Who the New Orleans Pelicans Should Have Drafted Every Year Since 2003

2016-2019: The Big Mistake and the New Face of the NBA

It looked like the New Orleans Pelicans had set themselves back in this era after making a disastrous trade, but some good fortune from the Lottery Gods got them right back on track to being a consistent contender in the Western Conference.

2016

Who they drafted: Buddy Hield (6), David Michineau (39), Diamond Stone (40)

Who they should have drafted: Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, Alex Caruso

Notable misses: Domantas Sabonis, Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert, Dejounte Murray, Malcolm Brogdon

The Hield pick was defensible at the time, but the New Orleans Pelicans would do things a lot differently if they could.

They ended up packaging Hield as part of a disastrous trade for DeMarcus Cousins that the Pelicans would rather forget.

In retrospect, they would take Siakiam, who has rounded into one of the best wings in the NBA.

Instead of taking Diamond Stone, a guy who sounds like he should be in professional wrestling, they could have had VanVleet or even rapidly-balding Caruso.

These picks show how the Toronto Raptors were able to win a title with a team that they mostly drafted themselves and developed.

2017

Who they drafted: Dwayne Bacon (40), Edmond Sumner (52)

Who they should have drafted: Dillon Brooks, P.J. Dozier

The New Orleans Pelicans ended up trading both of these picks anyway, and didn’t have a first rounder after the Cousins trade.

That’s too bad, as they could have used this pick to try and build around what they already had, but were stuck in limbo with Boogie.

Brooks is now an important part of the Grizzlies’ young team and Dozier would have been a better pick than either Bacon or Sumner, who quickly disappeared from the league.

2018

Who they drafted: Tony Carr (51)

Who they should have drafted: Kendrick Nunn

Notable Misses: Kenrich Williams

This draft is a big reason why the Miami Heat were fourth in the Eastern Conference prior to the hiatus.

They have hit big on late and undrafted players, including scoring machine Nunn.

Nunn had some off-the-court problems at the University of Illinois and was eventually dismissed from the team before starting fresh at Oakland University.

Nunn was one of the country’s top scorer and 3-point shooters in college but didn’t end up being drafted because of his character issues.

He’s been a revelation for the Heat this year and the New Orleans Pelicans wish they had his scoring off the bench.

2019

Who they drafted: Zion Williamson (1)

Who they should have drafted: Are you kidding?

The New Orleans Pelicans pleased the Lottery Gods and lucked out to get the number one pick even though they only had a six percent chance.

As I said earlier, drafting a superstar is hard as you not only have to suffer a losing season, win the lottery, but there has to be one in that particular draft.

The New Orleans Pelicans hit the draft tri-fecta with this one, as Zion has been nothing short of spectacular in his short career with the team.

With no offense to any of the other talented rookies from this class, Zion was on a collision course with the Rookie of the Year award if his team had made the playoffs.

We may never know how this season would have turned out, but the New Orleans Pelicans had a great chance to catch the Grizzlies for the final spot and Zion was the main reason for that.

He averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds before the suspension of play and looks like he’ll become the next face of the NBA.

He is great both on the court and off and is one of the few picks that the Pelicans would not change if they could.

The future is bright for the New Orleans Pelicans, even after some big draft misses over the years.

We at Pelican DeBrief are committed to bringing you coverage of the New Orleans Pelicans throughout the hiatus.

Thanks for your continued support during these tough times and stay safe out there!