After surrendering two lottery picks for the Maryland standout, New Orleans witnessed a polarizing debut defined by triple-doubles, elite playmaking, and glaring defensive liabilities in the paint.
With the 2026 NBA draft lottery in the past, the New Orleans Pelicans' Derik Queen trade has now been updated. With all of the deals they pulled off to get Queen, the Pelicans traded away the No. 5 and No. 8 pick in the draft.
That is far from how bad it could have been, should the Atlanta Hawks had jumped into the draft lottery. They are many who believe that after seeing Queen's rookie season, he's a better prospect than anyone available at No. 5 or later.
There's a fair argument there, but it's far harder to justify trading both picks. To better understand what the New Orleans got in this deal, gere's a look at what went well, what went wrong and an overall grade for Pelicans rookie center's debut campaign:
What Went Well
When Queen was playing with a rhythm, he was one of the most fun young players to watch in the league. Before teams starting full-on giving up in the final week of the season, he was on the only one to have a triple-double, and he did it twice.
The 21-year-old finished among the top-five in rookies for rebounds (he was first), assists, steals, blocks and second-chance points. He was sixth in total points. He could fill up a stat sheet quickly and do it with finesse.
His playmaking ability as a center is the most exciting part of his game. He already sees the court like an experienced quarterback at times as the lead decision maker. He looked most comfortable when he was in control on offense.
He showed quick hands on defense, a steal per game and just under a block. Those were his best defensive traits.
What Went Wrong
Almost everything else on defense was a negative. Teams would target Queen often, and he was basically unplayable at those times. There is a reason that teams didn't take Queen earlier. People questioned his athleticism and defensive effort. There were many times this season that those worries were shown to be true. It wasn't always the case, though, so there is some hope of improvement in the future.
The former Maryland Terrapin was far from an efficient scorer. He averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists on 47.3/26.1/79.5 shooting splits for New Orleans. There were times in the year when he was at least average for his position, but he needs to be much more dominant with his two-point attempts, because he is far from a positive contributor from deep.
Overall Grade - B
It's not exactly fair to hold the Pelicans' trades against Queen, as this is just the environment he landed in. Many will always feel frustrated, though, thinking of what could have been with those two lottery picks plus Jeremiah Fears.
The good news, though, from a slightly more zoomed-out look, Queen showed a lot of potential as a rookie. There were a lot more good moments for him than many players have had in their first season. There is a future where he is the engine of a successful NBA offense, but he will surely go through some rough stretches as he develops. With the current start of the roster,