New Orleans Pelicans: 4 Former 1st Round Picks to Pursue in Free Agency

The New Orleans Pelicans can use their small amount of cap space to revive one of these former lottery picks

Reclamation projects are common practice in the NBA. It’s normal to see a team sign a player who was once a first-round selection in an attempt to revive their careers. This is something the New Orleans Pelicans have done in the past too.

Look at back in the day when the team signed 2nd overall pick Tyson Chandler and turned him into a strong rim-protector after five seasons of being wasted by the Chicago Bulls. Sometimes unlocking the talents of a once highly regarded prospect is the key to championship contention.

In NBA history, we’ve seen players like Chauncey Billups who was nearly out of the league after being the 3rd overall pick in 1997 turn into a Finals MVP. Recently, we’ve even seen a player like Marquese Chriss go from a failing power-forward taken 8th overall to a rim-running center in Golden State.

For the New Orleans Pelicans, this is a practice that the team is going need to take a chance with this offseason. With a max-extension coming to forward Brandon Ingram, the Pelicans aren’t going to have the money to sign any big-name free agents this offseason.

That means if the team’s front office wants to improve the roster this offseason they’re going to need to do it through the draft and some under-the-radar signings. With that being said, here are four former first-round picks the New Orleans Pelicans should look to reclaim.