It's no secret that the New Orleans Pelicans are aggressively looking to trade into the lottery in the 2026 NBA Draft. Joe Dumars & Co. reportedly have a prospect in mind in the top-ten range that they want to acquire. Unfortunately, the Pelicans have limited assets, making the trade challenging without including one of their best players, most likely Trey Murphy. With only five days left before the draft, whether the Pelicans will move Murphy or acquire the pick they are looking for remains to be seen, but we are at least getting a better idea of who the Pels may be targeting in the draft. Jake Fischer of the Stein Line reported on Wednesday that Nate Ament of Tennessee is "very much one of the top prospects that would interest New Orleans if it could get high enough to draft him." Nate Ament Would Be an Odd Choice for a Team Trying to Win Right AwayAment is mocked in late-lottery in most mock drafts. The 5-10 range in the draft is dominated by point guards like Darius Acuff Jr., Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings, and Mikel Brown Jr. The Pelicans are not going to be interested in a lead guard after they drafted Jeremiah Fears last year. Ament is one of the few frontcourt players expected to be drafted in the lottery, which makes the Pelicans' interest in him understandable. The problem here is that Ament is also one of the more raw prospects in the draft. He certainly showed some ability in his lone season at Tennessee, but he is nowhere near NBA-ready. Given that the Pelicans have signaled an intention to improve and be competitive next season, Ament doesn't necessarily fit that vision. Especially if the Pelicans are going to trade Murphy or Herb Jones to acquire the pick to select Ament, it's difficult to imagine how they get significantly worse next season. Ament has some potential as a modern, prototypical NBA wing. He has excellent size and length, and can do a little bit of everything. He projects to be a good shooter and is a very good help defender. He can be a solid transition player as he is a fluid mover. It's not hard to see a two-way, three-and-D type of forward here. What is very difficult to see, however, is how Ament is going to help New Orleans win next season. Conceptually, a three-and-D prospect around Fears and Derik Queen makes a ton of sense. But this means that the Pels have to push their timeline by several years, since Ament will take a while to be an impactful NBA wing. Perhaps this is the Pelicans' coming to terms with reality. Maybe they are looking to trade their veterans for future assets and build slowly. That would be a surprising pivot from Dumars and Troy Weaver, but Pelicans fans have seen stranger things in recent years. We should get a better idea about where the franchise is headed after the draft. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow