The New Orleans Pelicans are hoping for more luck in tonight’s NBA Draft Lottery.
They bucked the odds in 2019, when they landed the number one pick with only six percent odds to do so, and got even luckier that Zion Williamson happened to be coming out that year.
It takes a lot of luck to get a superstar in the draft, as you have to get lucky in the NBA Draft Lottery and land a top pick, but also in a year when there is a superstar. Oh, and you still have to choose the right guy, which is much tougher when there isn’t a Zion or LeBron in the draft.
This year could be one of those years, as Cade Cunningham has emerged as a consensus number one pick and a guy most agree will be a star. I don’t think he’s in the same category as Zion Williamson, but he’s as close to a sure thing as you can get when you are talking about predicting what teenagers will be.
The Pelicans aren’t far from being good and already have two All-Stars under 25, so even though there are some very talented players in this draft in Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs, the Pels could still look to trade the pick, even if they land in the top four.
New Orleans Pelicans: Drafting Cade Cunningham with the number one pick
The Pelicans have a 4.5 percent chance of landing the number one pick and if they were to get super lucky and do so, the best move is probably just to draft Cade Cunningham.
If you think he’s the next NBA superstar, then it’s a no brainer, as putting another talented playmaker and scorer next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram would give the Pelicans the best young core in the NBA.
They could move on from the Lonzo Ball soap opera, would have a little cap space to play with, and could have a potential homegrown super team in New Orleans.
I think there can still be an argument to move number one in the right trade (more on that later) but if it’s not number one, all options are on the table.
New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft Lottery: Trading a lower pick in a package for a star
If the Pelicans stay in their draft range, which is most likely to be 10-12, then they should definitely consider packaging this pick to try and get a proven star.
Although there are still some very good players projected to go in this range, guys like James Bouknight or Corey Kispert, who could help the Pelicans shooting, there probably isn’t a franchise-changing talent in that range.
You are either looking at an older player with a lower ceiling or a very raw one, and the Pelicans already have a few of those in Jaxson Hayes and Kira Lewis Jr., who both showed flashes but are still developing.
If the Pelicans could find a star player on a team looking to rebuild, they might be able to package that pick with a young player to get a more established star.
Guys like Malcolm Brogdon, Kevin Love or even Ben Simmons could be available for the right package and could probably help the Pelicans a lot more than the 10th pick in this draft.
If the Pels get a lower pick, you can bet they will be scouring the league for trades, as they already have plenty of young guys and still have a ton of future draft assets.
New Orleans Pelicans NBA Draft Lottery: Trading a top four pick for a superstar
If the Pelicans end up in the top four in the NBA Draft, I think you can still make an argument for trading it in the right deal.
I like the fit of the consensus top four guys on the Pelicans, but it would be hard to pass up a chance to add a legitimate superstar if one is on the table.
If the Pelicans were to get the number one pick in the draft, could they use it to get a guy like Damian Lillard? Bradley Beal? Jimmy Butler? I see these as very low likely scenarios but the Pels would certainly entertain trading any draft pick for a superstar if one became available.
If the Pelicans were to land in the top-3 and a team like Detroit offered up Jerami Grant and a future pick for it, that could be another way to land a quality player and still get another draft asset in the future.
The point is that the David Griffin needs to find a way to get impact talent from this draft one way or another. If they land in the top-four, they will probably just use their pick, but if they don’t the Pels need to be searching for trades to get better.
The clock is ticking for David Griffin and he has to get this one right.