After looking at the bad news the New Orleans Pelicans got with the NBA draft deadline withdrawal day on Tuesday, he's a glance at the bubble players who decided to stay in the draft that were intriguing.
With Jamahl Mosley hired, it is now officially draft season for the New Orleans Pelicans as that is the next major milestone for this offseason. The deadline to withdraw from the 2026 NBA draft also just passed, locking in the pool of players to choose from.
While the withdrawal deadline was fairly brutal for the Pelicans and other teams drafting in the second round, with many top early entrants deciding to go back, not every good player did.
Here are a handful of the bubble players who stayed in the draft that New Orleans should be monitoring, along with their draft stock (as the Pelicans would likely need to trade up for any of them):
Arkansas Razorbacks G Meleek Thomas, Late First- Early Second
A guard isn't the biggest need for New Orleans right now, but they need players who can shoot at the bottom line. Thomas was a good shooter in college and projects as a good shooter at the next level as well. For the Razorbacks this past season, he put up 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists 43.5/41.6/84.3 shooting splits.
If the Pelicans wanted to hit the reset button at guard, then he would be worth a look as someone to pair with Jeremiah Fears long term. That could could potentially lead to massive defensive hole, which does not seem to be the MO of this front office right now.
Santa Clara Broncos F Allen Graves, Late Lottery-Late First
Graves seems like the perfect draft prospect for this regime, matching what Mosley and Joe Dumars have said that they want from players.
The Ponchatoula, La. native put on a show for the Broncos. He put up 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 51.2/41.3/75.0 shooting splits. He didn't have a ton of volume from three at 2.6 per game, but that is fine for his level of efficiency. Along with the offensive numbers, he averaged 1.9 steals and 0.9 blocks per night.
He is a defense-first player who seems ready to do the dirty work. That's exactly what this team has been asking for over the past few weeks. If he gets out of the lottery, then he would start to be a very interesting trade-up target.
Michigan Wolverines F Morez Johnson Jr., Late Lottery-Late First
The thinking around Johnson is very similar to that of Graves. They are both 6-foot-9 forwards who teams might not value early, but that value quickly becomes too good to pass up.
The sophomore won a national championship with the Wolverines and was one of their defensive cornerstones. He has positional versatility and was efficient at scoring at the rim. He didn't shoot much in college, but he went 17-of-25 at NBA combine workouts. He was 12-of-35 over two years before that.
