The New Orleans Pelicans have finally received more closure on the final price they paid for Derik Queen. Sunday afternoon, the NBA draft lottery took place, and the Atlanta Hawks watched the Pelicans' pick drop from No. 7 to No. 8. The Queen trade was heavily criticized and will likely continue to be, but through all the noise, one thing is becoming obvious: this deal isn't as one-sided as it's being made out to be.
From a pure on-paper value standpoint, the Pelicans overpaid. Moving from the No. 8 pick in 2026 to No. 13 in 2025, while also giving up the No. 23 pick (Asa Newell) in 2025, doesn’t look great, but it’s not that simple. The Pelicans viewed Queen as a franchise-changing talent and went all in to get him as a building block. His rookie season was filled with ups and downs, but he still averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.9 stocks (steals + blocks) per game.
DQ flashed potential as an offensive hub, and if he continues to refine his game and get stronger, he can be a true game-changer in the frontcourt.
The narrative regarding the Derik Queen trade is all wrong
I would have understood the hate if Atlanta jumped into the top three or even top four, but eighth? C’mon. In the top four of this draft, you could land a true franchise-altering prospect, but outside of that, we are looking at players with similar or lower ceilings than Queen.
Out of the last 10 eighth overall picks, the most notable are Franz Wagner and Dyson Daniels. Outside of those two, we are looking at names like Marquese Chriss, Frank Ntilikina, Obi Toppin, and Rob Dillingham. No franchise-changing talent in that bunch. This is more proof that the draft is far from an exact science, and even if your predraft evaluation is 100 percent correct, a player can still flop.
It’s also worth noting that outside of the top four, there are expected to be a ton of guards flying off the board and nearly no true frontcourt guys.
For a Pelicans team that took Jeremiah Fears at No. 7 in 2025 and has both Dejounte Murray and Jordan Poole, this would’ve created a logjam. Aday Mara is the only true big really gaining strong traction as a top-10 guy, and I would take Queen over him every day of the week. Sure, Mara has more size and better defensive instincts, but he can’t drive an offense the way DQ can. He can’t take the ball 94 feet off a defensive rebound into a fast-break layup.
There’s no one correct way to approach the draft, but the most beneficial path is just to draft the player you feel confident in, no matter their projected range. During the 2025 NBA Draft process, the Pelicans identified both Queen and Fears as cornerstone pieces that they wanted to draft, and only time will tell if that was the right decision.
Although the full details of this trade won’t be known until Adam Silver walks to the podium and announces the Hawks’ pick on June 23, the framework of the deal has been finalized for nearly a year. It’s time for Pelicans fans and the entire NBA world to move on. What’s done is done. The Pelicans landed a young talent they believe can help lead this franchise to heights it’s never reached. And the Hawks get a chance to add a young piece to a core coming off an incredible second half and playoff appearance.
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