2022 NBA Draft Grades for all 15 teams in the Western Conference

2022 NBA Draft Grades for the Western Conference: New Orleans Pelicans

Picks: Dyson Daniels, Guard, G League Ignite (8); E.J. Liddell, Big, Ohio State (41); Karlo Matkovic, Center, Mega (52)

The New Orleans Pelicans had a strong end to the season, crashing the playoffs out of the Play-In Tournament and giving the top-seeded Phoenix Suns a run for their money. They don’t have a glaring weakness on the roster, going two deep at every position, so they had the luxury of drafting the player they liked the most irrespective of position.

They went after a talented one in Dyson Daniels, an Australian guard who played for the G League Ignite last season. He is 6’7″ with a 7′ wingspan, and pairs the draft’s best backcourt defense with high-level playmaking.

Daniels needs to improve as a scorer and shooter, but the Pelicans could use another backcourt player and they have players in Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram to deal with the on-ball creation. This was a luxury pick, and the Pelicans got an excellent prize in Daniels.

After seeing Daniels fall into place at 8, things worked out even more beautifully in the second. E.J. Liddell, 13th on my board and top-25 on nearly every public board, fell all the way to pick No. 41 and gifted the Pelicans with a versatile defender with incredible basketball IQ and a solid enough offensive game to be a really valuable role player. The Pelicans are going to be impossibly deep next season.

In light of that roster crunch, they used the 52nd pick on a major project center draft-and-stash in Karlo Matkovic, a player unlikely to ever see the light of the NBA. He has good athleticism as a bouncy big with a decent amount of touch, but he’s shaky on defense and doesn’t have much range. Perhaps he puts it together and makes his way over, but he is 21 and ranked outside the Top-70 on most draft boards.

Grade: A+