While Jaden McDaniels has established himself as one of the league's best complementary wings with the Minnesota Timberwolves, his older brother Jalen has been fighting for a consistent NBA spot. Jalen got good news on this front, as he agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Free agent forward Jalen McDaniels has agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN. McDaniels has averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds over six NBA seasons.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 18, 2025
McDaniels played in four games with the Washington Wizards last season for a total of just seven minutes. After this season, many were wondering what McDaniels' NBA future is, but the Pelicans opted to roll the dice on him. He has posted career averages of 18.1 minutes, 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 44.9/32.2/77.7 shooting splits. McDaniels had a promising start to his career with the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers before a recent rough patch.
The Pelicans could be the ideal team for Jaden McDaniels
Like his brother, Jalen's calling card has been his defense. Jalen isn't an elite on-ball stopper like Jaden, but he has the desired length and versatility to be a high-impact defender. However, he still needs to develop on offense quite a bit. Luckily, the Pelicans could be the ideal landing spot for Jalen.
The Pelicans do have Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Zion Williamson, and Saddiq Bey. Nevertheless, this team isn't loaded with forward depth, and there could be open minutes for McDaniels. The 6-foot-9 forward has the ideal skill set to be a high-level complementary forward, especially as a defender.
Undoubtedly, McDaniels had a down year, spending most of last season in the G League. And the year before, he averaged just 10.8 minutes and 3.4 points with the Toronto Raptors. Regardless, McDaniels has shown flashes of his upside throughout various points of his career. Most notably, he averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in the 2022-23 season. It's entirely possible that McDaniels gets his career back on track with the Pelicans. The 27-year-old will certainly have ample opportunity in New Orleans.
Still, McDaniels has spent most of his career playing for rebuilding teams and hasn't been able to carve out a consistent role yet. Furthermore, he hasn't shown much promise in his last two seasons. It only takes one spot to change things, however, and McDaniels showed his upside early on in his career.
Ultimately, Wolves fans will be rooting for Jaden's brother to have some success with his new team. While Jalen will never be the same player as Jaden, he still has the physical tools and defensive prowess to be a solid rotational player.