New Orleans Pelicans

There were a handful of teams that I expected to make a potential playoff push this season after missing the postseason in 2019-20. One of those teams was the New Orleans Pelicans, who hired Stan Van Gundy prior to the 2020-21 campaign. Van Gundy inherited a team that featured Zion Williamson in his second year, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Eric Bledsoe, and Steven Adams.

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Instead of coming close to the playoffs, the Pelicans concluded the year with a 31-41 record, which was good enough for 11th in the Western Conference. While Williamson, Ingram, and Ball showed signs of growth, the roster definitely needs to be tweaked this offseason. Also, Ball is a restricted free agent this summer, and it remains to be seen if New Orleans retains him.

With a possible need at point guard, the Pelicans have been constantly connected to Davion Mitchell in the pre-draft process. That being said, Mitchell’s stock continues to rise in the weeks leading up to the draft, and New Orleans is projected to have the 10th overall pick.

If the Pelicans want to have a chance to make Davion Mitchell their point guard of the future, they may need to move up a couple of spots, possibly ahead of a team like the Orlando Magic.