The Pelicans are set to hold a voluntary mini-camp ahead of the official start of their team training camp, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).
New Orleans is slated to have all but one member of its roster present. The mini-camp will transpire in California.
The club is looking to build on its postseason success last year. New Orleans finished with a 49-33 record, its best finish since 2008/09. The team fell in its first play-in tournament game to the Lakers, but managed to survive the Kings and secure the West’s No. 8 seed. The Pelicans were quickly swept out of the playoffs by the No. 1-seeded Thunder.
Team president David Griffin wasn’t going to take the defeat lying down. He traded to acquire one-time All-Star combo guard Dejounte Murray from the Hawks, and is hoping New Orleans can bolster its backcourt defense. The Pelicans lost starting center Jonas Valanciunas to free agency, and questions remain about the fate of star forward Brandon Ingram. Ingram’s fit alongside All-Star forward Zion Williamson has long been in question. Ingram has yet to work out a contract extension with New Orleans this summer.
Almost every New Orleans player is slated to attend, with one exception.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Newly-signed Pelicans center Daniel Theis will not join his comrades in California for the team’s voluntary mini-camp, tweets Guillory. The 6’8″ big man inked a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal to join New Orleans this summer. Across 60 games for the Pacers and Clippers in 2023/24, Theis posted averages of 6.3 points on a .532/.366/.760 slash line, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 blocks a night.
- During a new fan mailbag, Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News reflected on how freshly signed small forward Naji Marshall may be able to offset the free agency departure of starting swingman Derrick Jones Jr., noting that Marshall is a stronger long range sniper and a solid passer, but not quite as good a a defender or as appetizing a lob target.
- Elsewhere in the mailbag, Curtis notes that, overall, he sees the Mavericks’ three major roster acquisitions as improvements over role players Jones, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Josh Green. Beyond Marshall, Dallas also added former Warriors All-Star wing Klay Thompson via sign-and-trade, while also trading to obtain guard Quentin Grimes.