9. New Orleans Pelicans – James Bouknight, G, UCONN
The New Orleans Pelicans have a bright future ahead of them and while there is a chance that they could lose Lonzo Ball during the offseason, it wouldn’t be the least surprising to see this team make a selection in the 2020 NBA draft to reflect that possibility. With the 9th pick in this mock draft, the Pelicans select James Bouknight.
Bouknight is an interesting prospect that has good size and has shown the ability to be a high-scoring guard. He also rebounds well for his position but he needs to prove that he could hit the deep shot on a consistent basis. He only shot 29 percent from 3-point range during his sophomore season at Connecticut.
It’s difficult to predict how he will translate to the NBA level, but I believe that he’ll find a fit next to Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.