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After making the no-brainer pick of Williamson first overall, the Pelicans set about surrounding their new franchise centerpiece with the kind of complementary talent who can help propel him toward stardom and contention. With the no. 8 pick came Texas freshman Jaxson Hayes, a rim-running shot-blocker heralded as perhaps the draft’s most accomplished pick-and-roll finisher and lob target. At no. 17, New Orleans snagged Virginia Tech guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, the cousin of Clippers guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who shares some of the rising sophomore’s exciting attributes as a big, versatile playmaker with poise and panache in the pick-and-roll.
The Zion-Era Pelicans May Be Closer to Competing Than You Think
Landing Williamson at no. 1 in Thursday’s NBA draft changed New Orleans’s future in a flash. But thanks to the trades the Pels have made since, the future may not be that far away.
www.theringer.com