The New Orleans Pelicans continue to make moves ahead of training camp beginning, this time waiving a player to make room on their two-way roster: second-year center Hunter Dickinson.
After receiving another contract from the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this offseason, two-way center Hunter Dickinson was waived on Tuesday, per insider Michael Scotto.
This move will come as less of a surprise to people than the decision to give him another two-way contract that early. Dickinson was picked up by the Pelicans after going unselected in the 2025 NBA draft.
Dickinson was a two-time All-American, two-time All-Big 12 player, three-time All-Big Ten and more in college with the Michigan Wolverines and Kansas Jayhawks. He averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game on 55.5/33.9/72.9 shooting splits over his five-year career. His skillset always seemed more tailored towards the college game, and it showed during his time in the G League and in the Summer League.
Dickinson was an inconsistent shooter in college, though solid for his size. Still, his offensive game was always going to be what got him to the NBA. He doesn't have the strength or speed to be even a solid defensive center, which is what the team needs far more.
The 25-year-old posted 2.4 points and 1.0 rebounds on 35.7% from the field and a perfect 100% from the charity stripe per game over five appearances last season. It's such a small sample size that it's not really worth gathering anything from. It's more about the tape.
It makes sense that he got waived now, after the team signed Malik Dia to a two-way deal earlier in the day, which gave them a full roster for a short period of time. Now, there is another two-way spot for players like Kobe Bufkin and Christian Koloko to battle for throughout training camp and the preseason.
No matter if they don't end up replacing Dickinson with another center, Dia is already a defensive upgrade. New Orleans has made that the priority this offseason, which is why it was shocking to see Dickinson retained in the first place.
The center position has not at all been handled the way many thought it would by the Pelicans this offseason. The team is pretty much only going to rely on development to change things in that room. Both Yves Missi and Derik Queen are exciting young talents, but is one offseason enough to fix a team that had one of the worst defenses in the NBA last year?
