We all know the Pelicans have been maligned for their draft night trade that landed them Derik Queen but sacrificed next year's first-round pick, unprotected, to do so. Some of that criticism has been warranted, some of it a little unfair — it's not like the Pelicans gave up that pick for nothing. They got Derik Queen out of it! The unknown of a future pick is always going to be more alluring than an actual player, which is silly, and Queen should be a thrilling prospect to watch grow, but I digress.
Where the trade does lose me, though, is the Pelicans' basically sending mixed signals in the process. Because playing Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen starter (or near-starter) minutes, as they seem to be heading toward, is a sign this team does not want to win on a high level this season. That's fine in a vacuum, but throwing 19 and 20 year-olds into the fire really only "works" if a team can do so knowing that if things go well, they have young stars, and if things don't go well, they're moving closer to a high draft pick.
The latter is no longer the case in NOLA, which means either the Pelicans have unfairly high expectations for their rookies and this team in general, or... Troy Weaver, Joe Dumars and Gayle Bensonpre just didn't think before making this deal. Or both. It could always be both.
A 19 year-old running the offense, as it appears Fears is in line to do, does not lead to wins. And that's not Fears' fault at all — it's just nearly impossible to impact the game at a high level in year one as a primary ball-handler.
The Pelicans might have unfair expectations for Jeremiah Fears in year one
Look at Fears' contemporaries: Tyrese Maxey averaged 8.0 points his rookie season. Jalen Brunson averaged 9.3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 10.8, De'Aaron Fox 11.6, Jamal Murray 9.9. Darius Garland had one of the worst rookie seasons in recent NBA history!
Of course, there are a few exceptions to the rule — Kyrie Irving was a near-All Star in his first year and Trae Young was putting up 19 & 8 right off the bat — but more often than not, young guards take time to acclimate to the speed of the NBA. It would be awesome if Fears turns into Kyrie Irving... but the stakes of his rookie year being, essentially, turn into Kyrie Irving NOW or our front office is going to look really bad doesn't seem fair.
And, again, I don't actually hate the idea of putting the ball in Fears' hands and seeing what he can do. But if that's the plan, then giving up next year's first-rounder, fully unprotected, doesn't align with that plan at all, unless the team expects Fears to be in contention for an All-Star spot immediately. And if that's the case, then we need to have a much bigger conversation about how this front office approaches player development.