Mar 17, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) reacts during the first half against the Detroit Pistons at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

New Report on Pelicans Looking to Trade Up in NBA Draft

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated Jun 16, 2025 5:08 PM ET

The NBA Draft is nine days away, and the New Orleans Pelicans currently only hold the 7th overall pick. They fell in the Lottery from the 4th pick, a place the Pelicans would've preferred.

Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper are the consensus top two players in this class, both of whom would've been the top prospect in last year's draft. The collection of prospects after that, like Rutgers' Ace Bailey, Texas' Tre Johnson, Duke's Kon Knueppel, and Baylor's VJ Edgecombe, have differing opinions, but teams remain high on those players.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

After that group, opinions don't seem as high on the rest of the class. So, if it's seen as a six-person draft, at best, and the Pelicans have the 7th pick, they may need to make some moves to get a player they really want.

The Philadelphia 76ers appear open for business with their 3rd overall pick, and according to Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, the Pelicans held extensive conversations about a possible trade.

The 76ers have fielded calls from multiple teams inquiring about the 3rd pick.

One of the teams who spoke at length with the 76ers was the Pelicans, sources told @ClutchPoints.

The sense is that the Pelicans are only looking to move up from No. 7 and not down. https://t.co/j6lCX6kJ6I
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) June 16, 2025

"Since receiving the third pick via the NBA Draft Lottery, Philadelphia has fielded countless calls from teams looking to move up in this year's draft, league sources told ClutchPoints. One of the teams who spoke at length with the 76ers was the New Orleans Pelicans," Siegel reported.

"When asking around the league about New Orleans' draft plans, the consensus is that the Pelicans are only looking to move up and won't leverage their seventh pick for future assets."

The Pelicans have plenty of players who would be valuable to other teams, like Herb Jones and Trey Murphy III, but if they don't want to put those players on the table for a four-spot trade-up, they have a pick from the Indiana Pacers next season and have swap rights with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2026 and 2027. Those Bucks swaps could become valuable, given how their offseason pans out.

As far as targets who could make sense, the Pelicans have enough wings with Murphy, Jones, and Jordan Hawkins, but they could use some guard help. Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles last season, and CJ McCollum is on the last year of his deal and isn't getting any younger. Either VJ Edgecombe or Tre Johnson could make a lot of sense in New Orleans to play off-guard.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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