When the eighth pick was announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, I’ll admit there were a few of us sitting together inside the Pelicans media draft room who were not ready to jump to our feet and start dancing.
Although the selection was made on behalf of Atlanta, everyone knew Jaxson Hayes was bound for New Orleans, thanks to the agreed upon trade hours earlier which flipped the Lakers 4th overall pick in a Pelicans package (including Solomon Hill, the 57th pick, and a future second rounder) to the Hawks for their 8th, 17th (via Brooklyn Nets) and 35th picks in the 2019 NBA Draft (as well as the Cavaliers protected 2020 first rounder).