NBA Draft: 5 players the New Orleans Pelicans need to target

4. Jaylen Brown

With Brown you are getting a really raw player, but in terms of upside and athleticism there may be none better in this draft. Brown is a player similar to Stanley Johnson, the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft in that they both come into the league as a 19-year old with the body build of a veteran NBA player.

Similarly to Johnson, it is the shooting and all of the nuances of handling and scoring that Brown has to work on. Brown is an athlete, and he will be able to defend wing players immediately, but of the top ten picks, he may have the most ironing out to do in his overall game.

Still, you see the size of a 19-year-old who can eventually guard the likes of LeBron James. You then look to Anthony Davis, who is only 23, and think that while you would like to win now, the future is where you really want this team to be set.

It gives them the ability to draft Brown and not be forced into rushing him on the court to be the number two stud beside Davis. Tyreke Evans also only has one year left on his current contract, and the Pelicans more than likely do not even want to see him back.

Davis comes off as a hard worker, and a guy who is able to set examples and lift the team up around him. A raw talent like Brown should be able to connect with Davis, learn his work habits and use them to refine his game as the two of them enter their primes around the same time.

To draft Brown and look to building a future with two long athletic talents who can both guard the perimeter, but have the size to hang in the paint is a great start to a franchise.

Next: 3. Jakob Poeltl