NBA Draft: There’s a new favorite to land Khaman Maluach

With the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery now out of the way, we can get a better understanding of where the top college basketball players might land in the pros next season.

Needless to say, all the talk centered around Cooper Flagg and whether the NBA rigged the lottery to send him to the Dallas Mavericks after the infamous Luka Doncic trade.

Nevertheless, he’s not the only former Duke Blue Devils star entering the league next season. With that in mind, we’ll take a look at the updated projection for Khaman Maluach’s future.

The New Orleans Pelicans could draft Khaman Maluach

“Coming off a difficult, injury riddled-season that led to major changes in the front office, the Pelicans need star power to build around Zion Williamson, who played in just 130 games over the past four seasons because of injuries,” wrote ESPN’s Jeremy Woo.

There’s plenty of uncertainty in New Orleans right now. Zion Williamson could be on his way out, and there are also rumors about them making a run at Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Even so, if they do keep the seventh pick, they should strongly consider taking the seven-footer with it. He’s a long-term gamble and a little raw, but the potential is off the charts.