I am genuinely beyond sick to my stomach about the latest Jake Fischer report regarding the New Orleans Pelicans. Recently, it came out that the Pelicans were exploring ways to trade into the top 10 of this draft to land a specific prospect, and we now know who that player could be: Nate Ament.
"Sources say Ament is indeed very much one of the top prospects that would interest New Orleans if it could get high enough to draft him," Fischer said.
Now, if this were last summer and interest came out about Ament, I’d be all for it, as he finished the year as the No. 4 player in the 2025 high school class, but those days are far gone.
In his one season at Tennessee, he looked like everything that a bust is in the NBA. Sorry if that sounds extremely harsh, but it’s true. The biggest draw with him was that, as a jumbo wing at 6-foot-9.5 (barefoot), he could score and shoot at an elite level, and he did neither there. Sure, he averaged 16.7 points per game as the focal point of the Vols’ offense, but he did so while shooting 39.9 percent from the field and only 33.3 percent from three. With time around top developmental coaches, he could use his size and raw skills to develop into a sought-after wing given his size.
However, those days won’t be any time soon. Ament first has to focus on improving his 211-pound frame so he doesn’t get bullied in the pros or struggle to play through contact the way he did in college.
For a Pelicans front office that keeps preaching that they are close to competing out west, Ament is the last prospect they should target in a potential trade-up scenario. I’m super shocked by this report, and both Troy Weaver and Joe Dumars should be ashamed.
This is a nightmare situation
Now the only scenario in which I’d be comfortable getting behind this report is if the Pelicans were openly pursuing a rebuild, but they aren’t. Maybe Dumars is starting to realize this roster needs a ton of work and that it could be easier to rebuild than turn this group into a contender, though I highly doubt that. I straight up just think Dumars and Weaver are insane.
The 2026 offseason was a tough one for fans and anyone associated with the Pelicans, as the draft-night trade for Derik Queen cast a giant shadow over everything. Dumars got the brunt of the hate for that move, not just from people across the NBA media world but even people who cover the Pels like me. However, as time passed, Pelicans reporters, writers, columnists, etc. stuck up for him and told people to see the vision and that things were a marathon, not a sprint. That all goes out the window if the Pelicans trade up for Ament.
What makes trading up for Ament so concerning is the price tag to get into that top-10 range where many believe he could end up. It’ll likely cost one of Herb Jones or Trey Murphy III to get a deal done, and sure, New Orleans would get back more than just Ament, but the value isn’t there with him.
The dream with Ament is that he could cap out as what Murphy III is now. So why would you trade TM3 for the opportunity to draft a player who, at his best, is what you have with Murphy III now? Because he’s younger? But I thought the plan was to compete? … See how none of this makes sense. If trading up for Ament is Dumars' master plan, he should pick up comedy because this is a joke.
