The New Orleans Pelicans are tied for the 10th seed in the Western Conference, in the driver’s seat to claim a spot in the play-in tournament.
They are just two games behind the reeling Lakers, who look about one or two more losses away from packing it in for the season.
The Pels are headed in the other direction, winners of six of their last 10 and showing signs that CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram are really starting to gel.
Obviously, the Pelicans dream season would see them make the play-in tournament and win their way into the playoffs, which would be a great first step towards contention for a young team that is missing its best player.
But there is a second part of the dream season that the New Orleans Pelicans do not control (outside of two games) and will require some help from an old friend.
The New Orleans Pelicans are counting on the Los Angeles Lakers
The Pelicans are not only chasing the Lakers for play-in position, but the two will be connected in the offseason as well.
The Pels own the Lakers 1st-round draft pick and if it falls into the top-10, New Orleans gets to keep it. If it falls outside of the top-10, they have to send it to the Grizzlies.
The Lakers are currently in the 11th position, and if they continue their free fall, that pick has a good chance to land in the top-10 and stay in New Orleans.
The Lakers have the 2nd-most difficult schedule in the NBA, play most of their remaining games on the road, and will be without Anthony Davis for much if not all of it. LeBron has said he is not shutting it down for the season, but if they keep losing, I wouldn’t rule it out.
Why this draft pick matters
With McCollum, Ingram, Herbert Jones, Jonas Valanciunas, Jaxson Hayes, Devonte’ Graham, Larry Nance Jr and Tony Snell (and hopefully a full healthy Zion Williamson) the Pelicans will be a much deeper team next season that is ready to compete for a title.
I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that this team is a contender at full strength, so if you add another top-10 pick to that, the Pels will have even more youth in their pipeline.
Of course, they already have plenty of talented young guys, so New Orleans could end up packaging that pick to grab another impact player and go into next season with one of the best rotations in the NBA.
A top-10 pick in this draft could net them a player in the Jerami Grant range this offseason, a quality role guy (hopefully someone who can shoot) who will add even more to their depth.
Of course, all of this is just theoretical, as the Pelicans have to take care of their end of the dream by continuing to win and battling their way in the playoffs.
But we’ll also be keeping one eye on the Lakers’ slide, as that pick could be huge for the New Orleans Pelicans in the upcoming offseason.