The writing is on the wall that this is likely going to be Zion Williamson's final season suiting up for the New Orleans Pelicans. With that, the focus now shifts to Derik Queen and what he can do as the next face of the franchise for the Pelicans. However, there is one roadblock: the Pelicans already have a frontcourt mate for him in Yves Missi, but the two have struggled to fit alongside one another this season.
As individuals, Missi and Queen have been awesome for the Pelicans this season. Missi is one of two players on the team with a positive net rating, and while his numbers suggest he's taken a step back from his first year, he definitely hasn't. Queen has shown the potential to be someone a team can run the offense through, similar to players like Domantas Sabonis or Nikola Jokic.
The key for the Pelicans now is simply getting these two comfortable on the court together, and there's a very easy way to do that—give them extended reps together.
The coaching staff must prioritize developing the Missi–Queen frontcourt
In theory, the pairing of Yves Missi and Zion Williamson sharing a frontcourt shouldn't work. With both players being paint-oriented offensively, Williamson specifically likes to get downhill and to the basket. But with time, they developed chemistry and understanding of how to play with one another, which has given New Orleans a solid frontcourt pairing. Now the goal should be to develop similar chemistry between Missi and DQ.
I have stressed for a long time now that Queen is clearly much better suited at the power forward spot than being a true center. At 6-foot-9, DQ is very limited size-wise, which creates a plethora of rebounding and rim-protecting problems. Although, for a while, I pushed that the team needs to draft a center to pair with him, before they do that, they should give this tandem a real opportunity together.
If Queen and Missi can learn how to play together, New Orleans won't have to worry about finding another long-term center solution. Missi does everything the front office could want from their five-man, he can protect the rim, rebound, run the open floor, catch lobs, and has a tremendous motor. It's time for the coaching staff to really let these two rock out and see if they have something between them.
At first, there may be a lot of turnovers and some overlap in skill sets, but if they can build chemistry down the stretch, it will only make the future brighter in New Orleans.