A look at potential New Orleans Pelicans draft pick, Baylor Bears shooting guard Cameron Carr.
The 2026 NBA draft is quickly approaching, and to no one's surprise, it appears that the New Orleans Pelicans don't want to wait for pick No. 58 and could be maneuvering to get back into the lottery.
The reports that the Pelicans are trying to get back into the top 10 for a specific player, which means they are infatuated with a certain talent. Someone in the class has a certain "it" factor that New Orleans has identified.
Looking through the options for the Pelicans to potentially move up for, one quick riser is Baylor Bears wing Cameron Carr, a star of the NBA combine.
Carr stands at just under 6-foot-5 and 184 pounds, which is solid for a shooting guard/wing, but the great thing is that he nearly had a 7-foot-1 wingspan, a 43-inch vertical, and was one of the fastest on the agility grills.
He tested just about as well as he could have, and then dominated in the scrimmage, with 30 points on 6-of-12 from three and seven boards.
This is no shock; anyone who watched him play for the Bears knows that he is capable of creating highlights at any moment. His length and athleticism allow him to be in plays for longer than others, though he still wasn't always the most consistent on that side of the floor.
Carr isn't someone who would be described as a lockdown defender, but all the tools are there to be an elite player on that side. That could be enough to sell an NBA team sometimes. Get him in a room with this new coaching staff and see if they can develop him, as they did with some players on the Orlando Magic.
The 21-year-old averaged 18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game last year for the Bears on 49.4/37.4/80.1 shooting splits. The production is already there.
Should the New Orleans Pelicans trade up for Cameron Carr?
It wouldn't be the worst idea. Carr is someone who will likely come in and contribute right away. You'd be losing some defense in the immediate if they were to trade someone like Herb Jones to get back into the lottery, but Carr would also probably be more beneficial on offense right away and has that defensive ceiling.
New Orleans is trying to play with two timelines right now: one with Zion Williamson/the veterans in an effort to win now and also the Jeremiah Fears/Derik Queen rebuild/future. Carr makes more sense for the latter, but could also be good pretty early on in his NBA career.
