With the NBA draft just under three weeks away, the Pelicans have the 7th overall pick. This is an excellent opportunity to draft a young player with serious talent and potential. History suggests picking 7th is a good spot to be in. Over the last 10 years, we've seen quality starters and All-Star calibre players get drafted at that spot, like Shadeon Sharpe in 2022, Coby White in 2019, Lauri Markkanen in 2017 and even Jamal Murray in 2016.
But when we also look at draft history, we see the value of second-round picks. In 2023, we saw Toumani Camara taken 52nd overall, Andrew Nembhard taken 31st in 2022, and Herb Jones taken 35th in 2021. All three of these guys are high-impact, key players in the NBA. The Pelicans scouting team has done a good job identifying second-round talent, but they may not have the chance to in the 2025 draft because they are without a 2nd selection.
The argument for acquiring a day 2 selection
The front office should trust their scouts to hit it out of the park if their track record means anything. Last year, they brought in Antonio Reeves, 47th overall, who was one of the most underrated rookies this past season. He is a three-and-D shooting guard and is on his way to a lengthy NBA career. In his 44 games last season, he averaged 6.9 points and shot 39.5% from 3 on 2.9 attempts a night.
Outside of Reeves, Herb Jones is the obvious second-round homerun for the Pels. He wasn't really on anyone's radar except the Pels. They took him 35th overall in 2021, and since then, Herb has become a top-five defender in the NBA. He is credited for his versatility, as he can truly guard every position and was rewarded in 2023-24 with All-Defensive honors.
With the second apron becoming increasingly threatening, it is crucial to have quality players on rookie contracts, and they are even more valuable if they are on second-round pick contracts. The Pelicans are already paying four guys above 28 million, and continuing to pay them will put New Orleans in a bad spot. Acquiring a second-round pick would give the Pels a chance to lean on their scouts once again to nail another day 2 pick.
Another reason the Pelicans should strongly consider picking up the phone and hunting for a second-round pick is that the NBA Draft is now two days long. This would give their scouting department a whole extra day to really deep-dive and prepare to ensure they are drafting the right guy and getting the most value out of the pick.
My final argument for why going and getting a second-rounder would be valuable is that this year's draft class is not top-heavy but extremely deep. Guys like Maxime Raymond, who is coming out of Stanford, is a mature prospect at 22 years old. He stands at 7'1" and projects to be a mobile stretch five at the NBA level, and in any other class, he probably would be a consensus top-20 pick. Raymond is one example of the type of talent deep in this year's draft.