The New Orleans Pelicans have endured a rough start to the 2025–26 NBA season, sitting at 2–6 after another string of disappointing performances. Once again, the team finds itself among the league’s bottom dwellers, and while fans continue to hope for a turnaround led by Zion Williamson, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green sees the problem differently.
Amid the wave of injuries that have struck the Pelicans early in the season — including Zion Williamson’s latest hamstring issue — Green believes the team’s struggles go beyond their physical setbacks. According to the veteran forward, the core problem lies in the absence of their true leader, Dejounte Murray.
Jordan Poole is also expected to miss time with a strained quadriceps, but Green made it clear he wasn’t referring to him. Instead, he emphasized that Murray’s leadership is what keeps New Orleans together — and his absence has left a massive void. Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, he stressed how much the Pelicans miss their floor general.
“You’re fighting an uphill battle when your best players aren’t healthy,” Green said. “Dejounte [Murray] is still out. Dejounte is the leader of that team — make no mistake about it. Just like every other team he’s ever been on, he’s the leader. You show me any team in the NBA that loses its leader, and I’ll show you a team that’s going to struggle.”
Zion Williamson #1 of the New Orleans Pelicans drives the ball up.
Why Zion isn’t the leader, according to Draymond
Green added that while most organizations tend to designate their best player as the team leader, that doesn’t necessarily make it true — and he pointed to the Pelicans as a prime example. For him, Murray’s presence complements Zion’s talent and provides the leadership structure the team needs.
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“In this league, we always want to make the best player the leader,” Green continued. “Everybody wants to make Zion [Williamson] the leader, but Zion isn’t the leader. Dejounte Murray is the leader of that team. You show me any team that loses its leader, and I’ll show you a team that’s going to struggle.”
Murray suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon during his first year with the Pelicans last NBA season. After being traded from the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the 2024–25 campaign, the 28-year-old guard was eager for a fresh start in New Orleans. Unfortunately, his season-ending injury joined a growing list of devastating Achilles tears across the league, including Portland’s Damian Lillard, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, and Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton.
The Pelicans will now have to navigate the coming months without Murray, hoping that Zion Williamson can step up and prove Green wrong by establishing himself as both the emotional and on-court leader the franchise desperately needs.
