In this post-lottery NBA mock draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Northwestern Wildcats wins Nick Martinelli.
The 2026 NBA draft lottery has come and gone, and it brought great news for the New Orleans Pelicans. The Atlanta Hawks will select at No. 8 overall, as the pick did not jump up into the top four, meaning the Derik Queen trade avoided true disaster.
It's more of a moral victory than anything, as the Pelicans still don't have a first-round pick. They do, however, own a second-round pick via the Detroit Pistons.
New Orleans has had some recent success with second-round picks like Herb Jones and Karlo Matkovic. Even this current front office drafted Micah Peavy last year, and he looks very promising.
Troy Weaver is good at talent evaluation, so even having a second-rounder is intriguing. ESPN's Jeremy Woo recently put out a 2026 NBA mock draft accounting for the lottery, and in it, the Pelicans added Northwestern Wildcats wing Nick Martinelli with the No. 58 pick.
Like most of the intriguing second-round picks in this year's draft class, Martinelli is an experienced senior with a higher floor but more limited ceiling than some of the more "project" players who would be available at this point. He has scored a lot of points in college, leading the Big Ten in scoring in each of the last two seasons.
The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 23.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per night on 51.0/41.7/80.9 shooting splits. He isn't a very high-volume three-point shooter, but being above 40% on 3.3 attempts per game is at least solid.
He isn't exactly the type of player that New Orleans needs. He has a profile and projection similar to Bryce McGowens, who signed a three-year deal and will be an established bench wing in the future. The Pelicans could always use more good players, though. At No. 58, they could do a lot worse than Martinelli.