A name I expected to hear way more about this offseason when it came to chatter about the New Orleans Pelicans was Saddiq Bey.
The 27-year-old is coming off a career year, is eligible for a four-year $93 million extension, and is on one of the league's most team-friendly deals at one-year below $7 million annually. But like everything else surrounding the Pelicans this summer, talk about Bey and his future has been silent. Which, given the fact that Joe Dumars has made zero moves aside from a head coach change, I guess I shouldn’t be shocked.
With October 23rd being the last day Bey is extension eligible, the Pelicans front office should make a decision. Given that New Orleans already has two high-level wings in Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones, either could look to move Bey for a starting-caliber center, and if not, they need to extend him.
The Pelicans need to pick a path
It’s not a secret the Pelicans have a center problem, and if the front office doesn’t see Bey as someone who is extension-worthy, holding onto him when he could be used to improve the roster is pointless. Dumars has been pushing the agenda that this team has good players, and with more reps together and more time, they can be great. While I don’t blindly agree with that statement, if that’s the path he wants to follow, so be it.
But if that’s the path the front office is taking, it’s time to make a tough decision on Bey and his future in New Orleans.
At 27 years old, Bey just came off a season where he averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while shooting 36.7 percent from three across 72 games.
For him to give that type of production coming off an ACL tear in 2023-24 that sidelined him all of 2024-25 was really impressive and was bound to boost his trade value. When looking at what Bey has been throughout his career, this season could definitely be an outlier, and that’s one of the concerns with extending him long-term. So if the front office can’t buy into the idea that he can provide that same production in 2026-27 and onward, why hold onto him?
He has value right now and could be someone teams looking for depth would pursue to plug into their starting five or have off the bench in a score-first sixth man role. In return, the Pelicans could potentially bring in some much-needed center depth and future assets. Two things that would help them both in the short term and long term, but also provide more value than a guy they don’t plan on extending who will likely walk in the 2027 offseason.
What road would I take? I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that a path needs to be taken when it comes to Saddiq Bey’s future, because doing nothing now is only going to hurt this team more down the line.
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