Updated Pelicans mock draft after surprise trade with Pacers

The New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers executed an unexpected trade on Tuesday. The Pacers will send the No. 23 pick in next week's NBA Draft, along with the rights to 23-year-old New Zealand wing Mojave King, to the Pelicans in exchange for Indiana's own 2026 first-round pick. ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news.

Rarely do we see front offices making trades while their team is still in the NBA Finals. For the Pacers, however, this was a savvy move. It allows Kevin Pritchard and the front office to trade picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032, along with swaps in 2027, 2029 and 2031. Previously, the Pacers could only trade their first-round picks in 2029 and 2031 due to pick protections extending through 2027, as explained by Yahoo's Kevin O'Connor.

This opens the door for a substantial trade in the future, should the right target become available to Indiana. It also affords New Orleans more immediate draft capital, with the Pelicans able to add two contributors in next week's draft — or to package Nos. 7 and 23 to move up the board. Given their well-documented interest in Ace Bailey, that feels like a possibility worth monitoring.

In the meantime, here is how our projections for New Orleans' two first-round picks shake out.

Pelicans 2025 mock draft, No. 7 pick: Tre Johnson, Texas

If he falls to No. 7, Texas' Tre Johnson is a natural fit for New Orleans. Zion Williamson remains the central building block for this Pelicans team, which means shooting is always at a premium. Johnson is arguably the best shooter in the draft, comfortable flying around screens and shooting from NBA range on the move. Defenses will have a tough time compensating for Zion's bull-rush rim pressure when Johnson is lurking behind the 3-point line.

There are plenty of concerns with Johnson, from his poor physicality and bad defense to a general lack of paint touches and playmaking, but those shortcomings are mitigated in New Orleans. The Pelicans have their table-setting guards in Dejounte Murray and CJ McCollum, while Zion practically lives with two feet in the paint. Johnson can play to his strengths as an off-ball mover and bailout shot-maker while developing his ancilary skills on the back burner. His low playmaking volume at Texas was not ideal, but Johnson did flash the occasional high-level read out of pick-and-rolls. It's not that he can't pass, he just doesn't do it often.

As for the defense, the presence of Herb Jones, Trey Murphy and others on the perimeter should help insulate him a bit.

Pelicans 2025 mock draft, No. 23 pick: Maxime Raynaud, Stanford

Yves Missi impressed as a rookie, but he might be more of a long-term backup than New Orleans' permanent solution at center. Frontcourt depth remains a prominent need, and few players made a stronger impression at the Combine than Stanford's Maxime Raynaud. The 7-foot-1 senior has a decidedly modern skill set — and one well-suited to the Pels' current roster.

First and foremost, Raynaud is a high-volume shooter on the perimeter. The absence of Jonas Valančiūnas (and his floor spacing) was deeply felt last season. Raynaud can force rim protectors out to the 3-point line and open up driving lanes for Zion. Moreover, Raynaud is an incredibly fluid face-up scorer, weaponizing his shooting gravity to attack downhill with long, coordinated strides and a deep bag of tricks.

He's not quite a defensive stalwart, and it's fair to wonder if Raynaud's agility and flashes of skill will actually offset his more pronounced weaknesses. He's not particularly great against physicality in the post and he doesn't score much from the in-between range, relying on twirling finishes off of drives or spot-up 3s.

New Orleans is a great fit, however, and Raynaud's strong college production — as well as a sharp growth trajectory as a relatively late bloomer — suggests that he can produce straight away and continue to add new layers to his game.