Pelicans won't rule out trading No. 6 pick for veteran

The New Orleans Pelicans are currently in possession of the No. 6 pick in this year's NBA draft, and while they're nearly assured of having a highly touted prospect fall into their lap, they're open to moving the selection to land a more ready-made player already in the league.

"If the situation presented itself, where we can get a better player than we can draft that's not only going to help us in the short term but the long term, we would do it," general manager Dell Demps said, according to John Reid of The Times-Picayune. "We're going to do what's best for the organization and we're going to make good basketball decisions."

Given the team's recent track record, it wouldn't be overly surprising to see the Pelicans make such a move. In 2013, the organization took Kentucky's Nerlens Noel sixth overall before shipping him and a 2014 first-rounder to the Philadelphia 76ers for point guard Jrue Holiday.

New Orleans didn't make a first-round pick in 2015 because they sent it to the Houston Rockets as part of a trade to acquire center Omer Asik.

"We valued draft picks," Demps added. "It's just understanding what pick we can get. I think each draft is different, some drafts are better than others. I think when you are evaluating the draft, you want to make sure it's a good draft. There's years where the No. 1 pick became the franchise player. There's (years) where the No. 1 pick becomes just an OK player."

Only one of New Orleans' draft picks since 2003 is currently on the roster. All-Star big man and former No. 1 pick Anthony Davis leads the team in points (24.3), rebounds (10.3), and blocks (2.0).