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[Updated: Added Chad Ford's 3.0 Mock Draft thanks to a certain podcast many of you may listen to as Pelicans fans. -Fish]
Mock Drafting this time of year is incredibly popular. The NBA Combine has concluded and now the exact order of the lottery has been determined. For those of you possibly living under a rock, luck was not in the Pelicans' favor. The first pick of the New Orleans Pelicans era will be the 6th selection in the 2013 NBA Draft, to be held at the Barclays Center on June 27th. Time, in the case of the numerous sports reporters, is of the essence. I have quickly created a table of ten different mock drafts.
| Cleveland Cavaliers | Orlando Magic | Washington Wizards | Charlotte Bobcats | Phoenix Suns | New Orleans Pelicans | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft Express | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Anthony Bennett | Victor Oladipo | Otto Porter | Alex Len |
| Jeff Goodman - CBS | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Anthony Bennett | Alex Len | Victor Oladipo | Trey Burke |
| Matt Moore - CBS | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Otto Porter | Anthony Bennett | Victor Oladipo | Trey Burke |
| Chris Mannix - SI | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Otto Porter | Victor Oladipo | Anthony Bennett | Trey Burke |
| Steve Kyler - Hoopsworld | Otto Porter | Ben McLemore | Nerlens Noel | Victor Oladipo | Anthony Bennett | Trey Burke |
| WalterFootball.com | Otto Porter | Nerlens Noel | Anthony Bennett | Ben McLemore | Victor Oladipo | Trey Burke |
| NBADraft.net | Ben McLemore | Nerlens Noel | Otto Porter | Victor Oladipo | Anthony Bennett | Trey Burke |
| NBA.com | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Otto Porter | Victor Oladipo | Anthony Bennett | Trey Burke |
| Jonathan Tjarks - SBNation | Nerlens Noel | Ben McLemore | Otto Porter | Anthony Bennett | Alex Len | Trey Burke |
| Chad Ford - ESPN | Nerlens Noel | Trey Burke | Otto Porter | Ben McLemore | Victor Oladipo | Alex Len |
It is overwhelmingly obvious that the most agreed upon selection is Trey Burke to New Orleans. More so even than Cleveland's #1 overall pick. I personally have a difficult time seeing any team ahead of the Pelicans selecting Alex Len, but Anthony Bennett seems more realistic. Note that in every single scenario Trey Burke is available (except Chad Ford), Draft Express has the Pelicans passing on Burke for Alex Len. No thank you. Something about seven footers with broken feet or ankles scares me off.
Thanks to all these mock drafts I am becoming significantly more confident in the upcoming draft. The only potential damper would be if the Pelicans wasted a lottery pick last year on a potential point guard and have become too emotionally invested to cut bait.
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