New Orleans Pelicans: Baiting the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft

The New Orleans Pelicans should bait the Boston Celtics to trade up to 13 by pumping up prospect Tyrell Terry

My favorite time of the year is finally here, and I’m not talking about fall and Halloween. I’m talking about draft season! After months of waiting, a pivotal 2020 NBA Draft is just a month away for the New Orleans Pelicans.

With limited college footage on prospects, virtual combines, and restrictions on in-person workouts this draft isn’t a cakewalk either. That’s why I believe this is the draft where the Pelicans’ front office needs to make their best moves.

What does that mean? Well, in the past few months we’ve done a lot writing about the New Orleans Pelicans making splashy moves on draft night. Some of those moves included trading up to procure top talents, others included departing from veteran players to acquire more draft capital. How about this one?

How the New Orleans Pelicans can fleece the Boston Celtics in the 2020 NBA Draft

As someone from Boston, I keep the pulse of the Celtics a lot. For those of not following the Celtics, their president Danny Ainge has the overplayed reputation of “Trader Danny” from making a few suave moves.

Those moves of course being creating the “Boston Big 3” in 2008, acquiring unsung guard Isaiah Thomas in 2015, trading for the problematic Kyrie Irving in 2018, and of course trading down with the number 1 pick to get an additional draft pick from the Philadelphia 76ers while still acquiring their target.

That last move is the one I want to focus on. In 2017, Danny Ainge did a perfect job of making the Philadelphia 76ers believe the Celtics would take guard Markelle Fultz. That charade made the 76ers offer up a lottery-protected pick from the Sacramento Kings to move up. In the end, Boston played Philadelphia, securing their guy Jayson Tatum and getting a pick that ended up at number 14 last year.

This is where things got haywire for the Celtics. After being bounced from the Miami Heat in the playoffs a few weeks ago, Boston media is criticizing Ainge for letting the cat out of the bag on his love for Kentucky guard Tyler Herro last year.

Tyler Herro was exactly who the Celtics wanted with the 14th pick they acquired from Philly but Ainge got scorched when Pat Riley and the Heat decided to select Herro one pick before them. I think it’s safe to say if Herro was on the Celtics instead of the Heat then Boston would still be playing.

Now, a similar situation is unfolding. The New Orleans Pelicans sit at pick 13 and the Boston Celtics are again picking at 14 thanks to another selection acquired by Ainge. In a serious case of deja vu, reports are indicating that Ainge has his eyes on another sharpshooter. This time its draft riser Tyrell Terry of Stanford.

That’s why I think it’s a smart play for the Pelicans front office to rip a page from the Celtics playbook in 2017 and put out interest on Terry. Terry who’s a nice player isn’t a player at a position of need for the Pelicans and Ainge hoping to get his guy this time might give up another pick or prospect to move up a slot.

This is a small move that could end up being monumental for the New Orleans Pelicans. An additional first-round pick can easily become trade bait or be used to fill another roster hole. If the Pelicans feel they have too many picks because of the Anthony Davis deal then they might be able to pry away one of Boston’s two developmental bigs in Grant Williams or Robert Williams III.

Either way, it’s always smart to take advantage of an organization being overly eager. The Boston Celtics are a team with an opening window for contention and one of their missing pieces in a true sharpshooter to play off of their stars. If they want Tyrell Terry, the New Orleans Pelicans should use smoke and mirrors until the draft and make them trade up for him.