The New Orleans Pelican faced serious criticism after selecting Derrick Queen on the 13th pick in the NBA Draft.
To win that pick, the Pelican sent the Atlanta Hawks their 23rd pick and an unprotected first-round pick of 2016. Losing that pick hurts when you think that the Pelican could become a lottery-level team again.
Derrick Queen is a great player worth trading up, but the situation is not in Pelican’s favor. Unless they pull away from the best possible 2025-26 regular season, this could be a terrible trade.
Joe Dumar, the new president of basketball operations, caught the majority of shootings. This includes Bill Simmons tearing it into trade, but Dumars himself defended the decision.
He spoke about how the Queen is worth it and how he has all the strengths the New Orleans Pelican needs.
For the Queen, he hopes that more people will talk about him, not the lost first round pick. He is ready to prove everyone wrong and establish himself as one of the top players in his class.
When the Pelicans face criticism, the Queen is in the middle of the Crossfire. Unfortunately, he is the focus of discourse other than Dimmer.
But thankfully for Pelican fans, Queen uses it as a motive to help him in his career. It’s natural that he is more defensive, as he wants to prove he’s the right pick.
“No doubt. I don’t think anyone in that class is better than me. I block all the noise. He has a lot of faith in me. Most of the people I beat in high school said at his introductory press conference.
“It really doesn’t matter, but you just have to keep going, because the NBA is in a completely different level, so you have to keep doing it better.
“Don’t get too big, don’t get too low. Beat them next year and make Joe look like a genius.”
He plays with a microscope, so that’s the best way to think about it. He wants to solidify himself enough to prove that critics are wrong.
The team is making a big move as they traded CJ McCollum for Jordan Pool in the 2025 offseason. At the same time, Queen is just one of New Orleans’ three selections in the 2025 NBA Draft.
They chose Jeremiah’s fear from Oklahoma on their seventh overall pick. He was a Lightning Quick Point Guard with incredible potential and excelled in college as a top player who led the team in a long, unbeaten run.
The final rookie was Mika Peebee, Washington Wizard’s 40th overall pick. He is a promising player who is a legitimate two-way talent. Peaby can be stolen as part of the McCollum and Pool trade.
The Pelicans have low expectations, but the team is poised to prove everyone wrong. Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III will be stars, but this set of newcomers is hungry for success.