With many mock drafts fluctuating on who the New Orleans Pelicans could pick out of the top six prospects in the NBA Draft, is there a bad choice of the bunch?
The New Orleans Pelicans have quite the interesting conundrum in the upcoming NBA Draft.
With the number six pick and seven prospects that have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, there’s a lot to wonder about who the Pelicans will get to choose from, come draft time.
While Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram have all but locked in the top two prospect slots, Dragan Bender, Jaylen Brown, Buddy Hield, Jamal Murray and Kris Dunn have put themselves ahead of the rest, at spots three through seven.
At first glance, it seems like New Orleans is in a great situation. They will be locked to have at least two of those players to choose from when it’s their turn to pick. There doesn’t seem to be a wrong answer….
Or is there?
It’s been a common topic among fans and writers alike on who is the best pick for the Pelicans at six. There are people that like each of the players for this team. It’s a race to find whose the best selection. Instead, should they be looking at which is the exact opposite? Or if there even is a bad option?
More from Pelicans News
- How will the Pelicans round out rotation without Trey Murphy III
- Why you can’t blame Brandon Ingram for all Team USA’s failures
- New Orleans Pelicans avoid potential disaster with latest injury reports
- 3 New Orleans Pelicans whose role will increase next season
- Pelicans getting the fans involved with their upcoming festival
The only way to really find that out is to look at how the team is set up right now. Next year, the Pelicans will have certain positions locked in.
The combo in the paint locks down any center joining the team in the near future, though there is not a center in this mix of players. Only superstar Anthony Davis fills the power forward role, with a possibility of Dante Cunningham backing him up. With Eric Gordon‘s likely departure, a huge hole fills the shooting guard spot.
The point guard is well set with Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, but the backup is Toney Douglas, leaving question marks. The small forward has Quincy Pondexter and Luke Babbitt, but it’s not a strength of the Pelicans. So the biggest holes are shooting guard and depth at any position except center. And these picks fill any of those slots.
Then, it becomes their play style and if they will mesh with Head Coach Alvin Gentry and the rest of the New Orleans Pelicans. The easy one is Buddy Hield. In a high-tempo offense built on athleticism on both ends, Hield fits the bill. He has a weak ceiling and limited growth potential, but as far as fitting the roster, there’s no question. He’s the safe pick. Tough to see that being wrong.
Then comes Jamal Murray. The other shooting guard. Murray’s athleticism is more of a question, though his potential is high. He has worked on his shooting game over time and shows the capability to be a score-first guard, something New Orleans needs. While questions come up, he is not a bad selection with his skill set.
With the two easiest out of the way, let’s take a gander at the best “potential” player in Kris Dunn. There’s question marks here more so with his role. He has quite the similarities with what he can develop into as Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans. He can be an great guard who brings it all to the table in a balanced set. His development is in need of work, which could be tricky with limited time on the floor. The potential is there for it to be an “iffy” pick.
Now, is it a bad pick? It’s hard to argue that case. Dunn has been touted by many as the third best player in the draft by a significant amount. His skill set is balanced and strong in all accounts. While there’s questions about how it’ll translate to the NBA, his success in college is key. He put up stats and led a team with questions to a solid record. He’s a talented guard with great potential. Not a bad pick.
More from Pelican Debrief
- How will the Pelicans round out rotation without Trey Murphy III
- Why you can’t blame Brandon Ingram for all Team USA’s failures
- Ranking 10 worst starters of the Anthony Davis era
- New Orleans Pelicans avoid potential disaster with latest injury reports
- 4 Most underrated players on New Orleans Pelicans current roster
Then comes the player whose stock has been a roller-coaster. Jaylen Brown. His game has question marks. His shooting motion had issues, while his scoring consistency was all over the place. It became tough to watch at times. Still, he’s extremely talented and is by far the third best small forward in the draft. His athleticism fits well under Gentry and he can play defense strong enough to keep up with the team as he continues his development. Again, not a bad selection.
That’s leaves Dragan Bender. He’s the bad selection, right?
No.
Our own Nathan Heck wrote a great piece on Bender’s game and why the Pelicans would need to select him if he’s there. The translation of his great all-around offensive game next to Anthony Davis is a puzzle-like fit. He’s got the capabilities to be a defensive threat alongside Davis and have those skills mesh, unlike Omer Asik. He seems like the rare kind of talent that can work next to AD. The bust potential is a real possibility, but taking a chance on someone who can be the perfect big next to your superstar is far from a bad pick.
So there’s no bad pick for the New Orleans Pelicans….
OR IS THERE?
This may sound crazy, but the wrong pick for the Pelicans would actually be the one they won’t even get a chance on. Ben Simmons.
Simply put, Ben Simmons would not fit this roster. Even though he’s a supremely talented player and has the potential to reach, his weaknesses and red flags are extremely frightening to the New Orleans Pelicans.
It seems crazy to think about him not fitting the Pelicans due to his strong transition game, however this is a team that plays fairly effectively in the half-court offense as well. Last year, New Orleans was tied for 14th in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies at 12.4 transition points per game. While they can show good transition scoring, it’s not guaranteed. They need players who can score in the half-court just as effectively.
Unfortunately, that’s one of the things Simmons greatly struggled with last season. And it comes down to the biggest weakness in his game that’s an absolute key for the Pelicans: Three-point shooting.
The opposition succeeded in stopping Simmons last year by giving him space and begging him to shoot. His shooting numbers from behind the arc didn’t help. He shot one of three from behind the three-point line in his entire freshman year at LSU. That’s not promising, especially for the Pelicans. In an Alvin Gentry offense, all wings and guards being threats outside the arc is massive for success. The spacing is a huge key.
Gentry wants his wing players constantly movement and plenty of off ball screens to get open shots effectively. But for it to work properly, everyone on the floor sans the center needs to be a threat from long range. It’s why Dante Cunningham was asked to work on his three-point shooting this past offseason. Same goes for Anthony Davis.
Having a player that can not bring a key component to the offense as the team’s key lottery pick seems like a bad idea. And while Simmons’ defensive skills are fantastic, his struggles to get back consistently and give 100% on every defense possession was paramount at LSU.
Something that, in a high-paced offense that goes back and forth constantly, would be a glaring problem. His overall attitude has come into question before, and when it affects his overall defensive play, it becomes more than just an annoyance.
Now sure, the Pelicans have 0.000000001% chance of having Ben Simmons be there at the sixth pick, however of all the top seven prospects in the NBA Draft, he would be the only one that could be realistically categorized as a “bad selection”, based on the skill set and fit with the team.
He’s still an unbelievable talent with a monstrously high ceiling, it just would be unlikely to be reached in New Orleans. That along with the high chance of him struggling to fit the offense and being forced to do things he does not have the proper strengths in could hurt his overall game. That, along with the dent it would put in the New Orleans Pelicans’ offensive and defensive schemes make it a “bad pick”.
Next: New Orleans Pelicans: Drafting Kris Dunn Would Be Easy
At the end of the day, the New Orleans Pelicans are in a position where they will be hard pressed to find a bad decision on NBA Draft night. With Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram almost guaranteed to be off the board, the Pelicans will have two of the five remaining prospects to choose from, all of which can bring key contributions to the team. It’s going to be a great moment, as long as General Manager Dell Demps sticks to taking one of the top prospects as the next key for the New Orleans Pelicans franchise.