Pelicans, Saints have exciting opportunities Thursday night

METAIRIE – As Thursday nights in April go, this one should be a doozy.

New Orleans’ NBA team will be playing one of the most important games in franchise history at the same time that New Orleans’ NFL team begins one its more important drafts in recent years.

Followers of both teams will simultaneously be keeping track of the Pelicans’ attempt to extend their surprising season and the Saints’ attempt to enhance their chances of extending their next season into the playoffs.

A month ago this didn’t look like it would be as a big a deal as it has become.

But the Saints, who will be conducting their first draft since Sean Payton resigned as head coach and was succeeded by former defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, ratcheted up interest by making a major trade of draft choices with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Reporter: "How has the draft process gone without @SeanPayton?"

Loomis: "Quieter" 😂#SaintsDraft pic.twitter.com/h4m6O95C0G

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 27, 2022

They sent their first-round draft choice (No. 18), a third-round compensatory pick (No. 101), a seventh-round pick (No. 237), their No. 1 next year and their No. 2 in 2024 to the Eagles.

That brought them two picks in the first round (Nos. 16 and 19) and a sixth-round pick (No. 194).

“It was an opportunity to get another good football player a year ahead of time for value that we liked,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said Wednesday morning. “We have a group of players that we like and think will be available (at 16 and 19).”

Loomis on the draft picks trade with the Eagles #SaintsDraft pic.twitter.com/XphUlAMs2E

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) April 27, 2022

The magnitude and the timing of the deal allowed 24 days for Saints followers to imagine just what the organization is planning to do in the first round Thursday.

At least they were trying to match or surpass the success they had in the first round of the 2017 draft when they landed Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk or in the first round of the 2010 draft when they landed Cameron Jordan and Mark Ingram II.

But maybe the trade with the Eagles was a means to a bigger end. Maybe they were acquiring the assets necessary to make another trade – to leap into the top 10 picks to snag a generational talent at tackle or wide receiver or defensive line, maybe even a quarterback who would lead the franchise for the next decade or so.

Loomis’ comments Wednesday suggested the Saints were not eyeing another specific trade, but this time of year they’re always all ears.

The interest in the Saints’ draft, which also includes a second-round pick (No. 49) and a third-round pick (No. 98) on Friday as well as a fourth-round pick (No. 120), a fifth-round pick (No. 161) and a sixth-round pick (No. 194) on Saturday, has been swelling.

But the Saints’ sister franchise one-upped them in generating excitement for Thursday night.

While the Saints were maneuvering their draft position the Pelicans were maneuvering their post-season position.

The day after the Saints made their trade, the Pelicans clinched a spot in the NBA Western Conference play-in tournament and four days after that they secured home-court for their first game. They swept a pair of elimination games, the second coming on the road, and have won twice against top-seeded Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs.

“People don’t ask me about the draft,” Loomis said. “They ask me about the Pelicans, which is cool.”

Now, the Pelicans face another elimination game as the Suns hold a 3-2 lead going into Game 6 Thursday night in the sold-out Smoothie King Center. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and with the draft starting at 7 p.m., at some point early in the 9 o’clock hour the climax of the Pelicans game and the Saints’ selections could overlap.

The Saints brass will be busy monitoring each pick and working the phone lines, but Loomis said they’ll have one of the TVs in the war room tuned to the Pelicans game.

And while watching the basketball team they might be reminded of the value of draft picks – both as an opportunity to select players and as assets for trades.

Loomis and college personnel chief Jeff Ireland have been leaders in the Saints building rosters that have won four division titles in the last five years and compiled the second-best record in the NFL in that time.

Pelicans GM David Griffin has an imperfect record in his three-year tenure, but his fingerprints are all over this team’s recent success.

“It’s exciting to see a young group come together the way they have,” Loomis said.

When the Saints brass glance at the basketball game they’ll see Brandon Ingram and be reminded how a blockbuster trade such as the one that sent Anthony Davis to the Lakers nearly three years ago can help reshape a franchise. They’ll see Jaxson Hayes and be reminded of the trickle-down effects a trade can have when newly acquired assets are re-gifted.

They’ll see CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. – as well as Jonas Valanciunas and Devonte’ Graham — and be reminded of how a seemingly high price in multiple players and multiple draft choices can represent a bargain when they yield well-fitting pieces that feature important intangibles such as character that transcend mere math.

They’ll see Trey Murphy III and realize sometimes you get lucky and don’t have to choose between the best player available and a pressing need when the best player available fills a pressing need.

They’ll see Herbert Jones Jr. and be reminded that top-tier talent can be found below the top tier of draft selections. (Think Alvin Kamara.)

They’ll see Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall and be reminded that the end of the draft doesn’t mean the end of the opportunity to acquire valuable entry-level workers. (Think Deonte Harty, Shy Tuttle and Carl Granderson.)

They’ll see Griffin in the stands and be reminded of the value in laying away key assets for the future while still enhancing the present, realizing that in a couple of months the Pelicans likely will be using the Lakers’ lottery pick and that they still have another L.A. No. 1 in escrow.

So while the Pelicans are trying to add to the improbable success of this season, the Saints will be trying to add two significant players to their good but not yet as good as it can be roster.