The New Orleans Pelicans have only two players competing in an event at this year's NBA All-Star weekend, and both Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears put on a show in the Rising Stars game. Queen played for a team coached by Hall of Famer Vince Carter, and Fears played for a team coached by Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony. The two players' respective teams won their round one matchups and met in the finals, ultimately seeing "team Vince" come out on top.
In the two games, one thing became abundantly clear: both of the Pelicans’ 2025 lottery picks were consistently top-five players any time they were on the court.
That might sound crazy because Fears was sharing the court with reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, the No. 2 pick in the class of 2025, and Dylan Harper. Same for DQ, who was sharing the court with V.J. Edgecombe, who took home the game's MVP. But I promise you, the gravity they brought to the game, the defensive pressure they faced, and the control and poise they both showed were head and shoulders above most of the group.
The only players who clearly looked better were Edgecombe, Jaylon Tyson, and Castle. That’s it.
But even though the play of the Pels' rookies is encouraging, it also highlights the team's biggest long-term flaw.
The Pelicans are trying to live on two timelines that don’t fit
When you look at the Pelicans roster, it seems like a team trying to build on two timelines, with a present-day one centered on Zion Williamson and a future one around Queen and Fears. The problem with that is that, to make it work, the players in both timelines need to fit together, and for the Pelicans, they don't.
In the Rising Stars game, Queen struggled scoring the ball, putting up just 4 points on 1/7 shooting, but he also snatched seven rebounds and dished out five assists. Team Vince was running their offense through him, and it was producing wins. Running the offense through DQ is something the Pels need to do more of, but with Williamson on the roster, they just can't.
Having two undersized non-floor-spacing threats in your frontcourt just doesn't work in the NBA, yet the New Orleans front office has shown no indication it’s ready to move on from Zion.
Having Zion around also makes life harder for Fears. Despite connecting on 2/3 threes he attempted during the two Rising Star Games and showing flashes of developing into a good outside shooter, he doesn't overly project to be some knockdown threat from distance. Fears thrives with driving lanes and space. Sharing the floor with Zion naturally limits both.
The Rising Stars showcase wasn’t just encouraging. It was clarifying. The Pelicans nailed their 2025 draft picks. Now the real question is whether they’re brave enough to build around them. Because the longer New Orleans tries to stretch two timelines across one roster, the longer both will underachieve.