The New Orleans Pelicans have more picks than roster spots for young players, so packaging picks for a unique prospect in Bolmaro could be on the table.
Heading into the 2020 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans are going to have a chance to add to their core of young talent. However, packaging their second-round picks for a prospect they really like further up the draft board could yield a better return for the organization.
Projected to be picked near the end of the first round, if not the early second, Leandro Bolmaro is an international prospect who would make a lot of sense for the Pelicans.
While the team could still opt to take a few swings in the second round, it seems like targeting a prospect with a higher ceiling could be a way for the Pelicans to raise a special player through their system.
Seemingly needing another year to develop internationally unless he wants to ride the bench or grow in the G-League, Bolmaro could have one of the highest ceilings in the entire class, though his fundamentals need much more refinement.
The tape shows Bolmaro as an ideal perimeter player in the NBA, someone who is better without the ball in his hands, shows a high IQ reading defenses by getting to open spots, and even shows an ability to be a high-motor defender with a knack for picking steals.
However, Bolmaro’s skills are very raw. When he puts the ball on the floor to dribble, he looks like he’s desperate to turn the ball over. Overall, though, the biggest step for Bolmaro will be finding consistency in his jump shot.
Shooting above 64% from the free-throw line, it’s hard to trust that Bolmaro can find a consistent stroke. If there’s anyone who can refurbish that, however, it’s New Orleans Pelicans shooting coach Fred Vinson, who really helped Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball find their touch.
Getting Bolmaro to hit in the NBA is also going to be an interesting balance for any team who gives him a look in the draft, as the international prospect hasn’t played more than 33 games in a season and he only averaged 23.6 minutes per game during that run.
Still, his long arms and lateral quickness coupled with a 6’8″ and 180-pound frame make him leap off the page as a really encouraging NBA prospect.
Born in Argentina and developing in FC Barcelona’s organization, spending two seasons on their B-team before playing 7 games with their A-team during his 2019-2020 campaign.
In his 9 games with the B-team, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.6 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals while shooting an underwhelming 26.3% from three, but 44.1% from the floor overall. In 7 games with the A-team, he averaged 4.4 points, 1.4 assists, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.9 steals but shot 50% from three-point range and 46.4% from the floor as a whole.
When he gets hot, he looks impossible to stop, at least for international defenders. Even with a pretty raw skillset compared to what we like to see in top NBA prospects, he seems like someone who could become a feared three-point shooter if development works in his favor.
Likely drafting somewhere in this lottery, owning three second-round picks, having Didi Louzada joining the team from the NBL next season, and drafting a trio of first-rounders last season, the Pelicans have to start age-correcting this roster if they want to turn into a legitimate playoff contender.
Perhaps packaging two of this year’s second-round picks and one next season could help the New Orleans Pelicans fall into the mid-20’s, which should be good enough to swing at Bolmaro.
Getting Bolmaro to reach his potential doesn’t seem like something that’s going to happen overnight and the Pelicans aren’t looking to draft players for a title run next season.
Instead, the New Orleans Pelicans can move up the board to draft Bolmaro and explain to fans how strong he could be as a fit in a future title contention window.
With the draft potentially being put off until August at the earliest, the team will have plenty of time to evaluate their draft positioning and decide how they want to use their picks. However, packaging picks for Bolmaro gives the team a shot at a special prospect without overinflating their stash of undeveloped talent.
Further, he is an answer to the fans who clamor for a young shooting talent like Tyler Herro, Landry Shamet, or even Luke Kennard. While those guys all shot better in college than Bolmaro did for FC Barcelona, his development could easily put him on par with those scorers.
Leandro Bolmaro might not be a perfect prospect, but his ceiling as a key floor spacer in the NBA makes him feel like a really good fit for the future of the New Orleans Pelicans organization.