The 2019 NBA Draft is almost here, so let’s get one last mock draft in. The New Orleans Pelicans own the Los Angeles Lakers’ #4 pick. Who will they select to run alongside Zion Williamson?
The moment is finally here. Thursday night, 60 young men will have their lives changed forever as the 2019 NBA Draft kicks off. One man, Zion Williamson, will get official confirmation that he’ll be playing for the New Orleans Pelicans. But what about everyone else? Let’s run through one more mock draft while we still have a chance.
For now, we have a draft order to go by for picks 1-30 in this particular mock, but it seems entirely possible that these picks could get shaken up very soon, as trade rumors around the league have been swirling recently.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been rumored to be shopping around their #4 draft pick that they were just promised from the Los Angeles Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade. It’s possible they could try to move this pick elsewhere in order to acquire a more established player to help kickstart the rebuild, such as a Myles Turner or Bradley Beal type. Or, they could use #4 to move back for more picks, potentially by swapping it with a team like the Atlanta Hawks for picks #8 and #10.
But the trade rumors don’t just end with the New Orleans Pelicans. The Houston Rockets might be forced to made a transaction soon with the rumored Chris Paul trade demand. Plenty of other teams want to move up in the draft, too. For now though, we have to operate under the assumption that the current projected order is the correct one.
With that, let’s get this last Pelican Debrief mock draft of 2019 rolling. Up first, the Pels are on the clock.