New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft: Evaluating The Biggest Draft Needs?

What do the New Orleans Pelicans need to address in the 2020 NBA Draft?

For the New Orleans Pelicans organization, this year’s draft in all about supplementing the team’s young core. With three young superstars on already on the roster in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson it’s time the team adds pieces that’ll help them win now and not another player with superstar potential.

Think about how the Phoniex Suns approached their draft last year. The Suns already determined that they had two young stars in Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton so they decided to spend the 2019 draft looking to find the right players to surround them. The Suns ended up coming out of the draft with rookie shooter Cam Johnson along with veteran big men Aron Baynes and Dario Saric.

All three of those players complimented the Suns’ young stars perfectly, and that’s a big reason why that team ended up surpassing the New Orleans Pelicans after an 8-0 bubble run.

This is how the New Orleans Pelicans front office should be approaching their draft, but the real question becomes what are the biggest needs for the team’s supplementary pieces?

Where The New Orleans Pelicans Should Improve

To properly answer that question, we should start by looking at their current roster and how they performed last season. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a specific glaring the need that the New Orleans Pelicans need to fill, but there is room for improvement.

Last season’s New Orleans Pelicans were one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA, ranking in the bottom third of the league and giving up the third-most points per game. Where the team’s defense struggled was against elite wings and down in the paint.

Against teams with imposing physical forces, the New Orleans Pelicans lacked toughness. They could play strong enough to stop their opponents down low, and even though Brandon Ingram improved for flashes, he still shows subpar defense for stretches.

Offensively, the New Orleans Pelicans were great but there’s one thing the team should add more of, shooting. This year the Pelicans were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the entire NBA, but that was a bit of a mirage.

In the starting lineup, the New Orleans Pelicans were only an average shooting three-point team while bench shooters like J.J. Redick and E’Twaun Moore are over 30 and can be liabilities on the defensive end of the floor.

What Type Of Players Should The New Orleans Pelicans Target?

After analyzing the team’s performance for much of this season, it’s clear the New Orleans Pelicans should add tough 3-and-D players that can come in and play key minutes right away on this team.

Since the team already has one of the premiere young trios in the NBA, it’s now time to add those plug-and-play guys around them to unlock their games even further. Specifically, the team should at the wing and center positions.

With Jrue Holiday being a streaky shooter and working best with the ball in his hands, maybe the Pelicans start him but then platoon him with a tough forward shooter who will fit better with the team’s young stars.

At the center position, Derrick Favors is a free agent, and Jaxson Hayes is still developing an offensive game even though he’s flashed great ability as a rim-protector. Targeting a stretch-big in the draft who could give Zion Williamson even more room to attack the paint would also be a great addition.

Hopefully, the team recognizes these areas to improve as well and wisely targets a 3-and-D wing along with a stretch-big man in the 2020 NBA Draft to add toughness to their young stars for a playoff push.