{"id":160011,"date":"2025-09-23T16:32:30","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=160011"},"modified":"2025-09-23T16:32:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T20:32:30","slug":"pelicans-media-day-three-storylines-you-cant-miss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/23\/pelicans-media-day-three-storylines-you-cant-miss\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans Media Day: Three Storylines You Can\u2019t Miss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The NBA is coming back, with media day starting today for some teams. The first squad to get in front of the cameras is the New Orleans Pelicans. This summer, the Pelicans traded future first-round picks to move up in the draft, only to see their prized rookie get hurt.<\/p>\n<p>Right now, the Pelicans look like a team without a clear direction. They are trading up for young players, while keeping veterans on the roster. Their payroll suggests a playoff team, but last season, they finished 21-61 for one of the worst records in the league. With that in mind, let\u2019s take a look at some of the big takeaways from Pelicans media day.<\/p>\n<h2>Pelicans Media Day: Three Storylines You Can\u2019t Miss<\/h2>\n<h3>Zion is in Shape and Focused<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/willizi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zion Williamson<\/a> has one of the strangest contracts in the league, with plenty of clauses about his body weight, games played, and so on. Naturally, reporters wanted to know how he felt. He praised his personal trainer and talked about how they came up with a plan for working out, saying:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cLast year, while I was rehabbing my hamstring, my trainer and I sat down and we had a conversation. He wanted me to come back better before the injury. We talked about how to make workouts so that we are having fun and enjoying. And we came up with a plan, from boxing to working out on the football field to just random workouts. I really felt a shift in my body. I haven\u2019t felt like this since college. Just where I can walk in the gym, and I\u2019m like, I just feel good.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Zion Williamson Interview from 2025 Pelicans Media Day | New Orleans Pelicans\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Gwu0G7duEaE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Having Williamson in great shape is priority No. 1 for the Pelicans. With Zion at his college shape, he can be explosive and show his full potential. Looking at him on media day, he looks pumped, in shape, and without any trace of all that extra weight he had in previous years. Even his teammate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murphtr02.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trey Murphy<\/a> later said that Zion is slimmer than he has ever seen him during the summer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_150767\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-150767\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-150767 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Mar 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/07\/USATSI_25715534_168414264_lowres-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-150767\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mar 19, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) drives to the basket past Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) in the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Former Championship Teammates Reunite<\/h3>\n<p>This summer, the Pelicans traded for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/poolejo01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jordan Poole<\/a> and signed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/looneke01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevon Looney<\/a>. The two played together for the Golden State Warriors, even winning a title in 2022. The Pelicans expect those two to bring some championship experience and leadership to the team. Speaking about playing with Looney again, Poole said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI am super excited. I haven\u2019t had a good screen in two years, so it\u2019ll be dope. Playing with somebody who\u2019s won a championship. Obviously, you go through a long season and you build the relationship. But in terms of just basketball chemistry, it\u2019s really a big pickup for how I play, but I think it\u2019s huge for our team too. He\u2019s probably the most professional player person that I\u2019ve been around in my seven years in the league.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Jordan Poole Interview from 2025 Pelicans Media Day | New Orleans Pelicans\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jyFfFkLZapw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Last year\u2019s rookie, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/missiyv01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Yves Missi<\/a> could certainly benefit from having Looney on the team. Missi had a great rookie season, but with Looney\u2019s help, he can grow his game even more. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/q\/queende01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Derik Queen<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/28\/3-reasons-why-pelicans-won-2025-nba-draft\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">prized rookie who the Pelicans traded up to get<\/a>, will also benefit.<\/p>\n<h3>Murphy Adds to His Arsenal of Moves<\/h3>\n<p>While Williamson might be the biggest name on the Pelicans roster, Murphy is probably the one with the most upside. Last season, Murphy averaged 20+ points for the first time. A lot of Pelicans fans believed he should get some consideration for the Most Improved Player of the Year Award. But since he only played 53 games, he didn\u2019t get votes. Discussing his improvements for the upcoming season, Murphy said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI mean, I just think what changed was I had to work on different things earlier in the summer because I was really able to shoot threes until like the middle of July. It was hard to shoot threes. So, I worked a lot on mid-range shots and getting to that second level.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Trey Murphy III Interview from 2025 Pelicans Media Day | New Orleans Pelicans\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IEyU64wFdXw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Being a good mid-range scorer is a vital skill for great players. When the game is tight, having someone who can make a mid-range shot is the difference between being a playoff team and a lottery team. Last season, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/09\/17\/warriors-interest-in-pelicans-trey-murphy\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Murphy improved his scoring<\/a> and expanded his game with advanced ball-handling, driving, and finishing abilities. If he adds a mid-range jumper, he can rise to an All-Star level.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NBA is coming back, with media day starting today for some teams. The first squad to get in front of the cameras is the New Orleans Pelicans. This summer, the Pelicans traded future first-round picks to move up in the draft, only to see their prized rookie get hurt. Right now, the Pelicans look [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5291,"featured_media":160019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,62,33,3],"tags":[1909,1965,5029,49284,1684],"class_list":["post-160011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-nba","category-pelicans","category-news","tag-jordan-poole","tag-kevon-looney","tag-trey-murphy","tag-yves-missi","tag-zion-williamson"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160011"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160011\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160021,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160011\/revisions\/160021"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}