Pelicans Draft Thoughts + Does Scoot Henderson Want To Be In New Orleans?

An attempt to figure out what the Pelicans may do at draft night based on current reports and intel

We are officially on draft day eve. The week has rapidly progressed and so have the rumors in the media sphere. One may find it difficult to wade through the flood of disinformation this time of year, and let me tell you - it doesn’t get any better when trying to parse information together behind the scenes. Based on many conversations with league personnel and those who are plugged in - here are my general thoughts regarding the Pelicans heading into draft night.

What Happens With Pick 14?

This time last year, there was growing consensus that the Pelicans had locked in on Dyson Daniels. There was still an opportunity for the draft board to play out in an unpredictable fashion, which would have left the Pelicans deciding between Ousmane Dieng or Jeremy Sochan, but the general idea of the Pelicans’ desires seemed pretty clear.

This year it is far more murky. The only name the Pelicans have been consistently tied to is Scoot Henderson, and we will get to that topic in a minute.

Rival teams seem to believe the door is open for New Orleans to trade out of 14 in either direction. Readers of this substack know that one of my favorite uses of 14 is to trade back with Brooklyn to acquire 21, 22 and a role player (Royce O’Neal). If not Brooklyn, I would be targeting teams with multiple picks in this draft and hoping to replenish some of the second round pick deficit created by the Devonte Graham trade. It is unclear who the Pelicans would target in a trade back situation, but if the Pelicans end up with multiple picks, I would assume one of them would be a significant upside play. Glancing at some projected mocks, some players who might fit the bill:

• GG Jackson

• Sidy Cissoko

• James Nnaji

• Leonard Miller

• Dariq Whitehead

As far as trading up goes - public reports and league officials alike agree that pick number 10 from Dallas is the most available, with the sense that Dallas might be looking to shed some salary. A look at Dallas’ long term salary obligations reveals that Tim Hardaway Jr., Davis Bertans, and Maxi Kleber might be the most available targets.

New Orleans has been linked to Hardaway Jr., in the past, and his shooting would indeed give the Pelicans a needed boost in bench scoring. Likewise, Kleber as a spacing big is another player who makes sense for the Pelicans as currently constructed. Kleber’s salary hit is quite mild - an amount lower than the projected non tax-payer Mid Level Exception. Where the Pelicans are concerned, Jonas Valanciunas is the most moveable salary piece and would certainly need to be involved in any trade for Hardaway Jr., but the Pelicans can reach the required salary to match Kleber via other means.

Current projected players available at 10:

• ESPN - Gradey Dick

• The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie - Bilal Coulibaly

• Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman - Bilal Coulibaly

Of these players, I am led to believe the Pelicans would be very satisfied if either of them were available at 14. It appears unlikely at this time that they will fall to the Pelicans, so the team will have to decide if they like them enough to trade to up.

Other players at 14 to watch if the Pelicans end up staying put (in no particular order):

• Dereck Lively II

• Jordan Hawkins

• Nick Smith

• Kobe Bufkin

One final note on Kobe Bufkin - multiple sources tell me Bufkin withdrew from Pelicans workouts last week on short notice, leading many to believe he may have a promise higher up.

The Latest On Scoot Henderson

A new report by Chris Haynes has set Pelicans’ twitter ablaze once again. Haynes mentions in a radio interview that Scoot Henderson would like to be in New Orleans. Additionally Haynes asserts that Zion Williamson has been made available.

As we head to the final hours of this song and dance, it is important to note that Haynes is well connected in Portland. My understanding based on multiple conversations is that Henderson does indeed view New Orleans as a good situation, however, that is about the extent of his “desire”. There does not appear to be any behind the scenes maneuvering from his camp to land him in any specific location.

Regarding Zion Williamson, I am still of the belief the Pelicans have not made any concrete offers on their star players. I do still believe that the guaranteed pathway to Henderson remains through Charlotte - who may simply prefer Ingram over Williamson. Any deal with Portland strikes me as something that would have to occur on the draft clock after Charlotte has committed to selecting Brandon Miller, and those deals by nature are difficult to swing even if frameworks have been discussed previously. As stated previously, I expect this to go down to the wire on Thursday night. I genuinely believe there are constructions that would incentivize the Pelicans to move either of Ingram or Williamson, but it appears unlikely they will be met.