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The NBA Draft Combine is just two weeks away. The Draft Lottery, where the New Orleans Pelicans will learn exactly where they are drafting, is in less than three. The fate of the Pelicans, and a future running mate for Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, could be decided by the lucky bounce of a ping pong ball. Such is the tortured nature of rooting for a team outside the playoffs.
Big boards exist in many forms for the draft. Many are a pure ranking of prospects and their potential success in the NBA. However, others, are specific to the needs of a franchise. There is a reasonable case to be made that the Pelicans should select the best player available (BPA) regardless of position. After all, this roster could change dramatically during the next four or five seasons.
Our board here is based on the Pelicans. Some writers focused specifically on the needs of New Orleans more than others. I'm sure they will explain in the comments. Overall the tenor of the board is very Pelicans specific; Ben Simmons (PF) is the only big man in the top eight of the composite.
| Zachary | Fernando | Oleh | Isaac | Quentin | Joseph | Owen | David | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Ingram | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 76 |
| Ben Simmons | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 75 |
| Jamal Murray | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 54 |
| Buddy Hield | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 53 |
| Jaylen Brown | 4 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 33 | ||
| Kris Dunn | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 32 | |
| Timothe Luwawu | 5 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 5 | 25 | ||
| Denzel Valentine | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 23 | |
| Dragan Bender | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 20 | |||
| Jakob Poeltl | 7 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 19 | |||
| Domantas Sabonis | 9 | 8 | 7 | 9 | |||||
| Marquese Chriss | 6 | 7 | 9 | ||||||
| Malik Beasley | 8 | 8 | 6 | ||||||
| Ivan Rabb | 8 | 3 | |||||||
| Tyler Ulis | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| Taurean Prince | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| Henry Ellenson | 10 | 1 | |||||||
| Wade Baldwin | 10 | 1 |
I was surprised that Brandon Ingram ranked ahead of Ben Simmons. Jamal Murray and Buddy Hield nearly tying at third is not nearly as surprising. Timothe Luwawu and Denzel Valentine rank much higher on our board here than they do on national mock drafts. That's probably a product of the gaping hole on the wing in New Orleans since Jamal Mashburn manned the small forward position.
We'll sit down to discuss these results thisweekend as a staff. For now, we leave the floor to you. Where did we go right? Which prospects are we overrating? Underrating?