New Orleans Pelicans: 2021 NBA Mock Draft 1.0

New Orleans Pelicans: With the 40th pick…

This is another pick that hinges on shooting prowess, but in the frontcourt.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ only long-term piece in that area of the floor is likely Jaxson Hayes. After him, everything else is a question mark.

Steven Adams has been reliable in his first season for the Pelicans, but he is ultimately disposable. There are other big men in or around the league that can play a similar role to Adams at a cheaper price.

Willy Hernangómez has intermittently been a part of Stan Van Gundy’s plans, but his future in the NBA is probably as a big that provides scoring punch off the bench. That’s not a bad role for a player and it is definitely handy for a team, but Hernangómez is a defensive liability when it matters most. I would not mind keeping him around as the Pels’ third center, but I am assuming he will want a bigger spotlight after a solid season.

Finally, James Johnson has also seen minutes at the 4 for the Pelicans since arriving at the trade deadline. Johnson is more of a ball-handling forward, but for the purpose of semantics, he can also provide minutes in the frontcourt. I’m not sure what Johnson’s future will be and New Orleans should look to keep him, but even then, he is a veteran with a limited shelf life.

The one thing that Hayes, Adams, Hernangómez, and Johnson have is their lack of shooting. Hayes has shown flashes and has good free throw numbers, but that is just potential for now. Johnson can knock down three-pointers, but is very inconsistent.

Matthew Hurt from Duke could solve these problems.

Hurt is a great second round option for teams that need stretch bigs, but don’t have an early pick. Much like Quentin Grimes, his first year in college didn’t go according to plan, so he went back and rehabilitated his draft stock.

I actually think that Hurt is one of the more underrated prospects this year because of his limited athleticism and defense. I don’t think he will ever become a surefire starter but he can be very serviceable as a role player.

In his sophomore season at Duke, Hurt shot 64 percent from two, 44 percent from three (on five attempts per game), and 72 percent from the free throw line. One could argue that those numbers came on a bad team, but I would respond that Hurt actually made the best out of a bad situation and a disjointed roster.