New Orleans Pelicans: 5 best fits in the 2022 NBA Draft

New Orleans Pelicans draft: 5 best fits in the 2022 NBA Draft

Jeremy Sochan

I’ve said before that I’d love to see the New Orleans Pelicans lean into building an elite defense, so taking a guy who is projected as a very good defender makes sense.

Sochan is another long athletic guy who gets into passing lanes for steals, runs the floor well and won’t need the ball much to be effective. He can defend three or more spots and could focus on this part of his game, as he wouldn’t be asked to shoot much.

I really love Sochan’s potential to be a “connector,” that guy who always makes the extra pass, swings it to the open guy and plays unselfishly. I think he’d be a great fit in the Pelicans’ locker room.

Tari Eason

Outside of the guys projected at the top, I see Tari Eason as one of the best fits for the New Orleans Pelicans and the possible sleeper of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Eason is a dawg on defense and if you look at just about any defensive statistics from the college season, his name will be there. He’s one of the few guys who average more than a block and nearly two steals per game.

He can also shoot, as he hit 36 percent of his long-range shots, so he’d be the type of 3-and-D player who would be perfect with Zion, Brandon Ingram and McCollum.

If I were betting on this, I’d bet that one of these five players will be drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans and they’d all be exciting additions to an already good team.