Pelicans enter offseason of uncertainty after second-worst record in franchise history

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson watched from the bench in street clothes — along with teammates CJ McCollum, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Yves Missi — as the New Orleans Pelicans' worst season in two decades ended with a seventh-straight loss on Sunday.

In the stands across the court during the 115-100 loss to Oklahoma City was Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin, who still hasn't gotten to watch the team he assembled last summer all play together under the direction of Willie Green, the coach he hired four years ago.

Whether Griffin ever gets that chance is far from certain, given how losing brings about change.

“I haven't had any discussions, any talks yet,” Green said when asked about his future with the club. “I didn't do great great. I have to take full ownership of where we are as a team. We failed. I failed."

But Green said he hoped that the club's evaluation of him would include the previous three seasons, when New Orleans made qualified for the Western Conference play-in and twice advanced to a first-round playoff series.

“I think that's important. You try to look at the body of work,” Green said. “But I didn't give myself this job. I had to be chosen for this position, and I'm grateful.”

Williamson missed 52 games this season because of several injuries, his hamstring strain being the worst of them. Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray missed 51 games this season because of hand and Achilles injuries. Herb Jones missed 62 games with a shoulder injury. Brandon Ingram appeared in just 18 games with New Orleans because of an ankle injury before he was traded to Toronto. Murphy missed 29 games with multiple injuries.

Griffin, who did not speak with media on Sunday, joined the Pelicans in 2019. Shortly afterward, the Pelicans won the NBA's draft lottery, giving them the opportunity to draft Duke star Zion Williamson, the consensus top overall prospect that year.

But what appeared to be good fortune at that time in retrospect looks more like a curse.

Plagued by injuries, Williamson has missed 258 out of 472 regular-season games since he was drafted. Williamson also has never appeared in a postseason game.

The Pelicans have gone 209-263 since Griffin arrived and drafted Williamson, and the club has not won a single playoff series during that period.

New Orleans' 21-61 record this season was the second-worst in franchise history, and worst since 2004-05, about seven years before Pelicans owner Gayle Benson's late husband, Tom, bought the club in 2012.

Those results have left an air of uncertainty around the coming Pelicans offseason.

“We truly don’t know who’s going back. I'm just trying to be honest with you," Murphy said. "Nobody is safe.”

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New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson watches from the bench in street clothes in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in New Orleans, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson watches from the bench in street clothes in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in New Orleans, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green calls out from the bench in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in New Orleans, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin sits in the stands in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in New Orleans, Sunday, April 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is meeting with oil executives at the White House on Friday in hopes of securing $100 billion in investments to revive Venezuela’s ability to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum — a plan that rides on their comfort in making commitments in a country plagued by instability, inflation and uncertainty.

Since the U.S. military raid to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, Trump has quickly pivoted to portraying the move as a newfound economic opportunity for the U.S., seizing tankers carrying Venezuelan oil, saying the U.S. is taking over the sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan oil and will be controlling sales worldwide indefinitely.

On Friday, U.S. forces seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the U.S. to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration's plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.

It's all part of a broader push by Trump to keep gasoline prices low. At a time when many Americans are concerned about affordability, the incursion in Venezuela melds Trump’s assertive use of presidential powers with an optical spectacle meant to convince Americans that he can bring down energy prices.

The meeting, set for 2:30 p.m. EST, will be open to the news media, according to an update to the president's daily schedule. “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,” Trump said Friday in a pre-dawn social media post.

Trump is set to meet with executives from 17 oil companies, according to the White House. Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalization of private businesses under Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez.

The president is meeting with a wide swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets. Other companies slated to be at the meeting include Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol.

Large U.S. oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested on social media that America would help to backstop any investments.

Venezuela’s oil production has slumped below one million barrels a day. Part of Trump's challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are slated to attend the oil executives meeting, according to the White House.

Meanwhile, the United States and Venezuelan governments said Friday they were exploring the possibility of r estoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and that a delegation from the Trump administration arrived to the South American nation on Friday.

The small team of U.S. diplomats and diplomatic security officials traveled to Venezuela to make a preliminary assessment about the potential re-opening of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, the State Department said in a statement.

Trump also announced on Friday he’d meet with President Gustavo Petro in early February, but called on the Colombian leader to make quick progress on stemming flow of cocaine into the U.S.

Trump, following the ouster of Maduro, had made vague threats to take similar action against Petro. Trump abruptly changed his tone Wednesday about his Colombian counterpart after a friendly phone call in which he invited Petro to visit the White House.

President Donald Trump waves as he walks off stage after speaking to House Republican lawmakers during their annual policy retreat, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)