The New Orleans Pelicans earned a big Vegas bump after winning the No. 1 overall pick — and Duke forward Zion Williamson — in the NBA’s draft lottery on Tuesday night.
The Pelicans converted a six percent chance at the top spot and saw their odds of winning the 2020 NBA title soar from 300-to-1 to 25-to-1 at Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook. At +3000, New Orleans was tied for the worst odds among all NBA teams prior to winning the lottery.
The Pelicans now have the same futures price as Oklahoma City and Denver while having better odds than teams like Brooklyn, Utah and Portland.
If New Orleans is going to stay at 25-to-1 odds, it will likely have to convince Anthony Davis to consider staying with the franchise beyond next season. New general manager David Griffin has stated his desire to keep Davis in New Orleans, if possible.
However, Griffin said Tuesday night that New Orleans winning the lottery won’t have an impact on Davis’ situation.
“I understand why people want to link the two, because the assumption is that elite players want to play with other elite players, but this doesn’t change anything with the Anthony Davis situation,” Griffin told the New Orleans Advocate’s Nathan Brown. “Maybe it gives him one more sign that things are changing in a different direction.
“This is just one more positive chip at this point, and if Anthony Davis is trying to decide if he can trust if we can build a winner, I hope we can build evidence of that day after day. And if AD wants to be part of that, wonderful. And if he doesn’t buy into what we’re trying to do, that’s okay too.”
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Davis’ demands haven’t changed.
New Orleans could turn this rebuild around quickly if Griffin can still get a king’s ransom for Davis. Between Williamson and point guard Jrue Holiday, there’s a solid core brewing.
The NBA draft is slated for Thursday, June 20.