A Pelicans season ended with positive vibes, and there's a lottery pick to be made? It's not difficult to understand why New Orleans basketball is riding as high as it might have ever before.
That's a debatable point, considering the two times it went into the NBA Draft holding the No. 1 overall selection, but the potential to improve is what puts this over the top. And the anticipated return of the most recent top selection, Zion Williamson, to play with whomever is selected by the Pelicans in the upcoming draft.
The ping pong balls fell with the status quo, landing the Pelicans at their anticipated No. 8 slot. Scroll below for the full draft order, the most popular selections mocked to New Orleans at No. 8 and more.
Here's the draft order as it shook out during this week's lottery:
ROUND 1
1. Orlando
2. Oklahoma City
3. Houston
4. Sacramento
5. Detroit
6. Indiana
7. Portland
8. New Orleans (via Lakers)
9. San Antonio
10. Washington
11. New York
12. Oklahoma City (via Clippers)
13. Charlotte
14. Cleveland
15. Hornets (via Pelicans)
16. Atlanta
17. Houston (via Brooklyn)
18. Chicago
19. Minnesota
20. San Antonio (via Toronto)
21. Denver
22. Memphis (via Utah)
23. Philadelphia*
24. Milwaukee
25. San Antonio (via Boston)
26. Dallas
27. Miami
28. Golden State
29. Memphis
30. Oklahoma City (via phoenix)
*Pick (23) could be conveyed to Brooklyn
ROUND 2
31. Indiana (via Cleveland/Houston)
32. Orlando
33. Toronto (via Detroit, San Antonio/Washington/Chicago)
34. Oklahoma City
35. Orlando (via Indiana/Milwaukee)
36. Portland
37. Sacramento
38. San Antonio (via Lakers/Chicago/Washington)
39. Cleveland (via San Antonio/Utah)
40. Minnesota (via Washington/Cleveland)
41. New Orleans
42. New York
43. LA Clippers
44. Atlanta
45. Charlotte
46. to Detroit (via Brooklyn)
47. Memphis (via Cleveland)
48. Minnesota
49. Sacramento via Chicago/Memphis/Detroit)
50. Minnesota (via Denver/Philadelphia)
51. Golden State (via Toronto/Philadelphia)
52. New Orleans (via Utah)
53. Boston
— Milwaukee (forfeited)
— Philadelphia (to Miami via Denver; forfeited by Miami)
54. Washington (via Dallas)
55. Golden State
56. Cleveland (via Miami/Indiana)
57. Portland (via Memphis/Utah)
58. Indiana (via Phoenix)
** Pick 47 will be conveyed either to New Orleans via Atlanta, or to Memphis via New Orleans and Atlanta
So, yes, for anyone scoring at home: Despite the Pelicans trading their own 2022 first round pick twice, they still managed to land in the lottery because of the Lakers' collapse this season. But how did the Pelicans' trade it twice? Well they sent a lottery-protected 2022 selection the Hornets in the trade that brought Devonte' Graham to New Orleans, meaning they still had the potential rights to the lottery selection. But they effectively sent those protected odds to Portland in the deal that brought CJ McCollum to New Orleans midseason.
The Blazers, of course, will still get first-round compensation for their star, but since the Pelicans finished the year in the postseason, that won't come until 2025 in the form of the Pelicans' first-round selection (top-four protected). The Hornets will receive the Pelicans pick in 2022, and this will move forward.
Along with the picks listed above, the Pelicans also own:
- 2023 1st round selection (own/right to swap with Lakers)
- 2024 1st round selection (own/right to swap with Bucks)
- 2024 1st round selection (Lakers/rights could be deferred to 2025)
- 2025 1st round selection (Bucks)
- *2025 1st round selection (Lakers/*if deferred from 2024)
- 2026 1st round selection (own/right to swap with Bucks)
- 2027 1st round selection (own)
- 2027 1st round selection (Bucks)
So for a team that's been pretty active in moving draft picks in deals, they still own 8 first-rounders over the next six drafts, along with a slew of second-round selections.
That means the Pelicans have all the options ahead of them to add to a team that just pushed the top seed in the Western Conference to six games without any help from the first-round selections in 2019 (Zion Williamson) and 2020 (Kira Lewis Jr.) due to injury. The rookie class in 2021 (Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, and undrafted Jose Alvarado) had each established a role by the end of the 2022 season. With depth and assets, it's not a given the Pelicans decide to draft a player at all, and could instead look to swing for another player looking for a new home, or simply continue to build up assets for big swings in the future.
The Pelicans have never picked at No. 8 in their history, but here are the players they've chosen in the lottery dating back to 2003 (excluding players traded away on draft day):
- 2005, No. 4: Chris Paul
- 2006, No. 12: Hilton Armstrong
- 2007, No. 13: Julian Wright
- 2012, No. 1: Anthony Davis
- 2012, No. 10: Austin Rivers
- 2016, No. 6: Buddy Hield
- 2019, No. 1: Zion Williamson
- 2019, No. 8: Jaxson Hayes
- 2020, No. 13: Kira Lewis Jr.
But should the Pelicans sit pat and pick at No. 8?
Here is a rundown of popular mock draft options as we near draft day (June 23).
━━━━
CBS Sports (Gary Parrish)
- Who: Johnny Davis, SF/G, Wisconsin
- Measurables: 6-5, 194 pounds
- Why: "An ankle injury limited him down the stretch, but he showed enough before that to justify his status as a projected lottery pick."
See full mock
CBS Sports (Kyle Boone)
- Who: AJ Griffin, SF, Duke
- Measurables: 6-6, 222 pounds
- Why: "Griffin is already an NBA-ready scorer who just needs to fine tune his defense and be more consistent to potentially be the steal of the draft."
See full mock
The Ringer (Kevin O'Connor)
- Who: Johnny Davis, SF/G, Wisconsin
- Measurables: 6-5, 194 pounds
- Why: "Pair him with Alvarado and opponents will have headaches trying to score. Pair him with McCollum, and the Pelicans could be impossible to stop on offense. What are you supposed to do about Zion, McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and Davis?"
See full mock
THE ATHLETIC (Sam Vecenie)
- Who: Benedict Mathurin, SF/G, Arizona
- Measurables: 6-6, 210 pounds
- Why: "The Pelicans should continue to look to add shooting to surround a core around Zion Williamson. Mathurin fits really well as a player who could make an impact as soon as next year on a playoff team and fits really well potentially on the wing with defensive dynamo Herb Jones."
See full mock
Sporting News (Kyle Irving)
- Who: Johnny Davis, SF/G, Wisconsin
- Measurables: 6-5, 194 pounds
- Why: "Davis is the exact type of poised guard the Pelicans could use — he's a competitive defender, a strong shot creator and adds a physical presence on the perimeter. Slide him in with a core of Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Jonas Valanciunas and there will be something special brewing in New Orleans."
See full mock
Bleacher Report (Jonathan Wasserman)
- Who: Benedict Mathurin, SF/G, Arizona
- Measurables: 6-6, 210 pounds
- Why: "The Pelicans would feel Mathurin's explosiveness and shot-making from day one."
See full mock
Sports Illustrated (Jeremy Woo)
Who: Dyson Daniels, F/G, G League Ignite
Measurables: 6-6, 200 pounds
Why: "He is among the most versatile players in the draft and could help form some fascinating super-sized lineups in New Orleans.
See full mock
━━━━
As those mocks make clear, the consensus seems to be that the Pelicans' best option in this draft would be to continue to add long-armed wings who can attack and create spacing, not unlike the mold of Murphy and Jones, who had such a massive impact in Year 1. That's, at least, if New Orleans sticks at 8. With the assets listed above, including some potential veterans who could be moved like Graham and Garrett Temple, a move up the board might be possible.
The players expected to be off the board before the Pelicans get a chance at 8 will be Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren, Duke wing Paulo Banchero, Auburn PF Jabari Smith and Purdue guard Jaden Ivey. If the Pelicans fall in love with any of those prospects, it could merit opening the checkbook to go get them, with what will likely be few minutes to go around for rookies this season.
