Draft Choice

[fullcourtpress]

These seem a bit contradictory to argue against one player because of a poor 3 point percentage, but then pull for another who had an even lower 3 point percentage because of his free throw shooting, when the first guy had a significantly better free throw percentage.

Fears' midrange ability isn't his best part of his game, but that ability is pretty solid already. He attacks the paint and draws fouls better than most guards that have come out the last few years. That's the strength. The ability to play off of that and get good shots from midrange and defenders are trying not to foul or are expecting him to get into the paint is the counterplay that strengthens his game. And that's the point. This part of his game is already developed. It shows he works tirelessly at his game, which in reality is what's going to make or break the 7th pick. The best player at that pick, barring injury, will be the one who has the best work ethic.

People here that don't like Fears clearly don't because they have Kira Lewis PTSD yet those two players have nothing in common in their game outside of their speed in the open court. Kira played too scared to attack the paint. His ACL injury early in his second season didn't do him any favors, but he was purely a developmental prospect. He even shot under 31% from midrange in college. And maybe most importantly of all, his handle wasn't anywhere close to Fears. So we're talking about someone who needed to improve his handles, improve his jump shooting, and improve his confidence to get into the paint. Add an ACL injury on top of that and no wonder he failed.

Likewise, Khaman is a massive developmental prospect. He has a poor understanding of the game at this stage and his hands are atrocious. Compare his hands to Sorber and it's night and day. Sorber catches even the worst passes with ease and turns those bad passes into decent positioning to get easy shots at the basket. The only concern I have for Sorber is his foot.

That being said, I doubt Fears is going to be there at 7. Assuming 3-5 Are some combination of VJ, Bailey, and Tre Johnson, then I'm expecting Washington to take Fears and flip him to Brooklyn, who badly needs a point guard. Washington can then get the guy they want at 8 as I don't think the guys they're looking at are necessarily overlapping with New Orleans.

Fears could very well be .... isiah thomas meets tony parker.

on the downside he could be Johnny Flynn meets kriss dunn


Personally i want

Tre Johnson
Egor or Fears at 7

[13 - 3]

Never forget Pelicans lost a coin toss that resulted in Kings getting Haliburton, Pels get Kira

Pels Life!

[clark griswald]

next pick was nesmith, also much better, and of course, Maxie

[fullcourtpress]

Back in the Hornets days i attended a "draft party" in the arena..... about thirty minutes in Robert Tractor Trailer came out, representing the players, and they announced that we have traded our draft picks for Courtney Alexander. What a buzzkill

[bradael]

Mostly posting this out of curiosity on how it might look 5+ years from now, but I've been looking around and seeing some random trade ideas thrown out there involving the Pels roster so this would be a potential scenario if Dumars came in and decided to blow it all up with a rebuild.

The Utah Jazz Locked On Podcast has suggested trading the #5 pick, Jordan Clarkson, and Collin Sexton for Zion Williamson, Jordan Hawkins, and the Milwaukee 2026 pick (it's a pick swap so maybe he meant the Pacers top 4 protected pick?). Just going to point out this trade basically mirrors what Seattle got from Boston for Ray Allen in 2007... the #5 pick which was used on Jeff Green and 2 players to match salary.

I've also seen several times the suggestion that the Sixers trade the #3 pick, Kelly Oubre, and Andre Drummond for Herb Jones and the #7 pick.

Those are all expiring deals coming back to the Pelicans totaling about $59m between the 4 players.

I still think a healthy Zion is far and away the best chance the Pels have in the near future of contending, but obviously we've never come close to seeing a healthy Zion to this point. So assuming the hypotheticals above, the Pels roster would be centered around Ace Bailey or VJ Edgecomb at the #3 pick, Tre Johnson or Jeremiah Fears at the #5 pick, and Trey Murphy / Yves Missi, along with probably their own high draft pick in 2026 since they'll likely stink it up in the 2025-26 season.

So I'd be curious a few years from now to see how that might look if the Pels went that route. In this scenario they'd also have almost their entire salary cap cleared out aside from Trey Murphy and Dejounte Murray and then these rookie picks. So they could consider then re-routing these expiring contracts for future picks from other teams like OKC has done in the past, or using their cap space in 2026-2027 to take on bad contracts for more future picks as they build around the new core.

[bradael]

Going by that. Here's a stupid idea of a massive six team trade that works financially:

Boston receives (-10.8m):
KCP ($21.6m +1 year)

Orlando receives (+0.1m):
Jrue Holiday ($32.4m +2 years)

Phoenix receives (+0.9m):
CJ McCollum ($30.6m expiring)
Jordan Clarkson ($14.2m expiring)
Wendell Carter Jr ($10.8m +3 years)

Philly receives (+3.0m not counting the difference in salary from the #3 to 7 pick, which is about $3m):
Kevin Durant ($54.7m expiring)
#7 pick from New Orleans

Utah receives (+6.0m not counting the salary of the #5 pick, which is about $8m):
Zion Williamson ($39.4m +2 more years remaining)

New Orleans receives (+0.9m before counting #3 & 5 picks minus #7, which is about $11m, so additional salary dump may need to happen):
Paul George ($51.7m +2 more years remaining)
Collin Sexton ($19.2m expiring)
#3 pick from Philly
#5 pick from Utah

So basically Boston saves $10.8m before additional tax penalties

Orlando gets a veteran two way guard in Jrue Holiday basically at the cost of Wendell Carter Jr (this might be the least likely team to do this trade aside from New Orleans)

Phoenix flips Durant's expiring for 2 smaller expiring contracts plus a decent contract/player in Wendell Carter

Philly gets off Paul George's contract and flips for a final year of Durant, for the cost of dropping from #3 to #7 in the draft.

Utah takes a wild swing at Zion for the cost of the #5 pick

New Orleans gets off the Zion ride and resets with the #3 and 5 picks in the draft at the cost of picking up Paul George's contract.

[fullcourtpress]

Egor Denim: elite size for position. best passer in the draft. highest upside of the picks we could make. can play off ball when/if Zion is running point. saved his best for last .
if we don't draft him Houston will
https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervie...711D&FORM=VIRE that three game stretch speaks for itself

i cant decide between Fears and Kneuppel

[Speakthetruth]

Egor Denim: elite size for position. best passer in the draft. highest upside of the picks we could make. can play off ball when/if Zion is running point. saved his best for last .
if we don't draft him Houston will
https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervie...711D&FORM=VIRE that three game stretch speaks for itself

i cant decide between Fears and Kneuppel

He can't play off ball until he learns to shoot

[msusousaphone]

If we keep the current makeup of our roster....I'm really pulling for Tre Johnson to fall to us. He keeps falling on boards so it may happen. Him or Maluach. That's my current wish list if no big trades happen.

BUT I think it's more likely we do make a trade. It's like if they keep the current roster intact then they should have just kept DG. Replacing DG with Dumars signals they don't like the makeup of the roster and I expect trades...I'm just too exhausted to predict those. I'll keep reading what y'all are coming up with.

[fullcourtpress]

He can't play off ball until he learns to shoot

I think he will be able to shoot. His shot and confidence looked great in the tournament and i hear its carried over well to workouts. His form looked great as well

[fullcourtpress]

If we keep the current makeup of our roster....I'm really pulling for Tre Johnson to fall to us. He keeps falling on boards so it may happen. Him or Maluach. That's my current wish list if no big trades happen.

BUT I think it's more likely we do make a trade. It's like if they keep the current roster intact then they should have just kept DG. Replacing DG with Dumars signals they don't like the makeup of the roster and I expect trades...I'm just too exhausted to predict those. I'll keep reading what y'all are coming up with.

Id love Tre as well! But Maluach.... why take a slow big that doesnt shoot in the lottery

[msusousaphone]

Id love Tre as well! But Maluach.... why take a slow big that doesnt shoot in the lottery

Well I start by admitting I think this is one of the scenarios that is less likely to occur because I just don't see them firing DG to keep his core together BUT if they did and then they drafted Maluach we would have the potential to have the best and deepest front court in the NBA within three years.

Maluach/Missi/Zion
Zion/TMIII/Herb
Herb/TMIII/Zion

That's a lot of versatility to play around with depending on matchups and assuming they all pan out to potential we would be able to play entire playoff series without weaknesses on the court for any minute.

Now yeah, as Dae and you pointed out, shooting is the main issue there but I do think Herb gets back to form and I also am not as sold on the theory that Zion has to be surrounded by at least three 3pt shooters at all times to be successful. The very rare times this team was healthy in the past Zion was all-pro level and the team was playing at championship contending levels without it.

So with that front court all you would need is to find starter level quality (not star level) at the guard spots that can shoot well. With that front court, they don't even need to be great at D....just average and our overall team D would be league leading. Guards that shoot well and play average D aren't hard to find. We'd be setting up nice. I don't think it happens, though. I think big trades are coming.

[msusousaphone]

It's like, I know that it's more likely we make a big trade but until we do, my brain loathes the idea of us drafting a forward. There's 96 minutes to be played between the 3 and the 4 and if it were a playoff scenario Zion, Herb, and TMIII would eat up all of those minutes and look good doing it.

So PGs, SGs, and Cs are all I can emotionally get behind.

Caveman Thats The Way I Think GIFfrom Caveman GIFs

[donato]

Supposedly Utah doesn't want to tank. Maybe you could trade Herb for #5. Then take Tre at 5 and I'd go with Egor Demin at 7. Punt a little on defense for now lolz. But that would be a really exciting team to watch potentially. By the end of the season:

Demin-Tre-Trey-Zion-Missi

Maybe that team doesn't make the playoffs this year, and that's ok. You get another good player or two next year in the draft too.

[fullcourtpress]

Well I start by admitting I think this is one of the scenarios that is less likely to occur because I just don't see them firing DG to keep his core together BUT if they did and then they drafted Maluach we would have the potential to have the best and deepest front court in the NBA within three years.

Maluach/Missi/Zion
Zion/TMIII/Herb
Herb/TMIII/Zion

That's a lot of versatility to play around with depending on matchups and assuming they all pan out to potential we would be able to play entire playoff series without weaknesses on the court for any minute.

Now yeah, as Dae and you pointed out, shooting is the main issue there but I do think Herb gets back to form and I also am not as sold on the theory that Zion has to be surrounded by at least three 3pt shooters at all times to be successful. The very rare times this team was healthy in the past Zion was all-pro level and the team was playing at championship contending levels without it.

So with that front court all you would need is to find starter level quality (not star level) at the guard spots that can shoot well. With that front court, they don't even need to be great at D....just average and our overall team D would be league leading. Guards that shoot well and play average D aren't hard to find. We'd be setting up nice. I don't think it happens, though. I think big trades are coming.

If zion isnt surrounded by three shooters that means we are playing with 3 non-shooters and nobody does that. whats rare here is our best player is a non-center who doesn't shoot. you just cant roll with 3 non-shooters in a line-up these days.

[msusousaphone]

See it's funny because that is accepted as law on internet forums and then when we saw the team healthy and dominating it was like....oh this is somehow working with only CJ and TMIII as the real 3pt sharp shooters.

So internet law states that Zion needs to be surrounded by at least three 3pt snipers. Historical data shows that two 3pt shooters and a mid range popper works great.

That's moot anyway because in my hypothetical scenario I envisioned Herb shooting at the clip he did two seasons ago..with him and TMIII at the 3 and I said we should only target guards who can hit the three...that would be three shooters playing with Zion, Missi, and Maluach at all times. I don't think it's needed but it does check the boxes of internet forums law.

[Blattman]

There's some rumors about Jakucionis having a promise since he left the combine in a hurry and has canceled his workouts. Given his draft range that would mean probably someone picking around the top 5.

Pelicans are one of the possibility, I hope not since you never know what can happen in the early part of the lottery, so I'm hopeful someone in the top5 made it and if another one fall in love with another prospect (Hornets with Maluach for example), my hope of drafting one of Tre or VJ is still alive.

[fullcourtpress]

There's some rumors about Jakucionis having a promise since he left the combine in a hurry and has canceled his workouts. Given his draft range that would mean probably someone picking around the top 5.

Pelicans are one of the possibility, I hope not since you never know what can happen in the early part of the lottery, so I'm hopeful someone in the top5 made it and if another one fall in love with another prospect (Hornets with Maluach for example), my hope of drafting one of Tre or VJ is still alive.

I hope not as well. Not /just to keep the dream of Tre Johnson or Edgecomb alive but also because I see Egor Demin as a better prospect than Jakucionis in about every single way. I say 'prospect' cause Jakucionis was superior to him in several categories last year, but I attribute that to it taking longer for someone with the size of Demin zero in on the coordination aspects or demands of being a lead guard. Demin is a better passer; hence he did ha dve more assists and less turnovers than Jakucionis. Although Jakcionis had more rebounds that wont be for long. Demin's physical profile will allow him to put a ton of pressure on the rim as well and play positionless basketball

[bradael]

Noa Essengue with 17 points and 9 boards in 21 minutes (5/9 shooting 2/3 from 3) in German League playoffs yesterday. Wonder if how he's been playing recently if he ends up going high in the lottery. Would be interesting if Washington ends up taking him at 6, potentially pushing Tre Johnson or Jeremiah Fears to 7.

[donato]

Noa Essengue with 17 points and 9 boards in 21 minutes (5/9 shooting 2/3 from 3) in German League playoffs yesterday. Wonder if how he's been playing recently if he ends up going high in the lottery. Would be interesting if Washington ends up taking him at 6, potentially pushing Tre Johnson or Jeremiah Fears to 7.

He's super intriguing I agree! A lot of people have been talking about how high his upside is.