Who the New Orleans Pelicans Should Have Drafted Every Year Since 2003
2003-2005: Cornerstones of the Franchise
The New Orleans Pelicans (Hornets) arrived on the scene in 2002, so their first draft came in 2003.
The first few years were pretty good for the Pelicans/Hornets, as they drafted two guys who became All-Time greats for the franchise and a solid role player.
2003
Who they drafted: David West (18), James Lang (48)
Who they should have drafted: David West, Kyle Korver
Notable Misses: James Jones, Jose Calderon, Matt Carroll, Marquis Daniels
The New Orleans Pelicans did well in their very first draft in the city, as they selected David West, who ended up becoming the franchise leader in games and minutes played, and second in total points and rebounds.
This was a draft with a lot of hidden gems, as sharpshooter Kyle Korver was chosen 51st and the rest of the notable misses were not drafted at all.
New Orleans put their stamp on their first draft with a solid pick in West, but missed out on some valuable role players.
2004
Who they drafted: J.R. Smith (18), Tim Pickett (44)
Who they should have drafted: J.R. Smith, Damien Wilkins
The New Orleans Pelicans hit on another 18th pick with streaky bench scorer J.R. Smith, who went on to eventually win a ring with LeBron and the award for “Longest Without Wearing a Shirt” in the ensuing celebration.
There wasn’t much at the back-end of this draft, but Wilkins would be an upgrade over Pickett as a role player.
2005
Who they drafted: Chris Paul (4), Brandon Bass (33)
Who they should have drafted: Chris Paul, Lou Williams
Notable Misses: Ersan Ilyasova, Monta Ellis, Amir Johnson, Marcin Gortat
This draft is very symbolic of the draft in general, as the New Orleans Pelicans hit a homerun with Paul, who ended up being the best player in the draft.
But they missed out on a whole lot of guys with their second pick. They could have had Williams, who has turned into one of the best sixth men of all time, winning the award two years in a row and counting.
They also missed on scorer Ellis, defender Gortat, rim-runner Johnson and sharpshooting charge-taker Ilyasova. They did well to get a franchise cornerstone but the Pelicans would love to have that second pick back, as several of these players are still thriving in the league.