NBA Draft: How the New Orleans Pelicans Should Use Their Picks
By Nick Alvarez
Evaluating how the New Orleans Pelicans should use each of their NBA Draft Picks
With the New Orleans Pelicans not in this year’s Western Conference playoffs, team vice president David Griffin along with general manager Trajan Langdon and the rest of the front office have officially shifted their focus to the 2020 NBA Draft.
After an uneventful draft lottery that saw the team stand pat at pick number 13, the New Orleans Pelicans now where all four of their picks in this year’s draft will land.
Attached to their lottery pick, the team will have three second-round picks at their disposal. Those picks are positioned at 39, 42, and 60 respectively.
Early on this draft process, a lot of people covering the Pelicans are evaluating the chance that some kind of trade will occur involving at least one of their current draft picks. After all, with the next season still in uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic, is it really the best idea to try to acclimate four rookies to the NBA?
To that, I say there’s no predicting the future. The New Orleans Pelicans could go several ways with their draft capital this year, but one will remain clear. This offseason is all about finding complementary players for the team’s young trio of Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson.
This draft could give the New Orleans Pelicans an ideal opportunity to do that if they use all four of their picks wisely. Here’s how the New Orleans Pelicans should each of their 2020 NBA Draft selections assuming they don’t trade them away.