With the Oklahoma City Thunder squeaking by a shorthanded Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of the NBA Finals, the 2024-25 season has officially concluded. That said, all of the teams that didn't make the championship series were technically in their offseasons already, including the New Orleans Pelicans.
Some teams have already taken advantage of their extra time while OKC and Indy were still duking it out. The San Antonio Spurs poached an assistant from their interstate rival's bench, hiring former Dallas Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney to be their associate head coach. The third team in Texas, the Houston Rockets, had a much bigger move in mind, sending Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, five second-round picks, and the 10th selection in this upcoming draft to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Kevin Durant.
The Pelicans began their offseason loudly, kicking off their new era by replacing David Griffin with new president of basketball operations Joe Dumars. The former Detroit Pistons executive has gotten busy since arriving in the Bayou, fleshing out his cabinet and making a move to acquire the 23rd-overall pick from Indiana to give himself two selections in the draft. While that late pick will give New Orleans another roll in the crapshoot, number seven gives them a much better chance at landing a legitimate game changer, especially if the draft plays out the way ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo predicted in their latest mock draft.
ESPN predicts the Pelicans scooping up Tre Johnson with the seventh pick in the 2025 NBA Draft
This incoming 2025 rookie class is thought to have several potential future All-Stars at the top of the draft. Outside of Duke's Cooper Flagg and Rutgers' Dylan Harper, though, there aren't many sure things. While the next group of players after those two prospects has ceilings nearly as high as Flagg and Harper, if not equally high, each of them has at least one glaring weakness that could keep them from stardom and cause them to tumble down the board.
In their latest mock draft, Givony and Woo predict a good amount of unexpected movement, with Texas's Tre Johnson falling to seven for the Pelicans. Baylor's V.J. Edgecombe and Rutgers' Ace Bailey — even after his controversial predraft process — going before Johnson wouldn't be too shocking, but seeing Duke's Kon Knueppel and Oklahoma's Jeremiah Fears vault over him into the top five was a bit surprising.
In the mock, Tre slipping to New Orleans is more a result of the Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, and Washington Wizards' respective preferences than a product of his shortcomings, but he's not a perfect prospect. Givony has Johnson fifth on his big board, knocking him for his shallow offensive bag and inconsistent defensive intensity:
"He's still figuring out how to score efficiently inside the arc, leaning heavily on his ability to make tough shots, while looking unengaged at times defensively. It raises questions about how he impacts winning on nights his jumper isn't falling."
Still, the Pelicans should be absolutely thrilled if he's available to them at seven, and they should have little hesitation in snatching him off the board there. Outside of Flagg and Harper, Johnson might be the player who can most immediately help New Orleans win next season.
For the Longhorns, he cashed in on 40.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot triples and 38.4 percent of his treyballs off the bounce for a 39.7 percent mark from beyond the arc overall. That perimeter proliferation will be an immediate boon for the Pelicans' offense and floor spacing, helping to prevent opposing defenders from collapsing in on Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, and New Orleans's other creators.
He can do more than just hit open threes, though. Johnson's also an elite athlete at nearly 6'5" with a wingspan over 6'10", a 37.5-inch vertical, and the quickest lane agility time in his class. Even if his handle and halfcourt offense don't come along right away, he should be able to do plenty of damage attacking desperate closeouts and as a transition finisher. His defensive effort might have waned at times at Texas, but when he was locked in, he could shadow ball-handlers with the best stoppers in the country, using his agility, length, and instincts to wall off would-be drivers.
If he can tighten his handle and take advantage of the increased spacing in the NBA to become as lethal a scorer inside the arc as outside, he could become the best player from the class. If Tre Johnson does end up slipping to seven, the New Orleans Pelicans should have no concerns about ending his slide.