New Orleans Pelicans: 5 compelling first-round draft targets

New Orleans Pelicans (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

4. Tyrese Maxey

Most mock drafts have Tyrese Maxey going after 13, so there’s a big chance the Kentucky Wildcat is an option that the Pelicans consider strongly. Maxey is another departing freshman who enjoyed a good season in Lexington. He’s a guard who can play both spots, but his game would likely translate better to being a shooting guard at the NBA level.

Maxey is a player who can score at will and with efficiency. He averaged 14 points per game in college, but he was on one of the better teams in the nation. He plays the game at a good pace and isn’t afraid to take his shot – a character who would slot in alongside someone like Lonzo Ball in the backcourt very nicely. The thinking here is that he backs up Jrue Holiday and gets his reps in as he comes along.

The one clear problem from his time at Kentucky was his long-range shooting. Maxey averaged 29.8 percent from beyond the arc in college and it’s something that he’s going to need to pick up wherever he ends up. His true strengths come in with wing play and his slashing ability, which is something that the pelicans don’t have all that much of outside of Brandon Ingram.

He’s a project player who definitely has enough upside making him worthy of a late lottery pick. It’s just a question of him landing in the right spot and with veterans like Holiday and J.J. Redick playing the same position as he does, New Orleans is a place which will only be good for him coming along as a professional basketball player.