I'll be wrapping up the rookie section of my series, where I give goals for the entire New Orleans Pelicans roster ahead of the 2025-26 season with 13th overall pick Derik Queen.
In my opinion, it's not crazy to say that Queen was the most controversial pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The Pelicans traded away the No. 23 pick, along with an extremely valuable unprotected first-round pick in 2026, to draft the Maryland big man. With the significant sacrifice New Orleans made to acquire Queen, many fans have incredibly high expectations for the rookie big man.
And while many fans hope Queen can be a front-runner for Rookie of the Year, I think it's important to set goals we know he can achieve.
Although parts of his game are polished, Queen is still a very raw prospect who will need to put in a lot of work to reach the All-Star potential many scouts believe he has. On top of that, during his Summer League appearances for the Pelicans, it was clear he must work on his conditioning. Queen struggled getting back on defense and was often seen tired.
These conditioning and stamina issues are something Joe Dumars has addressed in the media and said Queen is working on.
Considering all these factors, it's clear that for Queen to meet my goals, he needs to take small steps first, allowing him to make bigger ones later.
Improve decision-making and conditioning (potentially make All-Rookie 2nd team)
For Queen, my goals are straightforward. We saw during his time in Summer League that not only was his conditioning awful, but also his decision-making, both of which must change and are my goals for him.
Being a center, I don't think there's any world where you should average over 3.0 turnovers per game (unless your name is Nikola Jokic). During his time in Las Vegas for Summer League, Queen averaged an atrocious 5.7 turnovers per game and was practically gifting the ball to the other team. That cannot happen when Queen steps foot on a real NBA court.
It's great that he has elite passing ability, especially at his size and position, but that ability doesn't matter if you cannot control your turnovers. For this year to be a success in my eyes, Queen must have a 1.5 or higher assist-to-turnover rate.
Now, as far as getting his body into NBA-level shape, Queen has a golden chance to do that right now. With his wrist injury sidelining him from basketball activities, there is no better time to work on his cardio and stamina. This is something Joe Dumars mentioned he was motivating Queen to work on, so hopefully, we'll see a change when he returns to action.
If both the goal to improve his decision-making and his conditioning are met, I see zero reason why Queen can't make an All-Rookie team.