HERBERT Jones

The minutes so far have been uneven: 21.9 against Washington, 15.7 against Dallas, 10.4 against Miami, 19.9 against Oklahoma City. None of those totals match his 28.4-minute average from last season. The scoring has followed the same pattern, with Jones topping out at 7 points twice and getting shut out from the field in the Miami loss. Four games is a small sample, and nothing in the health report explains the lighter workload. For now, Jones is active and playing every night, just not yet logging the minutes he carried for most of last season.

In 2025-26, Jones played 56 games for New Orleans and averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.5 blocks in 28.4 minutes per game. He shot 38.3 percent from the field, 30.9 percent from 3-point range and 80.6 percent from the foul line, with a true shooting mark of 49.1 percent. His usage rate sat at 15.3 percent, and his plus-minus was minus-0.9. Those numbers describe a low-usage wing who did most of his work away from the ball and on the defensive end rather than as a primary scorer.

Jones is a 6-7, 210-pound forward wearing No. 2 for New Orleans. He's 28 years old and in his fifth NBA season, out of Alabama. The steal numbers from last season, 1.6 per game, point to his reputation as a defensive wing, and the 15.3 usage rate backs up that he's never been asked to carry a heavy scoring load in this offense. He remains part of the regular rotation to start this season, appearing in all four games so far.

Herbert Jones is not on the injury report. There is no injury history on file for him with New Orleans. He's been available for every game the Pelicans have played this season, from the Oct. 6 win over Oklahoma City through the Oct. 16 win over Washington. For a player whose value leans on defense and availability, four games played out of four is the most relevant data point right now.