The New Orleans Pelicans and the quizzical second round picks

With all the discussion for the New Orleans Pelicans centered around the sixth pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, many are forgetting the importance of their two second round picks.

The hype surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans is still the sixth pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. However, while many are focused on that pick alone, the Pelicans do have two second-round picks stored away. While that may not seem major, it certainly can be, if used correctly.

New Orleans owns the 39th and 40th picks in the 2016 NBA Draft, which are closer to the middle of the second round. Still, the options for those picks are massive. The first option that comes into play is trading them to try and move back into the first round and get a player that can be impactful in the near future.

The NBA’s trade history has shown the importance second round picks can play as far as value goes. On NBA Draft night, some teams are willing to fall back on second round picks if their roster already looks set for next season, instead of taking a first rounder and having to send them to the D-League. That’s where the New Orleans Pelicans can swoop in.

Let’s say it’s pick #29 and highly talented small forward prospect DeAndre Bembry is on the board when the San Antonio Spurs pick. The Spurs already have Kawhi Leonard and Kyle Anderson at the small forward position and could be looking instead to store talent from later rounds to replace Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan in the long term future.

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They could look to the 39th and 40th picks New Orleans owns and trade the rights to #29, giving the Pelicans a chance to shore up the wing position. It’s the kind of deal the Pelicans might be fishing for if they look to add multiple impact players in this draft. The second option is more likely with the general manager positions still moving around: Using picks on potential.

What goes underrated is just how good prospects out of the second round can become. Manu Ginobili at 56 is the most obvious, but there are others such as Marc Gasol at 48, Paul Millsap at 47, Draymond Green at 35 or even Monta Ellis at the 40th pick. It’s not completely out of the question for a player drafted at those positions to pan out.

Many wonder why Danny Ferry was brought onto the Pelicans at this point, however one of the under-the-radar reasons might be his success in the second round. Ferry’s selections in the second round in Cleveland included Danny Green and Daniel Gibson, while his second round selections in Atlanta included James Ennis and Raul Neto.

With that impressive resume of late picks, he might be on board to help improve the chances of landing a difference maker during the later two Pelicans picks. One thing is for certain, however. While the sixth pick in the NBA Draft might bring the biggest difference maker on the team, the second round picks have just as important a factor into developing talent for the future of the New Orleans Pelicans.

In the past five years under Dell Demps, the Pelicans have not used their second round picks effectively. They drafted Josh Harrellson in 2011, Darius Miller in 2012 and Branden Dawson last year. Only Miller ended up playing with New Orleans and his effect was not great. The team seems to be looking to change that trend and focus on improving their drafting. That’s a big step.

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While the focus of the talk for the next two weeks will be the first round picks, it may not be too much of a surprise if the second round picks make just as big, if not a bigger impact on this team for the long term future. Some of the best teams in the league have gotten some of their talent in the second round. If the Pelicans look to enter the fray of top teams, they might need to do the same.