Chaos has reigned for the New Orleans Pelicans this offseason, more so than for most other teams around the NBA.
Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey recently ranked each NBA team based on how chaotic their offseasons have been. The Pelicans came in at the fourth spot.
Ahead of them were the Milwaukee Bucks after how they handled the Damian Lillard situation, the Phoenix Suns after trading Kevin Durant and releasing Bradley Beal and the Los Angeles Clippers thanks to Pablo Torre's investigative skills.
That means New Orleans is truly among the craziest offseasons and it was the first under new president Joe Dumars, which is part of the reason they finished so high up.
David Griffin was let go after the team went just 209-263 over the course of his six seasons. There were highs and lows, but they massively underperformed overall. It was time for things to change if the Pelicans wanted to make forward progress.
It's unclear if they will actually be much better this season, they should if they stay healthy, but things will certainly be different.
Dumars has wasted no time in putting his mark on this roster. He's been active in the trade market, for both better and possibly worse.
The 2025 NBA draft was a great example of what the mindset will be like under the Championship-winning executive: aggressive.
While most people expect this team to lose a ton of games this season and have a top draft pick, Dumars mortaged the future by trading their unprotected 2026 first rounder to the Atlanta Hawks for the ability to draft Derik Queen with the No. 13 overall pick.
Queen is a very fun project and potentially perfect modern-day center, but that is a huge risk.
Jeremiah Fears was their first selection of their night at seventh-overall and he is another risky pick. Fears is a high-ceiling, low-floor guard that must figure out how to be efficient with the ball.
Dumars was criticized heavily for the draft approach, but New Orleans did walk away with two solid players that could end up as franchise cornerstones.
The roster shakeup began before the draft, though, as the Pelicans traded CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a first to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick which turned into Micah Peavy.
Poole will certainly make the offense more chaotic as he brings a quicker and more opportunistic approach to the court than McCollum. Like every move made so far, only time will tell if it makes the team better.