With a fresh perspective, the New Orleans Pelicans still land their coveted talent. Discover who rose to the top in this hypothetical 2025 NBA re-draft.
The New Orleans Pelicans have to be happy with how their rookie class has played out so far this season. Would they change anything if they had another chance, given the context they have gained through the All-Star break?
Though it is far too early to make any final calls on the NBA's rookies this season, it could be fun to think about what would change if the draft happened again today.
Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report went through and did a re-draft ahead of Rising Stars weekend. The Pelicans still end up with two first-round picks, but two different players.
The first six picks were as follows:
1. Dallas Mavericks, Cooper Flagg
2. San Antonio Spurs, Kon Knueppel
3. Philadelphia 76ers, VJ Edgecombe
4. Charlotte Hornets, Dylan Harper
5. Utah Jazz, Cedric Coward
6. Washington Wizards, Ace Bailey
With both of their rookies still on the board, New Orleans will now go ahead and grab Derik Queen with the seventh pick, leaving nothing up to chance.
The Pelicans were known to be interested in Queen at that No. 7 slot. They had him graded highly based on his skill, not as worried about the athleticism or effort issues as other teams were.
Before the Atlanta Hawks finally did the deal with New Orleans at No. 13, the Pelicans had been trying to trade up with other teams to secure Queen.
Now 55 games into his career, it's clear that what they saw in Queen is there. There have been some questions about defensive capabilities and efforts, but he clearly has an absurd amount of skill.
The rookie is averaging 12.2 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, a steal and nearly a block per game on 49.1/27.8/77.7 splits.
It doesn't take much thought to see why he's being circled as a franchise cornerstone for the future. He sees the court unlike most big men, more closely resembling a point guard. While not guaranteed, there is certainly a future where he is the engine of a very good NBA team.
Where this re-draft makes less sense is in New Orleans' next pick. With Queen off the board at No. 7, they likely don't move back up in the first round unless it's for Jeremiah Fears, who went off the board at No. 10 to the Phoenix Suns.
Still, in this hypothetical, the Pelicans drafted Kasparas Jakucionis at No. 13.
Jakucionis was originally taken No. 20 by the Miami Heat. He's averaging 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 39.8/45.1/88.9 splits this year. He would certainly be a much-needed boost to their shooting.