The New Orleans Pelicans are looking to move up in the 2026 NBA Draft, and one name keeps coming back: Tennessee freshman Nate Ament.
Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that the Pelicans are "aggressively looking to trade into the lottery" and that Ament is "very much one of the top prospects that would interest New Orleans if it could get high enough to draft him." Most mock drafts slot the 6-foot-10 wing in the late-lottery range, roughly between picks five and 10, which is exactly the territory New Orleans would need to reach.
Ament is one of the more polarizing prospects in the class because the tools and the production don't yet match. In his lone season at Tennessee he averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting around 40% from the field and 33% from three on nearly four attempts a game. The flashes of shot-making from a player his size are what push him into the lottery conversation.
Analysts who have studied the tape land in different places. The breakdown channel Floor and Ceiling pegged Ament as a clear lottery pick, describing him as a 6-foot-10 wing with size, feel, shooting and defensive tools who could grow into a versatile, high-usage scorer, an archetype the analysis noted "never goes out of style in the NBA." The same evaluation flagged a recurring frustration: Ament doesn't consistently leverage his size, and Tennessee often used him as a wing or ball-handler rather than as a true forward.
Others are more cautious. A scouting report from HoopsInDepth singled out his finishing as the biggest swing skill, arguing that a lack of explosiveness and burst keeps him from getting clean looks at the rim, the kind of question that separates a rotation wing from a long-term starter. The optimistic case runs the other way: some draft circles have floated a Kevin Durant-style projection for a skilled, 6-foot-10 shot-maker who is still filling out his frame.
The point everyone seems to agree on is the trajectory. After a slow start to his freshman year, Ament's mid-season improvement was one of the defining storylines of the college season, and scouts widely treat that growth curve as central to his case.
For New Orleans, the interest fits a bigger plan. The Pelicans have been linked to several trade-up scenarios this offseason, and Fischer's reporting suggests they would rather package assets to grab a prospect with star upside than sit and wait at their current slot. Whether a partner emerges is the harder part: teams picking in the late lottery rarely move unless the price is steep, and with the draft set for June 23 and 24, New Orleans has little time to find one.
Ament, for his part, has done nothing to cool the buzz. He is one of several players with Tennessee ties expected to hear his name called, and the only question left is how high a team is willing to climb to get him.
