80MM in cap room next summer, per Yossi Gozlan of The Third Apron (Twitter link), and possibly up to $100MM, according to Charania.

In addition to generating future cap flexibility, the Wizards will add a pair of respected veterans who are still playing pretty good basketball.

While McCollum is an undersized shooting guard who isn’t a great defender, he put up 21.1 points and 4.1 assists per game this past season on .444/.373/.717 shooting in 56 contests (all starts). Olynyk, who was traded from Toronto to New Orleans in February, battled injuries that limited him to 44 appearances, but posted respectable averages of 8.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.9 APG in 20.3 MPG and made 41.8% of his three-point tries.

Although neither player has substantial trade value, both should be movable later this offseason or during the season if the Wizards aren’t committed to keeping them for the entire 2025/26 campaign.

According to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link), the second-round pick going to Washington in the deal is Chicago’s 2027 second-rounder. The Wizards were actually already going to receive that pick if it were to land in the top 50, but now they’ll get it no matter where it ends up, rather than the Pelicans receiving it if it’s between 51 and 60.

As for the Pelicans, they’re sacrificing some 2026 cap flexibility in the trade, but will move a little further below next season’s luxury tax line and get younger by acquiring Poole and Bey.

Poole, who turned 26 last Thursday, had a strong bounce-back year in D.C. in 2024/25 after a shaky first season with the Wizards. He averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds in 29.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .432/.378/.883.

Like McCollum, Poole isn’t exactly a lock-down defender, but the former Warrior been pretty effective with the ball in his hands and should help New Orleans replace some of the play-making the team lost when Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles midway through the ’24/25 season — Murray’s recovery process is expected to extend into next season.

Poole is owed roughly $65.9MM over the next two years, with $4.25MM in annual incentives ($8.5MM in total) that count toward the tax apron, but not the cap. Bey has two seasons and $12.6MM left on his contract, with $333K in unlikely incentives each year.

Acquiring the duo in exchange for McCollum and Olynyk will reduce New Orleans’ team salary by about $6MM for cap/tax purposes, giving the club some extra breathing room to make additional moves.

Bey showed some real promise as a three-and-D wing in Detroit and Atlanta earlier in his career, but struggled with his outside shot for the Hawks in 2023/24 and tore his ACL near the end of that season, which cost him the entire ’24/25 campaign. He’ll be looking to make his comeback to the court this fall at age 26.

The trade is the second one the Pelicans have made within the last week to add 2025 draft capital. The club previously acquired a first-round pick from the Pacers in exchange for a 2026 first-rounder and now has the seventh, 23rd, and 40th overall picks entering this week’s draft.

The deal won’t become official until July due to Washington’s position relative to the first tax apron, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter). That means there’s still a possibility it could expand to include more teams and pieces before it’s finalized.

If it’s completed as currently constructed, the Wizards would be hard-capped at the first apron for the 2025/26 season as a result of taking back more salary than they send out.