Pelicans' Derik Queen delivers a perfect response to draft-night trade criticism

USA Today

2 days ago

The New Orleans Pelicans were heavily linked to Maryland center Derik Queen ahead of the 2025 NBA draft, and the organization made an aggressive move to trade up and select him with the 13th pick on Wednesday.
But not everyone was a fan of the move.
Pelicans president Joe Dumars sent the 23rd overall pick (Asa Newell, Georgia) and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks for the draft rights to Queen. The Hawks will receive the more favorable pick between the Pelicans and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The deal has been widely criticized, with one assistant general manager reportedly telling The Athletic that it was the worst trade outside of the Luka Dončić one in the last decade. Queen, when asked Saturday about the criticism the team has received, delivered quite a response.
I don't think nobody in that class is ever going to be better than me. I block all of the noise out. (Joe) got a lot of faith in me. Most of those guys I beat on in high school, so it doesn't really matter. I know that the NBA is a whole different level, so I just got to continue to get better. Don't get too big-headed, don't get too low and just beat on them next year when they come in and make Joe look like a genius.
Queen was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, averaging 16.5 points, nine rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 36 games on 52.6% shooting from the field. He helped lead the Terrapins to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016.
The 6-foot-10 standout was viewed as one of the most skilled big men in the draft thanks to his offensive versatility, competitiveness and ability to impact games on defense, with his 7-foot wingspan. He ranked sixth in scoring average among Power Four freshmen.
After a dazzling year, the Pelicans saw enough in Queen to jump 10 positions in the draft to take him. Dumars & Co. believe they made the right move and aren't concerned with any noise from the outside.
"I've been doing this for way too long to give credence to naysayers," Dumars said. "I will say this, though: We're going to trot our own path here. We're not going to go by anyone else's playbook. These are the guys that we really, really wanted as Pelicans and we're super, super happy to have them here."