Analyzing Pelicans' Strategy in the NBA Draft Trade

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00:00we're going to start in new orleans because with so much going on on the draft and we want to make

00:07sure that we can assign you know appropriate coverage to each individual selection i don't

00:13think any of us really had the time to discuss if even not the time enough to digest the pelicans

00:19decision to trade their 2026 pick unprotected to the atlanta hawks again the recap of it is new

00:28orleans at pick seven drafted jeremiah fears a player they were linked to initially some thought

00:34would go fifth overall to utah but the closing odds suggested they were going to draft derrick queen

00:40a player they seemingly really really valued queen available at 13 and for the pelicans they didn't

00:49want to pass up the chance to get both of these guys who by the way very well could have been

00:56two of the top five guys on their board i think that is absolutely possible even if not how i saw it

01:03i don't believe jy had either guy in his top five but i think that's totally possible to go from 23 to

01:0913 they send out next year's unprotected first it is the best of either their own pick or milwaukee's

01:18pick that added little nugget makes it that much more stressful to where if the honest situation

01:24pivots and the bucks don't have janice this team could have traded away a top three pick in next

01:32year's draft with three players at the head of that draft that many people believe at minimum all would

01:40have gone second correct in this year's draft so the pelicans have been getting crushed for days now

01:50to this decision i'm going to go to you first tom what do you think of new orleans going up 10 spots

01:57to get a guy they really liked and putting out next year's first in the process i'm not going to

02:04take any that's there any different than anyone else i think if you look at the players they drafted

02:09you could be like okay you guys got fears you guys got queen bring queen to the smoothie king arena

02:14right you have that combo if you look at it at face value which is extremely tough to do you got

02:20players yep that are going to play this year and can contribute albeit on a team that's probably not

02:26going to be very good that's great and again if these guys are top five top seven in their draft

02:33on their draft board awesome when you add in that wrinkle you i can't get there it's just like

02:40like we're waiting for that other shoe to drop and it's just like next year's pick is on the we

02:45lost next year's pick i think it's an abject failure to do so despite the fact that you got two

02:52really good to great players so coach if you look at them saying like fears and queen are going to

02:57slot in they're gonna play murray's out zion can't stay healthy we have guys that are going to contribute

03:01this season that is awesome for our team awesome for our fan base but knowing what they passed up

03:06it's like it's all for what it's all for they better make the playoffs i mean they they better

03:11make the playoffs and they and they just fired david griffin and just brought a new gm so they

03:15they're going to make they have to make the playoffs like obviously you got to be concerned

03:18with when the john day murray comes back but if you really not next year at all right right so if you

03:23take david singe out of it if you close your eyes and say that yourself okay fears pool

03:29trey murphy zion eve missy jordan hawkins bruce brown herbert jones derrick queen alvarado top 10.

03:39you're like that's sneaky deep that's sneaky good yeah