If you haven't watched the New Orleans Pelicans play basketball this season, I respect your commitment to maintaining your mental health. It's a nightmare over there. Everyone's hurt all the time, they're near the bottom of the league in both offense and defense, and their 2026 first-round pick belongs to the Hawks, unprotected.
Hey, Saddiq Bey looks pretty good, though! The former Pistons sharpshooter, who missed all of last season with an injury, has been forced into big minutes as the Pelicans search for answers at, uh, every position — and he's made the most of them!
Bey has scored 20-plus points in each of the past four games and has seven 20-point games on the year. He's averaging 14 points per game, a number that is destined to rise quickly if he keeps getting 35 minutes per game, which he likely will, considering the Pelicans are starting Bryce McGowens and giving big minutes to players even diehard NBA fans aren't familiar with.
Saddiq Bey has emerged among the rubble in New Orleans
Bey spent the first two-plus years of his career in Detroit, playing over 200 games for the franchise. He was solid for the most part, but never quite developed into the high-level knockdown shooter it looked like he could be. He was a 3-and-D guard who struggled with both parts of that equation too often.
Now, years into his career, he's almost stumbled into a chance to take as many shots as his heart desires every night. What this does for his career going forward, who knows — but it's not crazy to suggest that a contending team could see Bey's surprise production (even on a floundering team) and send some draft assets New Orleans' way at the deadline.
Maybe a team in the Eastern Conference that has real championship aspirations but could use one more outside shooting threat... Just throwing it out there!
Who knows what Bey's future holds. For the record, a trade back to the Pistons might not actually make sense. For the time being, Bey looks a little more like the player the Pistons hoped he'd become in Detroit years ago. It required the basketball franchise in New Orleans to collapse in on itself, but it's happening anyway. Best of luck to a former Piston in his new journey, though!