How good is the New Orleans Pelicans’ draft pick?

It’s official. The New Orleans Pelicans own the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. That became official after yesterday’s draft lottery.

So, now that this information is now public knowledge, the question now becomes: what should they do with it?

Well, the good news there is that we already provided some insight on potential candidates in this post right here, so check that out after you are done reading through this one.

The other question one might ask in this situation (the one this post seeks to shine some light on) is just how valuable is the 14th pick in the draft usually? To figure this out, let’s look at the last ten players selected with the 14th overall pick:

It is worth mentioning that the more recent selections are still young and maturing into the players they will be during their prime years. But even with that caveat in mind, of the last ten 14th overall picks, only Bam Adebayo has been selected to an All-Star game thus far.

That’s not to say that none of these guys have become solid NBA contributors. Cam Payne, TJ Warren, and Moses Moody all got playoff minutes during the conference semifinals. Even better, Michael Porter Jr. is starting games in the Western Conference Finals for the Denver Nuggets.

Ochai Agbaji and Aaron Nesmith were not on teams that made the playoffs, but had they been, they also likely would have gotten some run in the postseason. We’re not saying these aren’t good NBA players, but it is fair to say that landing All-Star caliber performers at this spot is rare.

However, that should not cause Pelicans’ fans to sulk. We don’t necessarily need to add an All-Star with this pick (although it would be nice). We have our All-Stars in Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram (and maybe someday in Trey Murphy III).

What we need is a role player who can play alongside these stars while also filling in some of this roster’s current weaknesses (shooting, rim protection, and rim pressure). That is definitely attainable with the 14th overall pick.