2013 NBA Draft: Pelicans select Nerlens Noel with the No. 6 pick
With the sixth pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Nerlens Noel out of Kentucky.
More Draft: Noel traded for Jrue Holiday | Grades | Bennett surprise No. 1 | All Trades
With the sixth pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Nerlens Noel out of Kentucky.
Noel is still rehabbing an ACL tear that he suffered on Feb. 12 against the Florida Gators, but he's still projected to be one of the top defensive players of this draft class and one of the best defensive prospects that we've seen in quite some time. He nearly averaged a double-double in his only year at Kentucky with 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds. His 4.4 blocks-per-game average was the best in the country.
Noel isn't supposed to be back until around Christmas, meaning any team that wanted to select him in this draft was going to have to be patient. He's not much of an offensive player, although he's good in the pick-and-roll and finishing with dunks. But he can rotate from the weak side, crash the boards on both ends and send shots the other way. If his knee returns to full strength, he can be a Tyson Chandler type of defender.
New Orleans selected him, but there are reports that he'll be moved in a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jrue Holiday. There might be more components to this trade as it unfolds.
The Pelicans currently don't have any other picks.















