Pelicans draft Maryland forward Derik Queen after trading for No. 13 pick

New York Times

26-06-2025

The New Orleans Pelicans have selected Maryland forward Derik Queen with the No. 13 pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft after striking a deal with the Atlanta Hawks, a team source told The Athletic.
New Orleans will send the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to Atlanta to move up 10 spots to select Queen, a league source confirmed to The Athletic. The 2026 pick will be the most favorable of the Pelicans' own pick and Milwaukee's selection.
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Queen, 20, was a projected lottery pick after a successful season at Maryland. He averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds per game on an efficient 52.6 percent from the field. The 6-foot-10 center earned Associated Press All-America honors and first-team All-Big Ten honors after leading the Terrapins to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Queen scored 27 points in the loss to eventual champion Florida and averaged 18.7 points in the tournament.
The Baltimore native brings versatility and shooting to Atlanta. Queen can post up smaller guards who switch onto him, putting his footwork on display, and can make necessary passes out of the post.
The Pelicans paid a steep price to acquire Derik Queen, but they believe he has some special skills as a big man. His handle and passing skills are elite for a center, and he should develop a 3-point shot over time.
But to give away two first-rounders for a guy who some viewed as a non-lottery player is a major risk. This is one of those moves that will stick with new Executive Vice President Joe Dumars for the next few years (whether it was the right decision or the wrong one).
With the ties general manager Troy Weaver has to the Washington, D.C. area, I'm sure New Orleans feels like it has a great understanding of what kind of person Queen is in the locker room. But he's got become a better defender and a true floor spacer, or this deal may go down as a really bad one. —Will Guillory, Pelicans staff writer.
Queen is, unsurprisingly, a polarizing player for NBA teams.
Some see the idea of a playmaking center in the Alperen Şengün mold, a productive player who will average 20 points and 10 rebounds for a long time. There's plenty of reason to buy into that. Simply put, Queen has been wildly productive at every stage of his career. He has an innate feel for the game and a tremendous skill set on offense that should translate, thanks to his balance and perimeter talent.
And yet, there are reasons for skepticism. Defensively, he'll be asked to do far more than he was at Maryland in the NBA and put in disadvantageous positions. Queen will need to work incredibly hard to become more capable on that end, and even then, he may not hit a certain level because he lacks great physical traits. The best thing that Queen can do is continue to work on his conditioning and footwork. Becoming a better shooter would also give him outs as a valuable player if star-level production doesn't come, as there are probably some Naz Reid-level outcomes in his trajectory if his shooting improves without the defense reaching a certain level.
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It's probably up to Queen with how good he wants to be. If he can keep doing the right things with his body like he did this year, there are outcomes that make him a very valuable player and All-Star. If he regresses in any way on this front, there are a lot of outcomes that probably don't result in him impacting winning basketball at a high level. But it's hard to envision a floor for him outside the NBA. He's too skilled not to be useful as a backup center even if things go haywire. — Sam Vecenie
Eastern Conference executive No. 1: 'I've been telling our guys, you watch him before the games, and he (seems) lackadaisical. He doesn't show a serious side. And that's a turnoff to some people. I'm like, think of Naz Reid when he was at LSU. It was the same damn thing. The games never get too big for (Queen).'
College assistant coach No. 2 (his team played Maryland): 'The skill is real. The knowledge of the game, and how to get to where he needs to go, crafty, is a real thing. He's not jumping over a phone book. I worry about, can he guard? Who he's going to guard is my question. I don't worry about him at all on offense. But I don't think he can guard fives. I don't think he's great in pick-and-roll defense, and I don't think he can move well enough laterally to guard Giannis and Michael Porter Jr., these scorers. He tries on defense, I think. I just don't think he moves well enough for it to be as good as it needs to be if he's not going to be a guy who's going to be super efficient on offense.'
College assistant coach No. 3 (his team played Maryland): 'I am not a Derik Queen guy. He can't shoot. Look at his 3-point percentage and number of attempts. I don't know who he's going to guard. Very skilled with the ball, because he's got great hands. Good from 15 feet on in. Doesn't run fast or hard. But he hardly took any 3s. And the way the NBA game is right now, what are you gonna do? But he's a great rebounder.'
Western Conference scout No. 1: 'Nice kid. Heavy emphasis on kid. We interviewed him, and he's 19 going on 14. He can do one thing: he can score. But you don't want to have to rely on a rookie scoring for you to contribute.'