Midseason Mixtapes Vol 2, Track 1: The Remixes
Track 1: The Remixes (New Face Teams)
These are the squads that, let's face it, are struggling. That said, they're also either making — or about to make — some tough decisions that I'm pretty Utah about (get it? Pretty Jazzed? No? …moving on…).
Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta made the call to move on from Trae Young, sending him to Washington. Some folks will raise an eyebrow, but I honestly think it was the cleanest break decision they could've made — because the Hawks already have the guy they're building around. His name is Jalen Johnson.
Johnson may be the most underrated All-Star this season. And candidly, he floats somewhere around 10th in my mind for MVP. In his first All-Star year, he's putting up 23 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 8 assists. To really emphasize his stat sheet stuffing: he's tied for 2nd in double-doubles and triple-doubles. The only guy with more double-doubles is Karl-Anthony Towns. The only guy with more triple-doubles is Nikola Jokic.
So what's the problem? At times, it's felt like a one-man show in Atlanta. For this redesign to work, Atlanta needs a second leap alongside Johnson. There was hope Zaccharie Risacher or Dyson Daniels could be the Robin, but neither has really popped this season. Risacher's second year looks almost copy/paste from his first, and Daniels has actually seen a bit of a dip this year.
Through the first half of the season, the most consistent production has come from Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While NAW is an intriguing long-term pairing if this jump is real (he's more than doubling his shot attempts and points per game compared to his career norms), the big picture remains the same: The Hawks have found a budding superstar. Now they're in the hunt for the supporting cast.
Washington Wizards
Washington has been floundering in the post–Bradley Beal years, with injuries (Bilal Coulibaly) and a rotating cast of flash-in-the-pan vets like Jordan Poole, Khris Middleton, and Kyle Kuzma. So no — I'm not going to pretend they're a must-watch right now.
But there is real development value happening in DC. Alex Sarr, for one, is on the rise. In his second season, he's second in the league in blocks and has improved across every meaningful stat category. But in the absence of a good ensemble, he's hardly worth the cost of a League Pass subscription.
So why are they here? Why write about them? Two reasons.
Trae has spent his whole career living under the Luka trade shadow. While his talent is obvious, when put side by side with the generational Dončić, it's a long shadow that's cast. But now, we get to see what happens when Young is asked to be the veteran culture-setter on a young team. It's easy to see the opportunity available for him and the Wizards here.
It's headlined by names like Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer, all of whom have the potential to redefine an NBA franchise. If Washington adds one of those guys to the Trae + Sarr combo, the Wizards could flip fast. Like… interesting by 2026–27 fast.
New Orleans Pelicans
This might sound insane because the Pelicans have been awful. I'm exceptionally excited about them.
Three seasons ago, Detroit was the worst team in basketball. But with the development of rising stars like Jalen Duren and Cade Cunningham, they're now a problem for the league. The Pelicans might be at the early, ugly stages of that same journey.
Yes, this season is rough. They're bottom five in every meaningful category, and they've sunk nearly 60% of the cap into Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, and Dejounte Murray. If I were a betting man (and full disclosure, I am…), I'd put a few units into arguing none of these three will be a part of a winning New Orleans core in a few years.
So why the optimism? The rookies. The reps. The future.
Jeremiah Fears has been electric. It's easy to have overlooked him because he plays for the league's worst Pelicans, but if you do listen to a Pelicans broadcast, he's unmissable. They'll tell you all about "0 Fears" — referencing his number and last name, but also his tenacity and competitiveness to go up against anybody.
And that mentality is starting to show up on the stat sheet. Fears totals for assists, minutes, points, steals, and games played are all among the highest amongst rookies this season. In fact, he's top 5 in all of them with the exception of assists, where he's 6th. And for a rookie on a losing team, totals is the name of the game. It's all about seeing NBA reps and developing. The Pelicans are letting him learn at full speed.
Then there's Derik Queen. He is easily my favorite rookie in the class. Some people have thrown out the "Baby Jokic" comp, and while that's a dangerous thing to say out loud, the production makes you understand it.
Drafted 13th, he's already New Orleans' top rebounder and assister, the only Pelican with a triple-double (he has two), and he's basically carrying the team's double-double inventory on his own (Queen has 10, the rest of the team combined has 11).
Among rookies, he's stuffing every category: 1st in assists, 2nd in boards (1st on the defensive end), 6th in points, 1st in efficiency for players averaging double-digit points, 5th in blocks and steals… the list goes on. In an advanced metric that tries to account for a player's entire statistical value, called Player Impact Estimate, he's second amongst rookies at 11.7. Only Cooper Flagg has a higher PIE at 11.8.
So yeah: the Pelicans are a mess today. But they look spookily similar to another team that was a mess a few years ago. I'm not saying New Orleans will become as competitive as Detroit in a few years — but I'm not ruling it out either.
Comments
Get the next one straight to your inbox.
Mid-Week Mix-Tape: Keepin' it Old School
The Midweek Mixtape Mid-Week Mix-Tape: Keepin' it old school The playoffs are about the superstars. Or at least, the playoffs should be about the…
