New Orleans Pelicans: Constructing the perfect offseason
The New Orleans Pelicans are in a great position this offseason. They finally have some stability with 14 players already under contract and a coach who just led them to the playoffs in his first season.
The Pels will get Zion Williamson back, and have the 8th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, so there is impact talent coming to a team that now looks like a budding contender.
New Orleans doesn’t have to make a splashy move this offseason, as they already made the big trade for CJ McCollum and should add more impact talent (Zion and the 8th pick) than just about any other playoff team.
This could be a relatively quiet offseason, which is a good thing, as the Pelicans can count on internal growth and development as well as the return of Zion to propel them to the next level.
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But the New Orleans Pelicans still have important decisions to make in the draft, extension market and possibly the trade market.
New Orleans Pelicans: The perfect offseason
Step 1: Draft Dyson Daniels with the 8th pick
The Pelicans have a lot of options of what to do with the 8th pick, but barring a massive trade to move up, they will probably just take the best player available, as they don’t have a glaring positional need.
Daniels has rocketed up draft boards since the combine, when he showed an improved 3-point shot to go along with his athleticism, playmaking ability and defense.
He’s a versatile defender with big upside on that end and could be a secondary playmaker off the bench and potentially give them more size at guard/wing.
If Daniels is not available, Bennedict Mathurin, Jeremy Sochan, Tari Eason, Jalen Duren and Johnny Davis would all be options.
Step 2: Draft defenders and shooters in the 2nd round
The Pelicans already have plenty of guys who can get their own shots and create for others, so they should focus on defense and 3-point shooting with their second round picks.
A defender like Peyton Watson would be a worthwhile project with the 41st pick, and a guy like Collin Gillespie or another shooting prospect would be worth a flyer with the 52nd pick.