GAMBLE: Pelicans roll Dice on Derek Queen trade | FRANCHISE-ALTERING Game Changer or Mistake?

GAMBLE: Pelicans roll Dice on Derek Queen trade | FRANCHISE-ALTERING Game Changer or Mistake?

pelicans make a massive and aggressive statement by trading for Derek Queen i’ll tell you how it works out for New Orleans but why it also might be a reckless move it’s the Friday episode of Locked On Pelicans let’s go you are Locked On Pelicans your daily New Orleans Pelicans podcast part of the Locked On Network your team every day welcome to another edition of Locked On Pelicans the daily podcast covering your favorite team the New Orleans Pelicans and NBA part of the Locked On Podcast Network your team every day available wherever you get your podcast and available on YouTube i’m your host Pelicans Insider credential member of the media JakeMadison Nola Jake on Twitter here with you on this Friday and we are going to break down the massive gamble the Pelicans made trading up for Derek Queen i’m going to tell you why they did it their reasoning behind it with some quotes from Joe Dumar’s in there we’ll look at Derek Queen the player how he fits and I do think he does fit well on this Pelicans team and then also look at the risks because this could be construed as a reckless move we’re going to break it all down in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase and of course thank you for making Locked on Pelicans your first listen today and every day we are here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast and join over 11,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well become an Everyday that means you listen Monday through Friday to Lockdown Pelicans and if you’re an Everyday Dare let me know what you think about the trade down below and don’t forget you can catch us on the GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network the same place you watch your Pelicans play every day every weekday 10:30 a.m so let’s get into the trade here and look I I’m going to not pass judgment on the trade yet it’s probably riskier than personally I would have done but I see their logic i see their vision i’ll explain it to you but then we’re going to look at the risks too you know one of the things that I think is a little silly to do is draft grades right after the fact right we’ve never seen any of these players play in the NBA you know we can look back at draft grades for years and you’re like “That didn’t work out cuz you don’t know anything yet it’s impossible to actually judge any sort of move for a little while.” And that’s going to be the same for the Pelicans here a risky trade admittedly trying to move not trying moving up from 23 to 13 so here’s the trade the Pelicans traded the 23rd overall pick along with their next year’s first round pick it’s a swap with the Bucks basically what it means is they’re trading next year’s first round pick they will not have a first round pick in the next draft to move up 10 spots to select Derek Queen at number 13 overall there were a bunch of draft day trades that involved moving up we’ll look at what it took to do that too this is kind of in line with them but not quite right one thing to keep in mind with this is you know as much of the risk as there is if Derrick Queen works out none of the rest of the trade matters give it up next year’s pick if Derrick Queen works out even if the Pelgans aren’t good next year doesn’t matter if Derek Queen becomes an all-star this trade is fine and honestly a good move it’s as simple as that right you’re going to judge this based on the results and we won’t have those results for a little while if queen works out none of the rest of anything about this matters so why did the Pelicans do this in what is considered a risky or reckless trade and this was Joe Dumar’s identifying a player he wanted and going out and getting him and Joe Dumar said in his postdraft media availability you know when you have a chance to get foundational pieces like this you got to do what you can to go and get your guy and that’s essentially what the Pelicans did you know on lockdown on NBA big boards big board they had Jeremiah Fears at four and Dererick Queen at nine the Pelicans just got two top 10 players in what’s considered a good draft that’s why they did this trade this was a guy they thought fit this is a player they really want to have on the team so they went out and they got him and you’ve long heard me say if you’re an everydayer if there’s someone you want you’re going to need to overpay a little bit so go and get your guy now the Pelicans might have paid too much we’ll break that down a little bit later but they identified someone they wanted think that guy can be an all-star and then they went out and got him it’s kind of as simple as that right they identified who they wanted they were going to be aggressive to remake the roster and not just be complacent and do something else that they could do right that’s what this is about them identifying a player that they like that they think is going to be really good in the NBA that they think fits with Jeremiah Fears fits with Zion Williamson and they went out and made it happen simple as that you know whether you like the trade or not there’s something to be said for a team at least having some sort of vision whether that vision is good or bad and executing on it and that’s what the Pelicans tried to do here so I get why they kind of made this move they’re viewing it as okay if Queen’s as good as we think he is who cares about the pick next year this guy’s worth that sort of thing you know even if that pick is top five next year could be they’re going to say well we think Derek Queen’s a top five player and we’ve had him in our building for an extra year that’s more valuable to them with that you know they view themselves as building something the what that something is yet I’m not entirely sure and there better be a plan beyond just acquiring guys but you can kind of see a little bit of the vision of what they’re trying to do in terms of putting players out there on the court and we’ll talk about that with Derk Queen and his fit in the next segment here but this was them just taking a risk on a guy that they really like this puts a lot of pressure on Derrick Queen you know this means the Pelicans are absolutely going for it next year you know whether that’s smart or not in a very tough Western Conference I think they’ll be in the mix for a playin tournament spot if you do that you’re looking at maybe the 14th pick in the draft it could be better worse also you know even if you get the 14th pick it could improve in the lottery as we’ve saw with the Dallas Mavericks this past year so there’s tons of risk associated with it but sitting on picks doesn’t necessarily do you any good you know the draft can be a crapshoot at times if guys develop or not this is them you know this is the Pelons having a process and trusting their process and that process just happens to be Derek Queen right now whether that’s smart or not whether you think the Pelicans are going to be competitive or not next year is really going to you know judge how you view this trade if you’re a big Derrick Queen fan you love this deal if you’re not if you don’t like Derrick Queen you hate it if you think the Pelicans are going to be a playoff team next year you should probably like this trade if you think the Pelicans aren’t going to be a playoff team next year you probably hate the trade i don’t know if there’s really much middle ground on it now i’m just not going to grade it because I don’t know yet right there’s a chance they could be good next year there’s a chance not i don’t think they’re done with their roster i don’t think they’re done trying to make moves so thus I’d kind of give this grade you know trade an incomplete let’s get into beyond just the risk let’s look at the player right this is the guy who’s going to play for the team next year what does he bring to the team you know where does he fit what’s he need to grow how might the Pelicans use him and I think that’s where things get interesting let’s look at that coming up here next then we’ll get into the risks and why this could be a reckless move for the Pelicans all that and more in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans coming up next today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans is brought to you by Skiims when I found out Ski was making underwear for men I was kind of intrigued i’ve always had tough time buying underwear you don’t want something that bunches up i prefer something that’s breathable with a little bit of stretch but it’s got to be comfy all of that so when I heard about the quality of of of SKIMS from family and friends I had to give it a try and I’m going to tell you it lives up to the hype i was wearing a pair at the Pelicans facility yesterday i’m wearing a pair right now you know finding fit comfort style Skiims has it all i 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means you listen Monday through Friday to the Locked on Pelicans podcast and don’t forget watch us on GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network and also for your second listen lockdown NBA the offseason it is something here in the NBA isn’t it for your second listen find the Lockdown NBA podcast where there is no offseason stay uptodate on contract negotiations rumors and everything you need to be the most informed NBA fan find Lockdown NBA on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every day so let’s get into Derek Queen the player let’s take a break from the stuff around him and just look at him in a vacuum by himself derek Queen the player someone that the Pelicans clearly had very high on their board easily in the top five top six guys I think and Derek Queen was a productive college player in his freshman year at uh Maryland 16 and a half points per game nine rebounds two assists one steal one block this is a guy that is a very skilled and talented offensive big man and a good rebounder 6’10 with a 71 wingspan not the most athletic guy out there but he’s got enough athleticism you know he is very skilled he plays more like a guard at times than he does a big man this is someone who’s really good at scoring inside in the paint he can use left or right hand to score out the glass um whether that’s him driving whether that’s him playing with his back to the basket whatever it might be you know his postgame is pretty advanced for a player you know the Pelicans have been kind of missing that presence they did not have that guy in Eve Mi last year you know if you look at how well Jonas Valenunis played for the team derek Queen has a lot of those kind of moves whether it’s drop steps um he’s got a little baby hook that he has too he can just score and he’s comfortable facing up or taking guys off the dribble and I think that’s a really important thing there’s a lot of skill to this kind of guy a couple spin moves and everything you saw as well so he’s a guy that down low is going to be able to score and he’s a good rebounder too you know the Pelicans needed to add some size they needed to add some rebounding particularly on the defensive glass and Queen is definitely a guy that can use his size to be able to do that one thing that I noticed watching his film especially last night is he has a very good instinct of knowing when to time his jump for a rebound that’s one of the most important skills that you can’t really teach of just knowing when to jump to go and outrebound guys timing that jump kevin Love was like really well known for this derek Queen has a lot of that in him so you see the ability to go and be a good rebounder here i don’t think he’s going to be much of like a rim protector but he’s got enough athleticism to defend on the perimeter to switch on the perimeter and get back and try and block some shots that way too and the fact that he’s a big dude is probably an important thing with that where that can be a rim deterrent by itself the most impressive thing and the most in at least intriguing thing to me about him is his playmaking is his facilitating this is someone that shows flashes of being an offensive hub out of the mid post here you know if you look at how Demanis Sabonis and Alper and Shenun are used you can see Derek Queen fitting into some of that mold shenun doesn’t shoot threes and Queen isn’t a three-point shooter now though he has potential to be one I think but if you run your offense through him in the mid to high post I think that can work and now all of a sudden when I talked in the last segment about what the Pelicans vision is and it kind of coming together they’re clearly looking for guys that can put pressure on defense beyond just shooting they want guys that can drive and attack and force defenses into rotations three-point shooters don’t force rotations by themselves you need to have guys that can get into the teeth of a defense beat their man off the dribble have a help defender come over and now the defense is rotating and if you keep moving the ball you can find an open shot if you run a lineup of Jeremiah Fears Jordan Pool Trey Murphy Zion Williamson and Derek Queen that’s four guys in Fears Pool Zion and Queen that are playmakers in some capacity and one of the lessons to be learned from the postseason this year is you need those kind of guys you need lots of guys that are playmakers so having multiple guys that can playmake create their own shot look at Derek Queen with that gamewinner over Colorado State in the tournament right that was kind of all him and pass you’re lacking some shooting but you start to see the vision there shooting’s important but it’s not the beall end all of things either so you start to see what the Pelicans are looking at and what they’re viewing here another thing to keep in mind too is double big lineups with Derek Queen and let’s compare him to Cayman and Malawatch here you know if Mei is still on the team and maybe pencled in as a starter I’m not entirely sure just yet it’s too early to know all of that but Malawatch and Mi wouldn’t work together you can’t really play those two guys together you can play Queen and Malaw Queen and Mei together alongside Zion Williamson out there i don’t know if you could have done Zion Malawatch and Mei but you can do Queen Mei and Zion that’s definitely going to work or at least has the potential to work especially if you know he ends up becoming a three-point shooter the the the shot looks good the mechanics look good you know 76% for a big man from the free throw line is good he did not really take many threes per game so he’s you know it’s theoretical at best if he is a shooter but overall this is the type of guy that I think will work at the NBA level and gets really intriguing you know on the lack of shooting the Houston Rockets you know would run Alpun Shenun and Steven Adams out there a lot and it got him the second seed in the West they they were maybe one of the worst second seeds we’ve ever seen admittedly but it worked and so you can get by if you have this kind of creation without tons and tons of shooting out there so I’m intrigued by some of what New Orleans is doing even if the fit you know the overall picture is blurry still but keep in mind there’s probably more moves still to come from this team and that they’re not done after draft night and in fact now with only two centers on the roster really you know you have Kylo Makovich there too in Mi and Queen I wouldn’t be shocked with the 40th overall pick and I’m this is the Friday show but I’m going to drop this on YouTube beforehand so when you’re listening to this they might have already made the 40th overall pick or moved it or whatever wouldn’t be shocked if they go with a big man in that direction as well i think that’s still what they’re trying to kind of figure out here queen is someone they were really really high on really really high on now there’s there’s a lot of ties to Troy Weaver that could be good or bad depending on how you view him a lot of where Detroit is today was because of him it wasn’t so much as Trejan Langden coming in like completely overhauling the roster it was small little smaller tweaks he made that unlocked the roster but the most of that roster was built by Troy Weaver with the Washington Wizards last year troy Weaver’s son is an assistant coach on Maryland so it’s very close with Derek Queen queen said to us in his post-draft media availability that you know the Pelicans have probably talked to him the most this was a team that you know they met with the most that he was very excited to come here you know want guys that want to be here same for Jeremiah Fears as well but he is a very skilled offensive big man defensively it’ll still be a work in progress certainly but the Pelicans got better in terms of rebounding in terms of shot creation and post presence with the draft pick of Derek Queen some of the concerns about him you know are are very valid his conditioning did not look great in college last season you know at times he looked a little bit lacadasical like he didn’t care he’s got a a very like happygolucky attitude he doesn’t come off as the most intense kind of guy from what I’ve been told in you know like pregame things he’s just kind of happy he’s having fun out there that’s neither good nor bad to me you know look as long as you produce out there on the court which Derrick Queen has definitely done I think is important and I think when you look at the passing from him this is someone who does have some selfless qualities to him and that’s important joe Dumar has spoken about kind of those type of qualities that they really want they want guys that are selfless they want guys that are going to hustle and work hard there are some of the questions about that with Derrick Queen but given that that’s what Joe Dumar is putting such a massive emphasis on you would imagine they don’t have concerns about Derrick Queen when it comes to that and they have more info on Derk Queen than we do you know looking at it from the outside looking in so there’s a lot to like about Dererick Queen the player his fit on this team too his fit with Zion his fit with Jeremiah Fears in terms of just the player I like it makes a ton of sense and I think if Derek Queen hits his skill set is so unique for a big man especially in this draft there’s shades of Demarcus Cousins there’s shades shades of Nas Reed there’s shades of Jonas Valenunis i love that kind of player on this roster and we’ve seen Zion work with those type of players before too what you might not love even if you like Derek Queen is the price the Pelicans gave up to go and acquire him was this a risk was this aggressiveness or was this reckless let’s look at that coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked on Pelicans because there’s some more context to add around that including a quote by Joe Dumar that I don’t quite agree with that’s coming up here next in today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans today’s episode of Locked On Pelicans is brought to you by Game Time you ever decided at the last minute you want to head to a Pelicans game or a baseball game with friends and family maybe it’s game day and you suddenly realize you want to be in the stands that’s exactly where Game Time comes in it’s the easiest way to grab last minute tickets without the stress so with the money you save on tickets you can splurge on food drinks merch or even invite a bigger group to come with you game time makes it all possible game time makes buying tickets fast and simple prices on the app actually drop closer you get to first pitch or tip off and they’ve also got incredible lastminute deals clear seat views and the lowest price guarantee that takes the worry out of buying so Game Time is the official ticketing partner of of um Locked on MLB making it easier to browse the app for exciting upcoming MLB games i’ll be at a Dodger game i’m going to be in LA for a little bit planning on going out there for it all but look if you want to go see the new young guys on the Pelicans we’re going to have the schedule soon you’ll be able to buy tickets already so take the guesswork out of buying tickets with Game Time download the Game Time app create an account and use code lockdown nba for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code LO Cke NBA for $20 off download the Game Time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed and thank you for making Lockdown Pelicans your first listen today and every day we’re here Monday through Friday the number one Pelicans podcast covering everything you want to know about this Pelicans team so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast and join over 11,000 Pelicans fans on YouTube as well and become an everyday that means you listen Monday through Friday to the Locked On Pelicans podcast for your second listen Tyler Shook signed his contract yet is he going to be the starter for the Saints next season ross Jackson of Lockdown Saints is going to be breaking down everything black and gold make Lockdown Saints your second listen today part of the Lockdown Podcast Network your team every day or watch them on the Gulf Coast Sports and Entertainment Network at 10 a.m monday through Friday all right let’s look at the price the Pelicans paid to move up was this an aggressive move was this a gamble or is this reckless and I think it depends right now right there’s a riskreward calculation into this and the way Joe Dumar described it when asked that question was you know when you have the chance to make two lottery picks you’re basically making next year’s pick early that’s what he’s saying here we’re we’re making the pick now instead of making the pick next year and if you think the picks are going to be in the same range like sure whatever that’s fine like who really cares right next year’s draft may be a little bit better than this one at least at the top the middle of the draft we don’t know just yet right so they identified someone they want they went and got him now and they’re like “Yeah we don’t really care about next year because we feel this is going to work out in our favor.” But it but it might not right this is a risky move there’s nothing to say that the Pelicans are actually going to be competitive and good next year we’ve seen them before say we’re going to be good this year and then this year you end up with a 21 win season you know and a top four projected pick before the lottery didn’t go their way that absolutely could happen to them next season and now all of a sudden it looks like you’re giving up a top five pick next year just to move up 10 spots that’s something that’s worth keeping in mind with this right you know this is not them trading a first next year for a new first this year they already had the 23rd pick this is them trading a first to move up not to get a new a first round pick right you saw in the latter part of the draft the Sacramento Kings traded a future first for the 26th 27th overall pick right you got your guy well giving up a future first it wasn’t giving up the 23rd pick and a future first to move up and that’s what the Pelicans did here this is moving up 10 spots not acquiring a new pick that’s worth keeping in mind when it comes to this sort of thing that’s not particularly great now I’m not worried about the Indiana pick and its involvement in all of this i think that move is fine but you better be certain Derrick Queen’s the guy because if you do end up with a top five pick you’ve traded Derrick Queen for a top five pick next year that pick is more valuable right and that’s not a great thing and I think it’s compounded by the fact that look I like um Asa Newwell from Georgia who went 23rd overall you could have not made this move and still gotten a big man that I think would have fit and is comparable enough to Derek Queen different type of player certainly but you could have still gotten that rim protecting shooting big man that you’re looking for in Newell and that’s why I think Atlanta’s thrilled with this you know if Newell was taken one or two picks after um Derek Queen different story but I think Newell being there 23rd makes this look a little bit worse for New Orleans you could have still gotten a guy that’s going to be good or that you think is going to be good and look they probably don’t have Newel anywhere close to Derek Queen on their board so this is a little bit subjective when it comes down to it as well but I think that makes it look bad but when you look at some of the other trades on draft night you know and there were a number of moves like this it was costing a lot just to move up you know the Trailblazers sorry the Memphis Grizzlies traded the 16th pick to the Blazers for the 11th pick along with a 2028 Memphis pick in two or sorry um Orlando pick and two second rounders so to move up five spots the Memphis Grizzlies gave up a future first that’s an Orlando pick in 2028 and two second round picks in theory in terms of quantity of picks that’s more than what the Pelicans gave up but that Orlando pick seems like it’s not going to be as valuable as the New Orleans pick will be right the Suns traded 29 um and a future first for Mark Williams right there were a couple of moves like that the Utah Jazz traded three second round picks to move up three spots the Kings got the 24th pick for a 2027 first round pick so there were a couple of moves like this that involved it was expensive just to move up in the draft kind of the going rate so it makes it look a little bit better to me but you could have still gotten your big man at 23 and had next year’s pick this that I think makes this look worse right you know and if the Pelicans believe they’re going to be competitive that’s great i don’t think most people think they’re a lock to be a playoff team which makes this trade risky this is somewhat like gambling away your rent money you might pay your rent in the future too or you might be looking for a new place to live it’s really going to come down to how Derek Queen plays otherwise this Yeah is reckless and bad management it’s one thing to stick to your guns and have a vision and go and do it but if your vision sucks in the first place that’s not great right yeah look I love people who who stick by their beliefs but if their beliefs are just wrong in the first place yelling about it and believing in them doesn’t do you any good right and again some of this is subjective here when it comes to how you view players and I see some of what New Orleans is doing but it is risky borderlining on reckless what they did here but it depends on where you think the Pelicans are going to fall you know where do you think they fall in a tough Western Conference if you think they’re going to be in the mix for a playing tournament spot it’s probably fine if you think they’re just going to be bad next year yeah this looks really dumb on the surface of it but we don’t know for sure yet it’s going to be TBD it’s gonna you know time will tell when it comes to it that’s why I call this kind of an incomplete and what they’re doing with the rest of the roster i’m intrigued by the roster don’t know if it’s good but I’m intrigued and we’ll be breaking down the roster and more other moves here on Locked On Pelicans so please subscribe wherever you get your podcast join us on YouTube as well and on the GF Coast Sports and Entertainment Network and that’s going to do it for this episode of Locked On Pelicans as always I’m your host Jake Madison at Nola Jake on Twitter we’ll be back maybe this week too we got a whole lot more to come there’s a whole lot to talk about with this team we’ll be covering it all right here on the Lockdown Pelicans podcast see y’all next time

Pelicans make bold draft move, trading up for Derick Queen. Is this the game-changer New Orleans needs?

Jake Madison breaks down the Pelicans’ aggressive strategy, analyzing Queen’s potential impact and fit alongside Zion Williamson. The discussion covers Queen’s impressive college stats, his playmaking abilities, and how he could reshape the team’s offensive dynamics. Madison explores the risks and rewards of this high-stakes move, questioning whether it’s a masterstroke or a gamble.

Tune in for an in-depth look at how Derick Queen could transform the Pelicans’ future and what it means for their playoff aspirations.

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