The New Orleans Pelicans just had one of their worst seasons ever, but is next year going to somehow be even more painful?

Writing for ESPN, Kevin Pelton dug into some of the most unfortunate offseason moves by teams.

He had nothing but bad things to say about the Pelicans and the adjustments they committed.

“The Hawks-Pelicans draft-night swap was seemingly the most lopsided transaction of the summer. It could pay off for New Orleans, but it was far too risky to be sensible — particularly in the context of the Pelicans’ other moves. New Orleans is betting on Jordan Poole being a playoff-caliber starting point guard and has overloaded its depth chart at center by drafting Derik Queen and signing veteran Kevon Looney. Just three West teams have longer odds of winning the conference at ESPN BET, and the Pelicans traded away their safety net now that they no longer control their 2026 first-round pick,” Pelton wrote.

Right before the draft began, the Hawks traded their No. 13 pick to the Pelicans for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder.

The Pelicans then use that selection to choose Derik Queen, who is currently injured and may miss the beginning of his rookie season.

Giving up their unprotected pick was an aggressive move, and one that many critics say was ill-advised.

Pelton brought up that this didn’t help their odds of winning the West at all.

In fact, there are only a few teams that have a longer shot of going all the way to the Finals.

Just a couple of years ago, the Pelicans looked like a promising team that might finally be getting on the right track.

Now, they once again seem lost and without a bright future because they have given up their draft picks.

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