Draft Night Twitter Reactions: New Orleans Pelicans Select Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo as the World Burns Down Around Them

Somehow, the New Orleans Pelicans looked the part of a model NBA franchise as teams like the Boston Celtics and Sacramento Kings descended into a pit of insanity. Suffice to say, draft night was a lot of fun on Twitter.

The draft’s most obvious moment came when the 76ers selected Ben Simmons with the first overall pick after promising to do just that earlier in the week. The best online reaction came from the team’s last number one pick, Allen Iverson:

Save for perhaps trade deadline day and the first few days of July, draft night reaps the most plentiful flour from the NBA’s rumor mill. As it became clear that teams near the top of the lottery were lower on Kris Dunn than the Philadelphia 76ers, the Sixers decided to take matters into their own hands in attempting to acquire the Providence point guard:

This will be the first of many times in the short time we have together while you’re on this page that you’ll read this phrase: WHAT THE HELL? I understand decisiveness and I’m reasonably high on Dunn as a prospect, especially under Brett Brown, but is he really worth flipping two of your best young players and two additional first rounders to get him? Somehow, the Celtics, Suns and Timberwolves were in disagreement with me; none of the three bit on the deal.

Instead, Boston selected their supposed Justise Winslow replacement in Cal’s Jaylen Brown and Phoenix selected the toolsy Croatian big man Dragan Bender. With the fifth pick, the Wolves went with Dunn themselves, and immediately dove into their own trade talks:

It’s fair to say that literally no one had an answer after only five picks. This was supposed to be that Danny Ainge’s masterful Brooklyn Screwover bore its fruit. Alas, it was not to be. As Pelicans fans, it was hard not to giggle as the teams ahead bumbled. Eyes on the prize(s):

After five picks, the Pelicans would have the choice between the two guys who had always made the most sense for them on the wing: Jamal Murray and Buddy Hield. But before we get to the climactic moment for New Orleanians, let’s laugh a little more, at the expense of a foreigner who was probably just trying to look as normal as he could:

As you must all know by this point, unless you share a room with Patrick Star under a rock in Bikini Bottom, the Pelicans selected Oklahoma sharpshooter Buddy Hield with the sixth overall pick. Our trusty ESPN beat writer put it best almost immediately:

But if that’s not enough for you, you pesky knowledge-wanter, here are some of the best quick breakdowns I read all night; ones that made me pretty excited for the Buddy era to begin in the Crescent City:

It seemed destined; New Orleans has found its shining star, a Buddy for it’s unibrowed cornerstone, and an instant contributor. What do you guys (the fans) think of the pick? We’d love to hear from you below or on Twitter (@PelicanDebrief). But let’s maybe be a bit more optimistic than ESPN was on their broadcast of the draft:

Back to the other crazy teams. What seemed like a curious whimsy on the part of draft reporters early in the day became reality when the Milwaukee Bucks selected Australian big man Thon Maker with the 10th overall selection. Maker had been a fringe first-rounder until seemingly hours before the draft, when he began to shoot up. While the rest of Twitter cackled, ESPN’s resident #HateHard analyst provided some nice balance:

https://twitter.com/AminESPN/status/746141799002038272

On a night where the Celtics were supposed to rule, their bloggers were in a frenzy:

The team would go on to select “French Draymond”, Guerschon Yabusele with the 15th pick. But wait- the night wouldn’t have been complete without the Kings flopping around helplessly. After trading out of the eighth pick in return for picks 13 and 28, the team selected Georgios Papagiannis, a big man out of Greece (go ahead, you can laugh):

They would later select Rudy Gay’s heir to the throne in Malachi Richardson (already panned as poor value at 22) before somewhat salvaging their night by prying Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere out of his free-fall at 28.

On a night where insanity became the new normal and going international became the new safety valve, decisiveness was almost completely unheard of. Luckily, the New Orleans Pelicans came out looking better than they ever do amidst the chaos. If you’re still looking for a way to put your thoughts into words after following along last night, Boogie Cousins has you covered:

https://twitter.com/boogiecousins/status/746149291249410050

Next: Trying to Make Sense of the Madness in Podcast Form

With the 2016 NBA Draft wrapped up, all eyes are set on next weekend’s free agency moratorium. Follow all of the good guys linked above to stay up to date, as well as the staff of your friendly neighborhood Pelican blog for pertinent NOP news. We’ll talk again soon.