Even today, it feels like the decision made by Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver in the 2025 offseason is following the New Orleans Pelicans and their fans like ghosts. While the Jordan Poole trade has developed a silver lining with Saddiq Bey's breakout, things are also starting to look up for the Derik Queen trade.
If you need a reminder, during the 2025 NBA Draft, the Pelicans traded away the rights to their first-round pick this season and pick No. 23 (Asa Newell) to Atlanta for the 13th overall pick (Derik Queen). When this deal was made, the NBA world was shocked, and things only got worse as the season went on. New Orleans found themselves at dead last in the Western Conference, with their pick looking like it was a lock to be in the top three of this year's class.
But since the All-Star break, the narrative appears to be shifting as the team plays its best basketball of the season, slowly changing the position of the 2026 first-round pick.
Pelicans' late-season push is changing the outlook of the Derik Queen trade
With the return of Dejounte Murray, this Pelicans team has taken on a new attitude, playing like it's game seven of the NBA Finals every single night. There's way more defensive intensity, more ball movement, smart shot selection, and a real sense of togetherness. Since returning from the break, the Pelicans are 6-4 and carry the league's seventh-best offensive rating. Probably the biggest part of this was Murray's return, as all season this team needed a trusted floor general, and he's been exactly that.
New Orleans first-round pick is now projected to go to the Hawks at No. 6, and the Pels are only a few wins away from having Dallas and Memphis leapfrog them.
Although I've always felt attaching Queen's name to this trade to be unfair, as he was way more a symptom of this deal than the root, the Pels still have an excellent chance to flip the narrative around this deal completely. With every other team in the bottom 10 of the league trying to actively lose games to improve their chances of landing Boozer, Dybantsa, or Peterson, the Pelicans can easily worsen this pick for Atlanta.
Let's say New Orleans pick ends up going to Atlanta as No. 9, trading the ninth pick and Asa Newell for Derik Queen is really not that bad. With DQ flashing potential to become an All-Star-caliber offensive hub and someone the Pelicans can build around for a long time, trading him for this type of package is a win.
The Pelicans' turnaround in this second half has become more than just about building momentum for the 2026-27 campaign—it's also a chance to shift the narrative around Derik Queen.