The New Orleans Pelicans’ lottery luck continues as they jump into the top four in our latest installment of the Mock Draft.
If you’d like to see what the New Orleans Pelicans did in our last mock draft, you can check it out here.
Last year the New Orleans Pelicans got some love from the lottery Gods and won the number one pick, even though they only had a six percent chance at it.
The lottery odds are even worse this year, as the Pelicans currently sit tied for 13th position with just a 1.2 percent chance at the number one pick and a 5.7 percent chance to jump into the top four.
We here at Pelican Debrief have used the Tankathon.com draft simulator to make things a little more interesting when it comes to the draft order and it didn’t disappoint.
The New Orleans Pelicans must have some good Karma coming their way, as they were able to jump into the top four on our first spin of the Tankathon draft simulator.
With March Madness cancelled, the New Orleans Pelicans and rest of the NBA will have even less information about prospects than usual.
This fact, coupled with the perception that this is a weak draft, could lead to some teams deciding to trade down.
With no consensus number one pick, teams like Cleveland or Detroit might decide that they can get two similarly talented players if they trade out of the top five.
With an impressive young core already in place, the New Orleans Pelicans are in a unique position in this year’s draft.
If they did jump into the top-five, they could package the pick to get a “final piece” to add to their puzzle, or they could just take the young guy and add him to what they already have.
A top pick could also help facilitate a trade of one of their larger contracts, say Jrue Holiday, which could clear up some future cap space for the inevitable Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson extensions.
With so many different angles in play, this could shape up to be one of the wildest drafts in memory, with lots of draft-day movement and plenty of trades.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at what happened in this version of our Mock Draft, where the New Orleans Pelicans jump into the top four.
Who would they take with such a high pick?
A big to replace Derrick Favors?
A big guard to pair with Lonzo?
A 3-and-D wing to shore up the defense?
The options are unlimited for the New Orleans Pelicans, so let’s get into it.