Derik Queen’s impressive rookie season pushes back on draft-night narrative about Pelicans’ trade

It was a trade that left the NBA confounded.

Joe Dumars, newly in charge of the New Orleans front office, made what was seen as the biggest blunder in the 2025 NBA Draft — and Derik Queen was catching strays. Dumars and the Pelicans traded control of their first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft — seen as an incredibly deep draft at the top — to Atlanta for the rights to move up 10 spots and get Queen, a big man from Maryland. To say that trade was ripped to shreds by the media and other front offices is an understatement.

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Queen, however, is making Dumars look much better with his play this season, including a recent 30-point triple-double.

Both Dumars and Queen spoke about the perception and his fast start to Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.

“I get it. So much of today’s NBA narrative is around picks and different things like that,” Dumars told ESPN. “I’m trying to build culture here with some really good young players, and I gave up some draft capital to do that. And I love the two young players we have [Jeremiah Fears and Queen]. I hope that doesn’t get lost in all of this.”

I’ve been [hearing] it all my life,” Queen said. “Like everybody hated me [before the season started]. I played a little bit at the beginning, and the whole media was hating me. And then once I got to that Charlotte game [and had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists on Nov. 4], the whole media started liking me.

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“[I’m used to] pretty much people not liking me at one moment, then liking me later on in life.”

Two things can be true: Queen can be better than expected and a future star, and the process and price to move up 10 spots to get him can also be very flawed.

Queen’s potential was no secret around the draft, despite a rough NBA Draft Combine that led to a slide down draft boards. In grading the June draft I wrote: “Queen is the most skilled power forward/center in this draft… Queen has potential, but the cost of that 2026 pick was steep.” Watch Queen in person and his ability to get off his shot and his touch are impressive. He is better than I thought he would be.

Queen should not be catching strays in this debate.

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That said, right now the Pelicans have the worst record in the NBA — Dumars traded away the rights to what right now would be a guaranteed top-five pick with a 40% chance of landing in the top three. Whatever happens between now and June, that is going to be a very high draft pick in what is projected to be one of the deepest drafts at the top in a long time. There is a reason other teams have been hoarding picks in this draft rather than trading them away.

Queen, to his credit, looks like one of the best rookies in what has been an impressive 2025 draft class so far.

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