Who should become the first person to be drafted to the pelicans?

[BallSoHard]

It's the same one or two people who "accidentally" seem to do it constantly.

I don't think this is aimed at me? But not sure

[HornetGuru]

hope we can get bazz or noel!!!!!!!!!
bazz would give us a scoring SF or put him at SG if we move gordon
noel would give us two 7ft athletic bigs who can block anything have crazy verticals and are as long as giraffes

[bojangles837]

hope we can get bazz or noel!!!!!!!!!
bazz would give us a scoring SF or put him at SG if we move gordon
noel would give us two 7ft athletic bigs who can block anything have crazy verticals and are as long as giraffes

We're probably going to be picking 7-8. Not happening. Burke and Robinson are 2 realistic options.

[HornetGuru]

We're probably going to be picking 7-8. Not happening. Burke and Robinson are 2 realistic options.

we went from 3 to 6 in a week, we can go from 6 to 3 in a week, plus its a lottery, u never know, if u did there would be no point in a lottery.

[NOLa.]

I don't know, those Eastern teams are taking tanking to a whole new shameful low.

[luckyman]

We're probably going to be picking 7-8. Not happening. Burke and Robinson are 2 realistic options.

Burke or Robinson? I got time for dat.

[Purple Haze]

I don't think this is aimed at me? But not sure

Good lord no

[Purple Haze]

Burke or Robinson? I got time for dat.

IN IN IN. And no one can sling "overdraft" on that. Not that it matters, but that stuff is so annoying.

[donato]

nbadraft.net just posted their new mock today. Pretty interesting. I'm warming up a bit to the idea of Len, although I'm not sold on taking him over Oladipo. I am sure people on this board will go nuts over passing on Shabazz. I'm not sure how/why they have some of these players going to teams like they do (Portland would draft another PG?) but who knows. I guess they're taking a very BPA approach.

http://nbadraft.net/2013mock_draft

I am just posting the top 12 here, click the link for the complete mock:

1
*Charlotte
Ben McLemore
6-5
195
SG
Kansas
Fr.

2
Orlando
Nerlens Noel
6-11
225
PF/C
Kentucky
Fr.

3
Cleveland
Marcus Smart
6-4
225
PG
Oklahoma State
Fr.

4
Phoenix
Otto Porter
6-8
205
SF
Georgetown
So.

5
*Detroit
Anthony Bennett
6-7
240
SF/PF
UNLV
Fr.

6
*Sacramento
Cody Zeller
6-11
240
PF/C
Indiana
So.

7
New Orleans
Alex Len
7-1
255
C
Maryland
So.

8
Washington
Victor Oladipo
6-4
215
SG/SF
Indiana
Jr.

9
*Oklahoma Cty
Shabazz Muhammad
6-6
225
SF
UCLA
Fr.

10
Minnesota
CJ McCollum
6-3
190
PG/SG
Lehigh
Sr.

11
*Philadelphia
Kelly Olynyk
7-0
240
PF/C
Gonzaga
Jr.

12
*Portland
Trey Burke
6-0
190
PG
Michigan
So.

[Pelicans_fan_504]

No way we take Len, and why would Cleveland draft Smart?

[Pelicans_fan_504]

I just took another look at the draft no way we would let Buzz go to OKC, he would be James Harden lite

[BallSoHard]

I can't imagine why Cleveland would take smart.

[RUFshreve]

I can't imagine why Cleveland would take smart.

That's what I was thinking. Otto Porter would make much for sense for them in that scenario.

[JJackisangry]

I can't imagine why Cleveland would take smart.

I guess hes BPA but yeah that seems 'Stupid.' Feel free to bust my balls for the lame joke.

[msw2024]

I don't see bazz getting picked that late

[bojangles837]

That's what I was thinking. Otto Porter would make much for sense for them in that scenario.

Irving. Waiters. Porter. Thompson. Varajao... That's one hell of a core.

[Inner_GI]

I would kick a baby if OKC ended up with Shabazz. lol

jk... but maybe not...

[Eman5805]

Don't care a thing for Len. Him. Noel. Zeller. The guy from Gonzaga. Just not feelin' 'em.

I'd rather take Anthony Bennett.

[Topdawg26]

I would like to get Smart as a big time PG. Or trade back and get Larkin and either Tim Hardaway Jr or Big Dawg III. That would give us a really good PG and a nice scoring wing.

[hornetstime247]

lol Oklahoma City getting Shabazz.

Shabazz + Lamb +Jones waiting in the wing! Ridiculous... the Bobcats would probably trade their entire team for the Thunders D-league team.

[nolaslim213]

So someone PMd me asking for my top-7, and I'll just post it here:

1) Ben McLemore - Great tools, great athleticism, great shot, but he needs to be more aggressive. I think that was a product of him playing with a lot of seniors, so he deferred to them all season. He needs to be more selfish in the NBA, but he has serious talent. He's 21 though...

2) Nerlens Noel - Love his athleticism and potential do be a dominant defender/rebounder. He can finish around the rim in traffic, so he has really good PnR potential. Tore his ACL towards the mid-end of the season, so he could drop. I would love to get him at #4 overall if that's where we pick.

3) Shabazz Muhammad - A lot of people are down on him right now, but I'm not sure why. He has really good defensive potential, and he can score in every way possible. People say he is Melo-esque in that he can score in all facets of the game. People say he is a little undersized for the SF, but I call BS. The kid is 6'6, 220 with a 7-foot wingspan. He is a ruthless attacker, and he has that killer instinct, which I love. Fierce competitor, needs to be more efficient.

4) Marcus Smart - Very D-Wade-esque. Fills up the stat sheet, can't shoot the 3, good court vision. He's really strong and a tenacious defender. He'd play PG for us, but he is a combo guard and can play either like Wade. I like him, but his lack of a shot worries me. That can be worked on, though, and he has a rep for a good work ethic.

5) Tie between Porter and Oladipo.

5a) Otto Porter - He can't really create for himself too much, but he is the perfect role player. He can hit the 3, make the pass to the open player, rebound, defend, and he has a great basketball I.Q. He is sort of a poor man's Paul George if you want to look at it like that. Not as athletic as George, but Porter basically carried Georgetown all year (Georgetown had NO talent this year) and led them to the #2 seed. I'd be very happy with him.

5b) Victor Oladipo - Kid is Russell Westbrook athletic, and he is an even better defender/rebounder. He hits the 3 at over 40%, and he has a great passion for the game. Good overall basketball I.Q., and he improved each year he was in college (Junior this year). He is a SG, though, and we need a SF, and I'm not totally convinced he'd be able to play SF full time at only 6'4. He is strong and athletic, but that's still short. He'd be higher for me if I knew he could play SF.

7) Trey Burke - This guy reminds me a lot of Chris Paul, and that's easy to say because he is only 6'0, but he is a true floor general and leader. He has great court vision, and he is a real good defender. He can hit the 3, and he has a great basketball I.Q. Supposedly, he is the fiercest competitor the Michigan HC has ever seen. He gets pissed in practice when he loses a drill. I like that a lot.

8) Anthony Bennett - Offensively skilled PF, slightly undersized, but he has the strength to compensate. My main problem with him is that he really just doesn't even try defensively, and I hate that. He's going to put up big numbers in the league, but he's going to give up big numbers too. If he was a defender as well, he'd probably be in my top-5.

I'm not a big fan of Zeller and Alex Len. They have limited ceilings (especially Zeller), and they just never wowed me. Len isn't nearly aggressive enough for a 7-footer, and Zeller isn't long enough to be an NBA center IMO. Very short wingspan, and he didn't progress at all from his rookie season.

[Spec3333]

Burke or bust!

[Shelbywmccarty]

I really want
Smart
Oladipo
Porter
Burke

[Pelicans_fan_504]

So someone PMd me asking for my top-7, and I'll just post it here:

1) Ben McLemore - Great tools, great athleticism, great shot, but he needs to be more aggressive. I think that was a product of him playing with a lot of seniors, so he deferred to them all season. He needs to be more selfish in the NBA, but he has serious talent. He's 21 though...

2) Nerlens Noel - Love his athleticism and potential do be a dominant defender/rebounder. He can finish around the rim in traffic, so he has really good PnR potential. Tore his ACL towards the mid-end of the season, so he could drop. I would love to get him at #4 overall if that's where we pick.

3) Shabazz Muhammad - A lot of people are down on him right now, but I'm not sure why. He has really good defensive potential, and he can score in every way possible. People say he is Melo-esque in that he can score in all facets of the game. People say he is a little undersized for the SF, but I call BS. The kid is 6'6, 220 with a 7-foot wingspan. He is a ruthless attacker, and he has that killer instinct, which I love. Fierce competitor, needs to be more efficient.

4) Marcus Smart - Very D-Wade-esque. Fills up the stat sheet, can't shoot the 3, good court vision. He's really strong and a tenacious defender. He'd play PG for us, but he is a combo guard and can play either like Wade. I like him, but his lack of a shot worries me. That can be worked on, though, and he has a rep for a good work ethic.

5) Tie between Porter and Oladipo.

5a) Otto Porter - He can't really create for himself too much, but he is the perfect role player. He can hit the 3, make the pass to the open player, rebound, defend, and he has a great basketball I.Q. He is sort of a poor man's Paul George if you want to look at it like that. Not as athletic as George, but Porter basically carried Georgetown all year (Georgetown had NO talent this year) and led them to the #2 seed. I'd be very happy with him.

5b) Victor Oladipo - Kid is Russell Westbrook athletic, and he is an even better defender/rebounder. He hits the 3 at over 40%, and he has a great passion for the game. Good overall basketball I.Q., and he improved each year he was in college (Junior this year). He is a SG, though, and we need a SF, and I'm not totally convinced he'd be able to play SF full time at only 6'4. He is strong and athletic, but that's still short. He'd be higher for me if I knew he could play SF.

7) Trey Burke - This guy reminds me a lot of Chris Paul, and that's easy to say because he is only 6'0, but he is a true floor general and leader. He has great court vision, and he is a real good defender. He can hit the 3, and he has a great basketball I.Q. Supposedly, he is the fiercest competitor the Michigan HC has ever seen. He gets pissed in practice when he loses a drill. I like that a lot.

8) Anthony Bennett - Offensively skilled PF, slightly undersized, but he has the strength to compensate. My main problem with him is that he really just doesn't even try defensively, and I hate that. He's going to put up big numbers in the league, but he's going to give up big numbers too. If he was a defender as well, he'd probably be in my top-5.

I'm not a big fan of Zeller and Alex Len. They have limited ceilings (especially Zeller), and they just never wowed me. Len isn't nearly aggressive enough for a 7-footer, and Zeller isn't long enough to be an NBA center IMO. Very short wingspan, and he didn't progress at all from his rookie season.

This is the same way I feel, I would to get Noel just think we would have him and AD in there prime

[UNO Gracias]

I wouldn't mind drafting Burke or Bennett. Bennett seems like a guy who gets it. If we do move AD to the 5 you could have Bennett play the 4 and have a very strong athletic front court. He plays bigger than he is, and is aware of who he is and doesn't play outside of himself.

Burke would give us a quick pg, with vision to hit open men (something GV just can't) before they get open. Even in the tourney games where he "hasn't shown up" he is avg. 12/7/1. Most of us would take that from our current pg group right now. In that SDSU game he shut down the #1 scorer in the country, and against VCU he came away with a couple of steals, and got to the rim when he wanted.