The New Orleans Pelicans landed the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft courtesy of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Pelicans were the only playoff team in the NBA Draft Lottery, so have a chance to add elite talent to a team that is already good and will be getting Zion Williamson back.
The 2022 NBA Draft has no real consensus outside of the top-3 and you’ll find plenty of argument there as well, as there isn’t a clear favorite for the number one pick.
This could lead to a few more trades than usual, as teams may think they can get a similar talent anywhere from pick 4-10.
The New Orleans Pelicans have a chance to add another high-ceiling young player to a team that already has youngsters in Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, Trey Murphy III and Jaxson Hayes playing significant roles, not to mention team leader Brandon Ingram who is 24 and Zion who is still just 21-years-old.
But the Pelicans have many options when it comes to how they use the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
Options for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2022 NBA Draft
Option #1: Take the best player available
The Pelicans added two rookie rotation players last offseason, one from the second round (Jones) and one undrafted (Alvarado). They also found a guy in Trey Murphy III who improved as the season went on, earned a bigger role and had some clutch moments.
So the New Orleans Pelicans have shown they are pretty good at drafting, so why not just listen to your talent evaluators and take the best player available?
That could be a guy like Dyson Daniels from the G-League, or Bennedict Mathurin from Arizona, a shooting guard like Johnny Davis from Wisconsin or a guy like Jeremy Sochan from Baylor who could boost the defense and add a connector on offense.
The Pelicans’ roster is going to be pricey soon, with four guys at the top making big money, so they need to keep a steady flow of cheap talent coming in to have sustained success around their stars.
But if the New Orleans Pelicans don’t really like anyone they can take at eight, they could push their chips in the middle and make a trade.
Pelicans Draft: Options for the 8th pick
Option #2: Package the pick for an impact player
The New Orleans Pelicans have 14 players under contract already for next season, so they may want to move a few contracts, remove some redundancy at guard, and add a guy who can help push them into the realm of title contenders.
The Pelicans have enough young players, contracts and picks to make an attractive offer to a rebuilding team with a good player.
They might also be able to claim a disgruntled star who wants off of his current team, as they could put Jaxson Hayes, Devonte’ Graham the 8th pick and a future pick together to make a play for one guy who could help them more, while clearing some roster space at the same time.
The Pistons would probably take Hayes, Graham and the 8th pick for Jerami Grant, Harrison Barnes might be available from the Kings, is Donovan Mitchell really happy with the Jazz? (pipe dream).
The point is that there are guys out there who would probably help the Pelicans more than the 8th pick in this year’s draft, but they’d potentially be risking financial flexibility down the road.
The argument for this strategy is that the Pels can’t count on Zion Williamson to be around in peak form forever, so why not take advantage of this window and try to win a title?
It’s tempting if they can find the right deal.
Options for the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2022 NBA Draft
Option #3: Try to use the pick to trade up
If the New Orleans Pelicans identified a guy that they really liked but didn’t think was going to be there at 8, they could try to package the pick with a player and a future pick to move up.
A package of Jaxson Hayes, the 8th pick and a future 1st-round pick might be enough to move up a few spots if there is a guy who the Pelicans feel is too good to pass up.
That could be a player like Shaedon Sharpe, who would be the perfect type of high-ceiling project player to grab, as he won’t be ready to play right away but could end up being one of the best players in this draft down the road.
He’s not likely to be there at 8, but teams like the Pistons or Pacers might be willing to move down a few spots to reap extra assets.
This would really only be an option if the front office and scouts found a guy they loved for the future of the team and were willing to give up assets to get him.
The most likely option is the first one, as it makes financial sense for the New Orleans Pelicans to just keep adding young talent, but if they want to go for it now, there are options on the table.