Pelicans: 6 Targets With the 6th Pick in the 2016 NBA Draft
May 17, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry represents his team during the NBA draft lottery at New York Hilton Midtown. The Philadelphia 76ers received the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Pelicans officially have the 6th pick in the 2016 draft. How are they ranking the available options?
Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram are certain to be the first two picks in the draft, but after that the order of selection becomes relatively unpredictable.
European all-star Dragan Bender is valued slightly higher than the rest, but he could easily drop to 6th or 7th if teams get an “Andrea Bargniani” vibe from him during workouts.
Outside of Ingram and Simmons, no prospect can be ruled out.
Feb 20, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; LSU Tigers forward Ben Simmons (25) dribbles the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
That means the Pelicans front office is currently in the process of creating their own personal big board which will rank the order in which they value each possible option.
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If Simmons or Ingram are available at 6, they would obviously take either one. The question is which players are priorities or “draft targets” if you will, at #3, 4, 5, and 6.
Forgot which players are your own personal favorite, because I can almost guarantee you do NOT see eye to eye with the Pelicans’ front office.
Dell Demps is far more concerned with his own personal job security than the success of this team in 2019 or 2020.
That means he will either be taking a player who can contribute NOW, or taking a player he can trade away for a veteran.
A smart GM whose number one priority was long-term success would probably be more willing to place risk over reward and draft a younger player with a higher ceiling, but Demps is far more concerned with finding the safest option possible.
Simmons and Ingram #1 and #2 at the top of the list, but which players are targets #3, 4, 5, and 6?
Let’s take a quick look, starting with this young man……
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