The options are somewhat endless with the Pelicans slotted to draft 7th overall in the 2025 NBA draft. Some suggest drafting Kon Knueppel, who is viewed as a safe, low-risk, high-reward pick. Others believe the team should swing on the highest upside guy possible, banking on them turning into a star. Many also think the Pels would benefit from trading the pick to acquire more win-now players.
With Joe Dumars now in charge and commanding the ship, it's not clear what direction he plans to take, but one path should stand tall above the rest: drafting the franchise's next lead guard. Enter Jeremiah Fears.
The Point Guard of the future
Jeremiah Fears is a freshman guard out of Oklahoma who has shown he can run an offense and be a system. Fears averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists this season and is a crafty, creative, incredible scorer who is also a tough shot taker and maker. This past year, Fears showed how much of a big-game player he is in the NCAA Tournament. He led Oklahoma to a top-nine seed, where they matched up with the UConn Huskies. Although they came up short, Fear was phenomenal.
He hit timely shots, putting the team on his back, and finished the game with 20 points, five rebounds, and four assists. His ability to score at all three levels was on full display in that game. Whether it was driving and attacking the basket through traffic, knocking down tough three-pointers, making the Huskies pay when they play drop coverage, and even making them pay when fouling him, as Fears went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line.
In terms of playmaking, Fears does really need to work on making the right read, as his 3.4 turnovers per game are definitely a cause for concern. But to his defense, when you are the entire offense and the only player teams are really focused on game planning for, it is very easy to get jammed up when trying to run an offense.
Another big draw to drafting Fears is the fact that the Pelicans will be without Dejounte Murray to start the season. Murray suffered a season-ending injury at the end of January against Boston, which will sideline him to start the 2025-26 campaign. Murray has already had his fair share of injuries, including tearing his right ACL in 2018, so it'll be interesting to see if he can bounce back.
Drafting Fears could help the Pels get ahead of the curve by having their point guard of the future and providing a fallback plan if Murray doesn't return as the same player.