Herbert Jones

Herb Jones enters 2026-27 fully recovered from last season's shoulder surgery and is presently viewed as New Orleans's starting small forward and top perimeter defender under new coach Jamahl Mosley, though the exact closing lineup around him is still being sorted out in camp.

Role

Per a 56-game 2025-26 season (our data), Jones remains the Pelicans' primary wing defender. Training camp ran September 29 through October 5, 2026 at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, and an NBA.com video from Day 3 of that camp showed Jones discussing scrimmage work and the team's defensive focus under Mosley. A Yahoo Sports preview published October 5, 2026, ahead of the Pelicans' first preseason game (set for the following Tuesday against Oklahoma City), reported that Dejounte Murray, Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy are considered starting locks, that Yves Missi is "running away as the favorite to start at center," and that Jones "is the logical choice to close the group out" as the fifth starter, while noting Mosley has already shuffled the starting group roughly five times in practice. A separate October 1, 2026 Bleacher Report preseason ranking projected a different frontcourt mate (Derik Queen at power forward, Zion at center) around the same Murray-Murphy-Jones trio, a mismatch that predates the camp reporting above. No exhibition game had been played as of this check, so none of this is settled by game action yet. A RotoWire note added that the Pelicans have

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Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.

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