The New Orleans Pelicans own the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and they didn’t forget to remind them prior to Tuesday night’s draft lottery.
Wishing our friends at the Lakers the best of luck in the NBA Draft Lottery tonight! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/sr7Yq0g3nL
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 17, 2022
The Pelicans acquired the pick in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers and rising star Brandon Ingram to the Pelicans.
Since the Lakers missed the playoffs in the 2021-22 season, the Pelicans have a chance at the No. 1 pick in the draft. According to Tankathon, the Lakers’ pick that is going to New Orleans has a 6.0 percent chance of being the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The Pelicans were one of the more surprising teams in the 2021-22 season, as they rebounded from an awful start to eventually make the playoffs.
New Orleans won play-in tournament games against the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers to face the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs.
While the Pelicans lost to the Suns in six games, they showed that they are ready to contend with Ingram and C.J. McCollum on the roster. It is even more impressive that the Pelicans made the postseason considering the fact that superstar Zion Williamson missed the entire season with a foot injury.
The Pelicans are hoping for some luck in the lottery to add another top-tier player to their roster. The Lakers, on the other hand, will have to get creative in free agency and the trade market to improve their roster this coming offseason.
The 2022 NBA Draft Lottery is set to take place at 8 p.m. EST on Tuesday night.
