New Orleans Pelicans: 5 options for pick No. 40 in 2017 NBA Draft

The New Orleans Pelicans made a splash at the trade deadline, but it came at a cost. One way to recoup part of the depth they lost is through the 2017 NBA Draft.

The 2017 All-Star Game was a drab affair, in all honesty.

While the guys participating played the opposite of defense for 48 minutes, and the final score read A lot to A bit less than that, most basketball fans were paying attention to something else.

As the contest was ongoing, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical began to leak news of a potential DeMarcus Cousins deal in the works.

After what felt like hours of speculation on which team the superstar big man would get traded to, we finally received word.

The New Orleans Pelicans pulled off one of the biggest trade stunners of all time by acquiring Cousins. To that point, the former Kentucky Wildcat had three All-Star appearances under his belt, as well as two Second Team All-NBA selections. Simply put, acquiring him to play next to Anthony Davis was a heist — even if it did come at a bit of a cost.

In the deal to land Boogie, New Orleans gave up its 2017 first round draft pick (top-three protected), Buddy Hield and Tyreke Evans, among other assets. Overall, a decent haul for the Sacramento Kings — and one that left the Pelicans sorely lacking on the wing.

Nevertheless, they will have multiple chances to address that need — the first coming on June 22.

Though the franchise from the Bayou only has one pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, No. 40 overall, this is considered one of the deeper classes ever. Even at that spot, they should be able to acquire depth on the wing to aid their two frontcourt behemoths.

Honorable mentions:  Sindarius Thornwell (great as an undrafted free agent type), Alec Peters (more pressing needs than power forward), Thomas Bryant (likely gone by the 40th pick)