Potentially headed for another swing in the NBA Draft Lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans have some interesting choices if their pick stands as-is.
Due to the murky picture surrounding the remainder of the regular season, the New Orleans Pelicans currently seem likely to head for their second straight trip to the NBA Draft Lottery.
There’s a lot of questions still left to be answered about the suspended 2019-2020 NBA season and it doesn’t seem like those will clear up in the near future, but if there are no more regular-season games, it’s hard to imagine we’ll see the Pelicans before next season.
In the event that the regular season is over, the New Orleans Pelicans own the thirteenth-best odds in the NBA Draft Lottery, which gives them a 5.7% chance at another top-four pick and just a 1.2% chance to win the top pick.
Last year, the New Orleans Pelicans hit a home run by winning the draft lottery, which gave them the opportunity to select Zion Williamson with the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
While the draft lottery isn’t some sort of fixed system, it would seem statistically improbable for the Pelicans to make a leap into the top-four for the second straight season, especially considering worse odds this year.
Fortunately, the prospects in this year’s draft class are significantly less top-heavy than in the previous few seasons, as sure things are somewhat vacant from this year’s draft board.
The mixed bag of prospects gives a team like the Pelicans a chance to get one of the best players in the draft without having to move around on the board. Conversely, a team could clamor over a prospect in the Pelicans’ spot and make an aggressive trade for their pick.
Still, a handful of really interesting prospects should still be on the board should the Pelicans wind up picking at their current position a thirteen.
Aaron Nesmith, Wing, Vanderbilt University
Interesting as a prospect but certainly not a sure-fire bet, Aaron Nesmith shot the heck out of the ball during his two seasons as a member of the Vanderbilt Commodores, though the team struggled to find on-court success.
Playing in just 14 games this season after injuring his right foot in mid-January, Nesmith averaged 23 points, 4.9 rebounds and shot a blistering 52.2% from three-point range on 8.2 attempts per contest.
While he shot just 33.7% from three in his freshman season, he shot 82.5% from the free-throw line in both college seasons, and it’s not a secret that success from the stripe in college is often a better indicator of success than a player’s looks from deep.
Interesting to note for the New Orleans Pelicans, Nesmith played under head coach Jerry Stackhouse at Vanderbilt.
Stackhouse is Brandon Ingram‘s mentor and if Nesmith has the same sort of DNA, the Pelicans would love another player like that in their organization.
Nesmith also beat-out Zion Williamson for South Carolina’s Gatorade Player of the Year in 2018 when both prospects were seniors in high school.
Though the Commodores had a pretty atrocious season, finishing dead-last in the SEC and going 11-21 (3-15), Nesmith shined as the team’s leading scorer, one who shot the ball at an incredible rate for a 20-year-old sophomore.
Saddiq Bey, Wing, Villanova University
As many teams around the league continue to trend towards a perimeter-oriented offensive attack, players like Saddiq Bey will always have a lot of interest from teams picking in the NBA Draft.
Playing two seasons and starting 60-of-67 games as a member of the elite Villanova Wildcats, Bey will be one of the better off-ball scorers available in this year’s late-lottery.
Rising in status as a sophomore, Bey averaged 16.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and shot 45.1% from three-point range on 5.6 attempts per contest this season at Villanova, leading the team to a 24-7 (13-5) record, which tied for the best in the Big East.
Standing 6’8″ and 216 pounds with a lot of length, teams are going to fall in love with the size and scoring combination from the 20-year-old wing.
Watching Bey develop over the last two years at Villanova, it’s hard not to see this guy thriving once he gets to the NBA; his skills are probably an even better fit for that the professional level than they were among the college ranks.
The New Orleans Pelicans, of course, have one of the greatest Villanova Wildcats of all-time in their locker room in Josh Hart, who played a leading role on the team’s 2018 NCAA Championship.
Villanova prospects continue to perform well at the NBA level, as Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVencenzo, Kyle Lowry, and Hart, to name a few, all play pretty strong roles on their respective teams.
Jahmi’us Ramsey, Guard, Texas Tech University
Standing out as one of the best players in his conference and in the country during his freshman season as Texas Tech, Jahmi’us Ramsey is going to be a guy many teams will circle as a low-floor prospect on their boards.
Checking in and starting 27-of-27 games in his lone season with the Red Raiders, Ramsey averaged 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
His shot is imperfect as of now, which will be a red flag for some teams in the league who don’t have as strong of a history developing a player’s jumper.
While Ramsey did shoot 42.6% from three this season on 5.2 attempts from deep, his 64.1% rate from the free-throw line is pretty discouraging and certainly gives room for concern.
For the New Orleans Pelicans, developing good habits for their shooters is an organizational strong suit thanks to coach Fred Vinson, who worked extensively with Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Anthony Davis to turn the players into perimeter threats.
Even if Ramsey never develops into a consistent jump shooter, he still has plenty to contribute to a team not expecting a knock-down perimeter presence.
Providing tough defense and playing a big role on a Texas Tech team with relatively high expectations this season, Ramsey doesn’t seem afraid of a spotlight and shows a really encouraging amount of effort on both ends of the floor.
Personally, I love the idea of Ramsey as an understudy for Jrue Holiday. Finding someone to learn from the Pelicans’ veteran leader is something I’ll be writing more about in the future, but Jahmi’us Ramsey certainly has the potential to be that kind of player once he reaches the pros.