New Orleans Pelicans: 3 biggest what-ifs from the 2020 NBA Draft

We won’t know for a few seasons how the 2020 NBA Draft turned out for the New Orleans Pelicans but it’s fair to think about what might have been.

The Pelicans’ primary problem this season has been bench depth, as just about everyone has been awful except for Josh Hart.

The Pelicans only used one of their four draft picks in 2020 and the one guy they did take, Kira Lewis Jr., has not contributed much.

Kira’s limited minutes and the Pels’ limited depth makes me wonder how things could look if the Pels had done their draft differently.

This is not meant to be an indictment of Kira Lewis Jr., as he hasn’t played enough to judge and he could end up being a star.

There were several things the Pelicans could have done differently in the 2020 NBA Draft.

New Orleans Pelicans: What if the Pelicans had kept their 2nd-round picks?

I have no idea if someone like Jordan Nwora or Paul Reed would be getting minutes for the Pelicans right now, as 2nd-round picks are always a crapshoot.

I do know that the rival Grizzlies took Xavier Tillman, a guy I wrote about endlessly before the draft, four spots ahead of the Pelicans and it’s possible they might have been able to use their other picks to move up to get him.

Tillman is starting and playing impact minutes for the Grizzlies.

There might not have been another guy like that for the Pels in the 2nd-round, but given their lack of depth, it might have been worth a shot.