There isn't a more efficient way for NBA teams to fill gaping roster holes than the annual draft.Five franchises are especially thankful that this year's prospect pageant is just around the corner. They have plenty of needs, all of which cannot be addressed in free agency.These squads hail from all walks of NBA life. Rebuilding projects, playoff teams and genuine championship contenders all fit the bill. Yes, even good teams have glaring weaknesses to strengthenflaws that are the result of unremarkable incumbent solutions, expiring contracts or a complete absence of certain skill sets.Our one rule as we explore the Association's "Land of the Needy": Teams must have at least one first-round pick in this year's draft to be considered. First-rounders, after all, are more apt to offer immediate assistance.So while the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and New York Knicks aren't listed in an official capacity, just know they're here with us in spirit.Los Angeles ClippersBiggest Hole: Small forwardOther Needs: Depth; additional depth; more depth stillDraft Picks:Nos. 25 and 33 (via Brooklyn)After you move past Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick, the Los Angeles Clippers are unimpressive. They have not gotten small forward right since before coach-president Doc Rivers arrived, and their bench is a mishmash of fringe rotation talent that doesn't advance the bill.That the Clippers' second unit finished in the top half of offensive and defensive efficiency this season, according to HoopsStats.com, can be considered a victory. But a middling supporting cast won't be enough in a top-heavy Western Conference, and any complementary production on which Los Angeles can actually count could fly the coop over the offseason.Jamal Crawford, Jeff Green, Wesley Johnson (player option) and Austin Rivers (player option) will all most likely enter free agency. And Coach Rivers sounds like he'll try to keep as many of them as possible."We don't need a superstar [small forward]," he told ESPN.com's Zach Lowe. "We have superstars at other positions. We need guys who are complementary players. Jeff is terrific in that role."And then he continued on, specifically referencing his son, Austin: "He's become a really good player, and we may have to pay for that this year."With more than $71.5 million committed to their Fab Four next season, the Clippers won't have the financial wiggle room to pay resident role playersand add outside needle-nudgers. The 25th and 33rd overall selections aren't supposed to yield contender-ready talent, but they'll have to make due, targeting potential fallers like Baylor's Taurean Prince or France's Timothe Luwawu or reaching for wings such as UConn's Daniel Hamilton or Michigan's Caris LeVert.Because while few people expect Rivers to trade one of Griffin, Paul or Jordan for multiple helping hands, the bodies around them, if left alone, don't give Rivers enough firepower to fully justify keeping them together.Los Angeles LakersBiggest Hole: CenterOther Needs: Three-and-D wings; stretch bigs; new home for Nick YoungDraft Picks:Nos. 2 and 32As of now, the Los Angeles Lakers have zero centers under guaranteed contract for next season. Roy Hibbert and Robert Sacre are both unrestricted free agents, while playing any one of Brandon Bass (player option), Ryan Kelly (qualifying offer) and Julius Randle at the 5 is defensive suicide.And the Lakers defense is already bad...make that bad. Calling it bad is an undeserving compliment. The boys in purple and gold ranked dead lastin points allowed per 100 possessions and 29th in rim protection during the regular season.That hole around the iron won't be addressed with the No. 2 pick. Assuming they intend to keep the selection, the Lakers will end up with one of two forwardsDuke's Brandon Ingram or LSU's Ben Simmonswhomever the Philadelphia 76ers leave behind.Either of those players beefs up the defense. The Lakers weren't horrible at guarding the three-point line, a specialty of both Ingram and Simmons, but they finished second-to-lastin points allowed on the break, perTeamRankings.com, an area in which any savvy wing or forward can help them improve.Ingram in particular is the better fit. He can play the 3 or 4, and his 41 percent three-point clip at Duke greatly benefits a perimeter corps that is heavy on bodies but short on shooting. Simmons' ball-dominant offensive style, meanwhile, noticeably overlaps with the skill sets of Jordan Clarkson (restricted), Randle and D'Angelo Russellnot to mention Lou Williams and Nick Young, both of whom should be shopped to make way for the younger guns.The Lakers are more likely to tackle their need for a center and stretch big at No. 32, where they should have a shot at Weber State'sJoel Bolomboy or Purdue's A.J. Hammons. And they will have two max contracts' worth of cap space to work with in free agency.Good thing, too. The draft alone won't be enough to fill all, most or even half of the Lakers' holes.Memphis GrizzliesBiggest Hole: Small forwardOther Needs: Wings who shoot; stretch bigs; point guard(s); Lance Stephenson whisperer(')Draft Picks:Nos. 17 and 57 (via Toronto)The Memphis Grizzlies need a top-to-bottom reset. Their lumbering grit 'n' grind constructs don't stack up against the league's foremost powerhouses, most of whom depend on spacing, shooting and/or speed.Just don't bank on that reinvention becoming reality. The Grizzlies have doubled down on their model in recent years, re-signing Tony Allen, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Their grip will only tighten on the current nucleus should they, as expected, retain Mike Conley.Whether this allegiance is admirable or stubborn doesn't matter. The Grizzlies need upgrades.Memphis closed 2015-16 running the league's third-slowest offenseand made more than 250 fewer three-pointers (504) than Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to sink (678). There is no viable backup to Conley under contract for 2016-17, and the best in-house solutions at small forward are a 39-year-old Vince Carter (non-guaranteed) or overpaid and undersized Lance Stephenson (team option).There isn't a true stretch big on the docket, either. JaMychal Green (non-guaranteed) is the closest Memphis comes, and he shot a pedestrian 33.3 percent on 45 long-ball attempts this season.Though the Grizzlies could look for a sweet-shooting tower in the draft, such a player won't be available at No. 17. It will be easier for them to grab a swingman who plays the 2 and 3prospects like Florida State's Malik Beasley, Syracuse's Malachi Richardson orLuwawu.They could even roll the dice on a combo forward with decent three-point touch (Baylor's Taurean Prince) or a point guard to support or replace Conley (Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson).Most of the Grizzlies' offseason needs must inevitably be confronted in free agency. They won't have a lot of spending power if they re-sign Conley, but three-and-D wings, such as Kent Bazemore, should be getting a phone call.Still, for a team that seldom looks to the draft for immediate relief, Memphis sorely needs to find a rotation-ready contributor at No. 17 who helps safeguard the grit 'n' grind play style against extinction.New Orleans PelicansBiggest Hole: Shooting guardOther Needs: Three-and-D wings; Ryan Anderson replacement; point guard; help wherever Anthony Davis doesn't play; mulligan on Omer Asik's contractDraft Picks:Nos. 6, 39 (via Denver) and 40 (via Sacramento)Where don't the New Orleans Pelicans need help'General manager Dell Demps has tried pacing the franchise's rebuild to keep up with Anthony Davis' progression to disastrous consequences, consigning the Pelicans' core to total uncertainty. As Fletcher Mackel aptly summed up for NBC New Orleans:Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon are both free agents and not expected to re-sign with New Orleans.Tyreke Evans and Quincy Pondexter have had five combined knee surgeries over the previous eleven months.Omer Asik was a disaster in head coach Alvin Gentrys system.So that leaves Davis and Jrue Holiday.Davis and Holiday make for an intriguing duo. They were almost a net plus during their time on the court together this season. And, yes, on a 30-win dumpster fire, that's an accomplishment.But these are just two players. And Holiday, who has missed more than 100 games in his three years with New Orleans, will be a free agent next summer. Same goes for Evans.This hardly qualifies as a core. The Pelicans would do well to sell off Evans and Holiday, in hopes of securing more picks or, less likely, finding a taker for the last four years and $43.7 million remaining on Asik's putrid contract.Selecting a shooting guard or multiposition wing is a no-brainer either way. California's Jaylen Brown, Oklahoma's Buddy Hield and Kentucky's Jamal Murray should be at the top of the Pelicans' wish list. They also shouldn't rule out Croatia's Dragan Bender if he slips to No. 6. He spaces the floor in ways Alexis Ajinca and Asik just can't, and New Orleans needs an above-average marksman to supplant Anderson.Anyone the Pelicans snag has to be a significant defensive upgrade. They ranked 28th in points allowed per 100 possessions this season while deploying one of the league's seven-worst three-point barricades.Grabbing game-ready wings is, in turn, the more urgent priority. More than $36.1 million will be divvied up between Ajinca, Asik and Davis in 2016-17, and New Orleans will be hard-pressed to manufacture enough cap space to sign a multitude of high-impact 2s and 3s in free agency.Combine an underwhelming depth chart with a few key expiring deals, though, and the Pelicans aren't shackled to any one gaping hole. They need helpand a lot of iteverywhere Davis is not.Philadelphia 76ersBiggest Hole: Shooting guard/smallforward with three-point rangeOther Needs:Point guard; sweet-shooting wings; Allen Crabbe's phone number; frontcourt floor spacing; more floor spacing; anyone who has actual NBA talent but isn't 6'10" or tallerDraft Picks:Nos. 1, 24 (via Miami) and 26 (via Oklahoma City)Three first-round picks pave the way for the Sixers to drastically improve their rosterwhich is good, because they need NBA talent everywhere.Except up front.Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor are all best suited at center. And Dario Saric, should he come stateside next season, is an NBA 4 at 6'10".Trying to survive with one of the other towers playing extensive minutes at power forward isn't an option.Philly will put the training wheels on Embiid once he makes his career debut, alleviating part of this frontcourt logjam. But that plasticity, scant as it stands, will evaporate if the Sixers select Simmons at No. 1. As sources told Bleacher Report's Kevin Ding, they plan to do just that.Ingram is by far the better fit for a squad that ranked in the bottom seven of three-point efficiency this year, despite dwelling in the top seven of total outside attempts. Mix in run-of-the-mill three-point prevention with a roster nearly devoid of wings who can shootand defend (shout-out to Robert Covington and Hollis Thompson), and this shouldn't even be a debate.Only, Simmons is considered the more transcendent talentthat franchise savior the Sixers have yet to land. They could stash Saric on the bench and line up some trades to accommodate the 6'10" point power forward.Regardless of how they use their first pick, the Sixers have to burn their late first-rounders on guards and wings with three-point range. Not one of the floor generals they employIsaiah Canaan (qualifying offer), T.J. McConnell (non-guaranteed), Kendall Marshall (non-guaranteed), Ish Smith (unrestricted)is a proven solution, while Covington and Thompson are the only options at the 2 and 3 who cleared 33 percent shooting from distance.Chasing a projected shooter at the 4 isn't even out of the question. Saric is supposed to be that guy, but he has converted more than 31 percent of his triples over in Europe just once. Prince, a combo forward, should be in play if he's still around at No. 24 or No. 26. True wings like Saint Joseph's DeAndre' Bembry (needs a better jumper), LeVert, Luwawu and UNLV's Patrick McCraw should all be options as well.Owning so many first-rounders gives the Sixers plenty of opportunities to strengthen the roster and enter the next phase of their rebuild. And with so many needs across the board, they have no choice but to hope they hit on all of them.Stats courtesy ofBasketball-Reference.com, Sports-Reference.comandNBA.comunless otherwise cited. Salary information viaBasketball Insiders.Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter@danfavale.
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