Pelicans banking on better health and a new coaching staff to improve their unchanged core

Last season: 26-56, missed playoffs.

COACH: Jamahl Mosley (1st season).

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 21 vs. Indiana.

DEPARTURES: G Jordan Hawkins

ADDITIONS: F Bennedict Mathurin

The Pelicans are essentially running it back with the same core lineup that they've had the past two non-playoff seasons, with 26-year-old, seven-year veteran Zion Williamson as their centerpiece. Second-year basketball operations chief Joe Dumars is hoping better health and a new coaching staff will bring better production out of mostly the same group that won 48 games and made the playoffs in the 2023-24 season. Dumars himself has said that the goal has to be to qualify for at least a Western Conference play-in bid.

The good: Williamson appears fit as ever. The Pelicans even dropped his listed playing weight for the first time, down to 277 from 284. Dejounte Murray, who missed most of last season while recovering from a ruptured Achilles, entered training camp healthy. His recent toe injury is not expected to cause a long-term absence. Herb Jones, a former NBA All-Defensive first team selection, and Trey Murphy, a wing who can shoot the 3 and play above the rim, have been effective when healthy. Mathurin adds another reliable scoring option to the mix.

The not-so-good: The Pelicans have struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, and with Mathurin being the club's only significant addition, depth could become an issue if the injury problems return. The Pelicans also will be relying on a relatively inexperienced center in Yves Missi, who is entering just his third NBA season and started just 14 games last season.

Williamson has been exceptionally productive when healthy, averaging 23.8 points during his career, and has been working on developing more of a perimeter game this past offseason. Mosley has said Williamson's willingness to become a better passer and perimeter shooter ultimately could make him considerably more difficult for defenses to contain. G Jeremiah Fears and F Derik Queen, both 2025 first-round draft choices, saw ample playing time as rookies and are expected to see their roles grow this season. Queen is expected to see time at both power forward and center.

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New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) dunks the ball during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Miami Heat Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

New Orleans Pelicans' forward Trey Murphy III (25) shoots by Oklahoma City Thunder's guard Bennett Stirtz (14) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Tulsa, Okla. (AP Photo/Joey Johnson)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Bennedict Mathurin (24) aims to score during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Miami Heat Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Jamahl Mosley gesture during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Miami Heat Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Miami Heat guard Davion Mitchell defends New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan lodged a protest with Russia on Wednesday over the arrest of a Japanese journalist on suspicion of spying, demanding that Moscow provide an explanation, consular access and humane treatment.

Russia's Federal Security Service said the man, who works for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper, was suspected of gathering information about Russia's defense capability on behalf of a Japanese intelligence agency. Russia's Foreign Ministry identified the reporter as Yuki Imai.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet KGB, said it arrested the man on Sakhalin Island as he was preparing to leave Russia.

The arrest is the latest dispute between the two countries, whose tensions have spiked after President Vladimir Putin ’s visit in August to Iturup, one of four disputed Kuril Islands, a Moscow-controlled Pacific archipelago that also is claimed by Japan.

Hokkaido Shimbun said the man had been reporting in Russia on a journalist visa and was due to leave the country on Tuesday. The newspaper did not disclose his name. His latest story from the Sakhalin capital of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk for the Hokkaido newspaper was dated Oct. 5.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Tuesday that Imai had been charged with espionage. She accused Tokyo of using Japanese journalists in Russia to gather information to undermine Russian security, calling it “regrettable.”

Zakharova said Japan’s policies toward Russia and its military buildup threatened Moscow’s security interests in the Far East, adding that “the incident will further dampen the atmosphere in Russian-Japanese relations.”

In Tokyo on Wednesday, Kimitake Nakamura, head of the European Affairs Bureau at Japan's Foreign Ministry, summoned Russian Ambassador Nikolay Nozdrev to protest the arrest and Moscow's announcement without an explanation to Japan's government, according to a ministry statement.

Nakamura demanded humane and fair treatment of the journalist and for Japanese officials to be allowed to have contact with him, the ministry said.

He also reiterated Japan's territorial claim over the Kuril Islands, which Tokyo calls the Northern Territory. He protested a recent visit to Iturup by officials of a Chinese regional government and companies, calling it “unacceptable.” The Sakhalin regional government announced the visit Tuesday.

Nozdrev said he would relay Japan's position to Moscow, according to the Japanese ministry.

The Committee to Protect Journalists demanded the immediate release of the journalist. “Journalists must not be used as leverage in wider geopolitical disputes,” said Fiona O'Brien, CPJ's director for Europe and Central Asia.

At least 30 journalists are held in Russia in connection with their work, the rights group said.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara earlier said the journalist's health was unknown because Japanese officials have been unable to contact him. Russia had not responded to Tokyo's requests for access, he added.

“We'll do everything we can for the protection of the Japanese citizen,” he said.

Though Japan has “many problems” with Russia, the two countries are neighbors and “we need to communicate,” Kihara said. Japan recognizes the importance of properly managing relations and will take appropriate steps to serve its national interests, he added.

The Russian region of Sakhalin includes Sakhalin Island and the four southernmost islands of the Kuril chain, which Moscow controls and Tokyo claims.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi protested Putin’s August visit, calling it a further blow to relations already strained by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, Tokyo imposed additional economic sanctions on Moscow over the war.

The Soviet Union seized the Kuril Islands from Japan in the final days of World War II. The territorial dispute has prevented the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending their hostilities.

This story corrects to say the journalist was due to leave Russia on Tuesday, not Monday.

FILE - An entrance of the Lefortovo prison is seen in Moscow, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

FILE - Journalists stand next to an entrance of the Lefortovo prison, in Moscow, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)