Protected first round draft picks, much like hatching chickens, shouldn’t be counted until they’re conveyed.
With the Pelicans making the 2022 NBA Playoffs by way of defeating the Spurs and Clippers in the play-in tournament to claim the eight-seed in the Western Conference, the Portland Trail Blazers will not get the conditional first round pick at the 2022 Draft that was a part of the trade sending CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell to New Orleans in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, Tomas Satoransky and two future second round picks.