The New Orleans Pelicans risked a lot for the opportunity to draft Derik Queen. It won't be exactly clear how much they gave up until the season ends and their draft pick lands wherever it ends up, but it was still a massive swing.
Just 14 games into Queen's career, the Pelicans have to be pleased with their decision. The Baltimore native has been one of the most exciting rookies in a talented draft class.
He has been compared to players like Alperen Sengun, Domantas Sabonis, and even Nikola Jokić (who he will face off against for the first time on Wednesday night).
Queen already has a fun skill set that has skyrocketed him up rookie rankings and makes his teammates look better.
At just 20 years old, fans in New Orleans are ready to crown him the next face of the franchise.
It's fun to get excited about his future, but now that he's starting, it's time to take a look at his present.
Queen is averaging 10.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists with a steal and nearly a block per game on 22.6 minutes per night. The numbers on the surface are already promising.
Cleaning The Glass, a fantastic basketball resource, provides some interesting insight on where Queen ranks compared to other NBA bigs on some slightly more advanced statistics.
Here are a couple Queen stats that stood out, what percentile of NBA bigs he ranks in and some other players that surround him in the rankings, for some context on how he is looking through 14 games:
Shooting Statistics
Points Per Shot Attempt - 105.5 (14th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
PJ Washington - 108.2
Zion Williamson - 107.7
Noah Clowney - 104.6
Kyle Filipowski - 104.4
Effective Field Goal Percentage - 47.2% (10th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Kyle Filipowski - 48.1%
Guerschon Yabusele - 47.8%
Noah Clowney - 47.6%
Jay Huff - 46.2%
This is certainly Queen's biggest weakness right now, which is actually fairly promising. He's not lacking confidence when he takes shots; they just aren't falling right now. One has to imagine that the shots start falling with more reps against NBA defenses. He was a bit more efficient in college, and his other strengths have translated, so this one can, too.
The fact that he has taken 10 threes so far and only one has gone in doesn't help his numbers, but the high rate of midrange shots is weighing him down. That shouldn't be his game right now. He's top-20 in terms of mid-range frequency, but 77th in mid-range accuracy.
It's not hard to see why he's working on them, though. He's shooting them at around the same rate that guys like Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis are, and that's the game he sees himself adopting, but he should work more inside out to star
Usage and Playmaking Statistics
Usage Rate - 24.1% (86th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Karl-Anthony Towns - 25.8%
Bam Adebayo - 25.2%
Scottie Barnes - 23.9%
Jaren Jackson Jr. - 23.4%
Assist Rate - 18.6 (81st percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Victor Wembanyama - 19.5%
Evan Mobley - 19.0%
Domantas Sabonis - 17.6%
Nikola Vucevic - 17.2%
Assist to Usage Ratio - 0.77 (64th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Pascal Siakam - 0.79
Santi Aldama - 0.78
Kristaps Porzingis - 0.76
Yves Missi - 0.75
Queen's playmaking ability, at his age, is super promising. It's why everyone is so excited about him. He's already been described as a hub for his offense, which is evident in his high usage rate. The plan is to get him involved, and they are trying to find ways to do that more efficiently in James Borrego's scheme right now.
He technically should be picking up more assists given how much he has the ball, but he's fine where he is right now. Pascal Siakam is not a bad playmaker at all. To be around his level at 20 is a great sign. The sights are just set higher, and he seems to have the skills to reach those heights.
Jokic leads bigs in Assist to Usage ratio at 1.64 and Sengun is at 0.97.
Rebounding Statistics
Offensive Rebounding Rate - 8.7% (52nd percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Alpere Sengun - 9.2%
Karl-Anthony Towns - 9.2%
Alexandre Sarr - 8.6%
Jarred Vanderbilt - 8.5%
Defensive Rebounding Rate - 18.3% (58th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Walker Kessler - 18.4%
Onyeka Okongwu - 18.4%
Jarrett Allen - 18.3%
Donovan Clingan - 18.3%
Borrego talked the other day about how important Queen's rebounding has been for the team. He's above average and that is another strength that translated from college. He can do both at a solid rate already.
The effort is there when it comes to grabbing boards. As he gets stronger, it should only get better.
Defensive Statistics
Steal Percentage - 1.6% (74th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Naz Reid - 1.6%
Collin Murray-Boyles - 1.6%
Al Horford - 1.6%
Harrison Barnes - 1.6%
Block Percentage - 1.9% (57th percentile)
Similar NBA Players:
Mark Williams - 1.9%
Quinten Post - 1.9%
Jalen Duren - 1.9%
Andre Drummond - 1.8%
This development in his game was a nice surprise. His defensive skills were definitely the most questionable part of his college evaluation.
He isn’t like Rudy Gobert or anything on that side of the ball, but he has quick hands and has been able to hold his own at times. He’s not a complete turnstile, which is a positive. Still plenty of room to grow.