The New Orleans Pelicans need to add impact talent through the NBA Draft and could do so in several ways.
The Pelicans will have a lottery pick plus four picks in the second round, so they have the ammunition to either add a lot of young talent or make trades.
The second-round picks might be enough to move into the first round, but otherwise, they don’t have a ton of value, so the focus is really on what happens with the Pelicans’ lottery pick.
What are the New Orleans Pelicans lottery odds?
The New Orleans Pelicans have a 20.3 percent chance of moving into the top-four of the NBA Draft and have just a 4.5 percent chance at getting the number one overall.
There is a chance the Pelicans can move up, but statistically speaking they are likely to be choosing in the range of 8-10 in the NBA Draft.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t find elite talent in that range or use that pick as an asset. Here are three dream scenarios for the Pelicans in the NBA Draft.
The Pelicans find the superstar who drops
In nearly every draft there is a star player who drops in the NBA Draft for one reason or another. We’ve seen it with Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell to name a few.
If the Pelicans do end up drafting 10th, a guy like Davion Mitchell could be a steal and might end up a lot closer to Donovan Mitchell than many people think.
It’s a lot harder to find a star picking 10th than it is picking first but if the Pelicans don’t move up, they need to find the best player who drops.