New Orleans Pelicans: 3 NBA draft prospects that could fall to 13

1. Cole Anthony

After exploring all sorts of mock drafts following the lottery,  Cole Anthony appears to be the most probable to still be on the board at 13 out of the three players on this list. The consensus mock draft actually has Anthony going a pick after the Pelicans at 14 to the Boston Celtics. If the gifted guard is available, then it might be too intriguing of a prospect to turn down.

Coming out of high school, Anthony was one of the absolute top prospects in his class. However, following a shortened freshman season, which included a meniscus tear, a lot of mock drafts have him falling below the lottery-picks. There’s always going to be a scare when a team is investing its future in a player who’s had a tough injury before even beginning their professional career, but a lot of the time it’s worth the risk.

When on top of his game, Anthony is a scoring machine. He has terrific a shooting ability that will develop more at the next level. He also has tremendous athleticism that will help him as a scoring threat inside and is a dependable rebounder. To become an elite player in this league, he needs to be put into the right situation, and New Orleans would be a great match.

Anthony’s main weaknesses in college were his excessive turnovers, where he averaged 3.5 per game to just 4.0 assists per game. That isn’t going to cut it at the next level, but in New Orleans with Ball and Jrue Holiday alongside him in the backcourt, Anthony won’t be the one running things. He’ll have the freedom to become an effective off-ball threat.

Whether that’s spotting up or cutting to the cup, he won’t have to worry about being the leader offensively. He’s going to have to become better as a team-player, and he’d have the players around him in New Orleans to help this become a reality, while still being able to play his game and hopefully progressing with his ability to create shots for his teammates and become a good defender too.