NBA Rumors: Scoot Henderson Eyed by Pelicans; NOP Seek Trade for Top-3 Draft Pick

New Orleans Pelicans are looking for their point guard of the future and the organization is planning on aggressively pursuing a trade for a top-three pick in the upcoming NBA Draft with the hopes of getting Scoot Henderson, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania.

The Pelicans currently have the No. 14 pick in the draft, by which time Henderson will be long gone as he's been considered a top-three prospect for the entire pre-draft process.

Henderson, 19, is currently vying to be the No. 2 pick to the Charlotte Hornets along with Alabama's Brandon Miller. Both seem destined to go either two or three with generational talent Victor Wembanyama locking up the top spot with the San Antonio Spurs.

While it's been heavily reported that the Portland Trail Blazers, who hold the No. 3 pick, are willing to trade out of that spot for a win-now type of player who can help Damian Lillard, the Pelicans would obviously prefer to trade with the Hornets so that there's no competition for Henderson.

But regardless of who their trade partner is, the Pelicans have the ammunition to land one of those slots and, by extension, Henderson.

Thanks to the trades New Orleans made with the Los Angles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, respectively, it has a treasure trove of draft picks over the next few years.

The Pelicans have Los Angeles' first-rounder in 2024 or 2025, depending on which one they want. They also have pick-swap rights with the Bucks in 2024 and 2026 and Milwaukee's first-round picks in 2025 and 2027.

New Orleans also have several high-quality players that could be included in trades such as Brandon Ingram, CJ McCollum and even Zion Williamson if it comes down to it.

Williamson was the organization's No. 1 overall pick in 2019, but he has been limited since entering the league due to injuries despite showing flashes of brilliance.

According to Charania, Henderson worked out with the Hornets on Sunday and already had his workout with the Blazers on June 3. He only plans on putting on workouts for those two organizations.

As a member of the G League Ignite the past two seasons, Henderson has been one of the best guard prospects in some time. This past season he averaged 16.5 points per game to go along with 6.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds on 42.9 percent shooting from the field.

He took the basketball world by storm back in October when he played against Wembanyama in an exhibition game in Las Vegas and showed out.

The Pelicans have taken guards in two out of the last three drafts in Dyson Daniels and Kira Lewis Jr., but neither has the hype or potential of Henderson.

The organization went 42-40 this season and missed out on the postseason after losing in the play-in tournament.