Pelicans Draft: Building an elite defense with the top-10 pick

The New Orleans Pelicans enter the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery with a 99.5 percent chance of walking away with a top-10 pick.

They have a 66.6 percent chance of that pick being either 8th or 9th and there are a lot of interesting players in that range.

The Pelicans had a great draft last season, grabbing Trey Murphy III in the first round then adding Herbert Jones, who turned out to be the pick of the draft, as he was a second rounder who is going to make All-Rookie and possibly even All-Defense.

The Pelicans made a leap as a team this season defensively, building an identity on that end and jumping up to 13th in points allowed after being 24th in that category a year before.

The Pelicans already have plenty of scoring with Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and Jonas Valanciunas and could use their pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to keep adding defensive talent around them.

Here’s an idea of how to do it.

Pelicans draft: Jeremy Sochan’s strengths and weaknesses

Jeremy Sochan is a 6-foot-9, 230 lb. combo forward out of Baylor who would give the Pelicans another versatile and tough defender to go with Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado.

Sochan has the size to defend in the post, but he is just as comfortable on the perimeter, as he is a good athlete with quick feet and hands who uses his length to get into passing lanes and disrupt things.

Sochan has limitations offensively, as he is not a good shooter and his handles need some work, but he profiles more as a defensive specialist and rim runner in the NBA, who will have the ability to grab rebounds and go.

Sochan has good instincts around the rim on both ends, can block shots and finish through contact as you can from these highlights.

The Pelicans were winning games with defense and energy and a guy like Sochan would fit right in.

2022 NBA Draft: How Jeremy Sochan fits on the New Orleans Pelicans

When you already have three elite scorers who can get their own shots and set up teammates, defense around them has to be a priority and adding a guy like Sochan could potentially propel the Pelicans into a top-10 defense in the NBA.

We know Willie Green loves guys who hustle and bring energy, and Sochan will definitely do that.

He’s got a solid all-around game and could provide some insurance for B.I. and Zion, as he could back up either one of them.

He’d also allow the Pelicans to potentially go small, which was something they had to do against Phoenix in the playoffs, as the Suns were killing them on perimeter switches at times.

The Pelicans could go a lot of ways with their draft pick, but it makes sense to try and build an elite defense around their offensive stars and Sochan would help get them there.