The New Orleans Pelicans paid a premium to trade up and select Derik Queen last year. They were happy with his rookie year, but now he must continue to prove that decision right.
The New Orleans Pelicans made a big swing last year when they traded a first-round pick to move up and select Maryland center Derik Queen.
That trade was criticized by many at the time and throughout the following season, but a solid rookie campaign began to slowly win people over. Now he has a chance to truly break out and establish his role as the future face of this franchise.
Here are four goals for Queen to focus on as he prepares for season two, ideally taking a sizable leap from last year:
Figure Out Defensive Positioning
Before even getting back to the court, Queen has gotten a good start this offseason in working with DeAndre Jordan to reshape his body. Scouting reports consistently questioned his athleticism, and being a step slower hurt the center on defense. Now he's trying to fix that part of his game.
Where he'll need the new coaching staff to pay off is working on his mechanics and making sure he's in the right spot. Queen is a smart player and has already shown quick hands on defense. If the coaches are help to even help get him to a point where he is a net neutral on that side of the ball, it would be a massive win.
Work On Offensive Efficiency
Offense was Queen's calling card as a rookie, but it was mostly just how impressive he was as an engine. There is still plenty for him to work on on that side of the ball as well.
As a rookie, Queen posted 47.3/26.1/79.5 shooting splits. His touch around the rim is going to need to improve at the very least. He would also clearly be happier being a three-level scorer, but that is far away. He started to shoot the three more as the year went on, but never really found his groove.
Queen doesn't need to be someone who shoots 60% from the field if he is going to be a high-volume player, but he does need to grab his own misses more and he needs to be better at finishing at the rim. As a rookie, he was in the 19th percentile on points per shot attempt for bigs.
Earn Starting Role Back
As the Pelicans tried to string together some wins last season, they took the rookies out of the lineup. While they were fun to watch in the middle of the year while the team struggled, they weren't playing winning basketball.
Queen had one of the worst plus/minus ratings of any rookie in the NBA. He was getting attacked on defense and there wasn't enough shooting around him to really get the best version out of him.
As New Orleans' roster currently stands, their best lineup doesn't have Queen in it. By the end of the season, though, Queen should have the opportunity to earn that starting job back if he does what the coaching staff asks of him.
The Pelicans need him to become a star. If he can't crack the starting lineup by the end of his second year, they may need to prepare to shift gears.
