On a preseason “In the NO” podcast, Michael McNamara had a very interesting take on the Pelicans’ draft. I’m paraphrasing here, but he said something to the extent of, “if this draft had happened before the college season started and you were told that the Pelicans had picked 6th and 33rd overall and came away with Buddy Hield and Cheick Diallo you would have thought Diallo was the 6th pick and Hield was the 33rd.”
This is one of many reasons why I believe we will soon include Diallo with Jordan Clarkson, Will Barton, and Nikola Jokic, as guys who aren’t stars but are quality impactful players who outplayed their draft status.