68 million! I ll go, this can renew the contract! Do you believe Poole so much?

Credit Shams latest report, Pelicans power forward Herbert Jones reached a three-year, $68 million contract extension with the team.

Jones originally had two years of contract with the Pelicans, and this renewal means the team will control him until the end of the 28-29 season. The player option is only available in the fifth year of the contract (29-30 season).

Salary expert Bobby Marks then sorted out the details of this five-year contract:

25-26 Season: $13.9 million

26-27 Season: $14.9 million

27-28 Season: $20.9 million (renewal at 140% maximum increase)

28-29 Season: $22.5 million

Season: $24.2 million(player option)

Seeing this renewal news, my first reaction was: the price was fair, even a little cheap.

But can this be continued? ! The reason is that the Pelicans have previously released rumors, saying that they will undergo a complete rebuild this offseason. In the past few years, the Pelicans have been entering the free market as a buyer, and have successively introduced strong players such as CJ McCollum and Dezhangtai Murray. However, the record says everything, and these reinforcements did not help the Pelicans complete the reconstruction. In contrast, the Rockets and Spurs in the same division have experienced a complete cycle of falling from their peak to the bottom of reconstruction and rising again, but the Pelicans have always been standing still. If the Pelicans learn from their mistakes and start reconstruction, the Pelicans may still be saved. According to reports, Zion, Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and CJ McCollum have all been listed on the tradable list.

However, in the offseason, the Pelicans' operations are confusing and they can't see the idea of rebuilding the team at all:

The first round pick is puzzling: The first round pick they will receive in a deal with the Pacers after the G5 of the Finals (the first round pick in 2026 will be returned to the Pacers in exchange for this year's No. 23). It seems that they have suffered a loss now. At that time, the Pacers were still in the finals and were strong, but just one week later, the team lost the championship. The core Halliburton was reimbursed due to injury and missed the entire next season. The main center Turner also joined the Bucks as a free agent. The Pacers are likely to hide their strength next season (or record declines). From a reconstruction point of view, the Pacers' first-round pick value next year is obviously higher than the No. 23 pick this year.

Salary pressure has increased instead of reducing: They exchanged CJ McCollum and Olynick for Jordan Poole and Sadiq Bay, and exchanged two upcoming contracts for two contracts with two remaining two years, which instead increased the future salary burden.

core players' trading has been stagnant: The trading market has been open for more than half a month, and Zion and Trey Murphy have not yet sent it away. In theory, the team's most traded player at present is Herbert Jones, who has both offense and defense. His contract, which had two years left and an average salary of less than $14 million, was in the "dessert period" - a win window for most championship teams, which usually only have about three years. With his strength, there should be a certain market for two first round picks.

and renewing Jones is equivalent to announcing that the Pelicans have given up on the idea of trading him. By the rules, Jones will have a transaction veto (or a transaction protection period) at the beginning of the new contract (usually until December). Even if the trade can be made later, interested teams need to carefully evaluate their status. After all, this is a five-year long contract. Once the player's condition declines, taking over the team will take huge risks.

In fact, Herbert Jones has shown signs of decline last season: he played his worst form in his career in the first half of the year, and gradually recovered in the second half of the year. Overall performance is no longer as good as being selected for the peak period of the first defensive team in the 23-24 season. For players who rely on defense, once the downward trend is established, the consequences may be unimaginable - perhaps this is one of the reasons why he accepted the renewal of the contract with an average salary of less than $20 million.

Of course, if he can restore his level of defense next season, this contract will be very cost-effective. If the Pelicans want to trade him again, their value will also rebound.

But now the most valuable Jones is no longer trading, Zion's glass physique cannot sell for a good price, and the "complete reconstruction" that the Pelicans shouted this year seems to be stranded again. Could it be that if Jordan Poole is exchanged for, the management feels that he is "okay"?

PS: After Jones completed the contract renewal, Poole immediately sent an instant news saying "Terror!!"

, like the boss of the team.

Next year, will the Pelicans' strategy believe that Poole can turn over with the core of the outside, or will it hope to use Poole's "showing a bad weapon" attribute to win the No. 1 pick without leaving the existing lineup?