Derik Queen has been the talk of the town in the New Orleans Pelicans community since Sunday’s draft lottery concluded. The reason for that is that the first-round pick New Orleans sent to the Atlanta Hawks for DQ rights on draft night has become the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. On top of that, the Pelicans traded Indiana’s first-round pick during last year’s NBA Finals to acquire the No. 23 pick in the 2025 draft (later traded for Queen), and that selection ultimately jumped to No. 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft.
So, technically speaking, the Pelicans traded the No. 8 and No. 5 picks in this draft for Queen.
This whole saga was a major talking point when it happened and has been reignited now that the lottery results are official. A lot of people continue to push the narrative that Joe Dumars and the Pelicans' front office made a mistake. While I don't agree with that sentiment, if Queen wants the majority of the NBA world to feel differently about the draft-night deal he was part of, that process starts this offseason.
Sure, DQ flashed All-Star upside this season, showed a ton of fun flashes offensively, and looks like a potential building block. But for all the good, there was plenty of bad, primarily in the strength, defense, efficiency, and rebounding departments. If Queen wants to silence his naysayers, improving on those flaws this summer is crucial.
The blueprint for Derik Queen’s year-two breakout is simple
Starting with the strength department, if he can improve physically, it will only make him a better rebounder and defender. Being 6-foot-9, Queen is already at a disadvantage the majority of the time when looking to defend postups or box out for a rebound, and his lack of strength doesn’t help. Too often during his rookie campaign, DQ was pushed off his spot or straight up bullied in the post, and that can’t continue in year two.
His instincts as a rebounder are there, as he finished second in rebounds per game among rookies, but he’s still only like 65 percent of the monster on the glass he could be. For him to reach the potential he has as a glass cleaner, hitting the weight room this offseason and adding muscle to his frame is necessary.
His defensive instincts aren’t at nearly the level of his rebounding, so improving on that end is also going to call for plenty of reps and film sessions.
From an efficiency perspective, DQ has to really embrace the boring this offseason. According to Cleaning the Glass, he finished in the 20th percentile among bigs in rim-scoring efficiency. That can’t continue in his sophomore year. He was missing routine shots, and as a big man, before Queen develops an outside shot or a true in-between game, he has to become automatic at the rim. He has the moves and the tools to manipulate a defender in the post, but improving his touch is crucial.
Thankfully, it appears DQ is set to work on all these things, as at the tail end of the regular season, it was reported he planned on getting in the gym with DeAndre Jordan this offseason. DJ built a career as one of his era’s best rim protectors, rebounders, and paint scorers, so he could help guide DQ down a path to success.
Queen has a ton of doubters, and the best way to silence critics is to be better, and the path to accomplishing that in year two is simple.
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