Will Pelicans REGRET Trading Up For Derik Queen?

Will Pelicans REGRET Trading Up For Derik Queen?

another guy who talked after the draft was Joe Dumars because he was asked about his decision to trade the 23rd pick with an unprotected 2026 first from the Bucks or the Pelicans to move up 10 spots and get Derek Queen It was their second lottery pick They drafted Jeremiah a guard out of Oklahoma with the se seventh pick Derek Queen Maryland big man with the 13th pick And then in the second round they got Micah Peaveeye out of Georgetown with the 40th overall pick Tom I want to redo on this Pelicans conversation because on the night of the draft all the craziness and the insanity during our live show we did at Yahoo Sports I didn’t realize they gave up an unprotected 2026 first in that moment I was just fixated on oh they traded up and got Queen and then postgame show uh had King and Vinnie on We just kind of glossed over it In the craziness of that night 12:30 a.m recording from my pod that night we didn’t hit this as in the way that we need to And I think there’s two ways to look at it A the way everybody’s looking at it the Pelicans are nuts They are dysfunctional Joe Dumar is driving that franchise into the ground again He traded the Pacers first away too soon Hallebertton gets hurt Now that first could be highly valuable And then he trades an unprotected 2026 first from the Pelicans who are in the loaded West or the Bucks who could trade Giannis still to move up 10 spots for Derek Queen who is anything but a certainty to be a success in the NBA considering his conditioning issues considering his his lack of defense considering his lack of a jumper And now you put him in New Orleans the poboy capital of the world where boy I I gain weight every time I go to New Orleans And Zion gained a lot of weight there too And for Derek Queen is not the place to be Okay So he gave us that pick to move up 10 spots That’s one way to look at it And that’s all fair The other way is
the the other way is do they have something cooking Tom like does does do the Pelicans have another move lined up that we don’t know about that makes it make sense for them to give up next year’s pick or am I am I giving them too much credit for thinking logically to even entertain the possibility that the Pelicans have another move or two coming this off season that makes them a clear-cut top team in the Western Conference where you’re not concerned about that pick next year and that you’re only feeling good about Derek Queen could they have something cooking or is this just them being an incompetent franchise joe Dumar’s still being a horrible general manager What side do you land on here do you think Joe Dumar thought he was trading for Michael Jordan rather than Jordan Pool because like that’s the only explanation I can come up with Like they traded for Jordan Pool days before trading their 26 first round pick which let’s remind the audience here the 26 Pelicans pick is also a super pick It’s a super first because it they could swap it with Milwaukee right they have the ability to say “All right do we want our pick or you know Milwaukee they just became you know a 20- win team and we’re going to swap that our pick for that one.” Like you have the option It like it is maybe the most valuable 2026 pick in the draft Like that the fact that they gave that up just to move 10 picks up after you trade away CJ McCullum By the way CJ McCollum if you’re arguing that this team uh is built to be much better next year than a win now team you don’t trade CJ McCollum When CJ McCollum was on uh the Pelicans they’re an eight a 25 win team last year with him on the floor They were 4 and22 without CJ McCollum last year a 12 win team over 82 games And then you traded for Jordan Pool who was on coming from an 18- win team that was 15 and 53 when he was playing What are you doing this is nonsensical The fact that they a traded for Jordan Pool and then went ahead and traded their 2026 as if they’re going to be great next year This is uh I mean Kev it could be the number one overall pick Let’s just point out that it could be the number one overall pick that the New Orleans Pelicans just traded away next year Not saying it’s likely but it could be the number one overall pick And it reminds me of Neil O’Shea back in what was that 2011 when he traded Baron Davis uh to to Cleveland for Mo Williams and attached the 2011 unprotected pick to go get Mo Williams because hey you know Mo Williams is an all-star Got to bring him in And and thank you Baron Davis for your uh for your leadership over here I know Blake Griff Griffin loves you but hey we don’t love the draft in 2011 They’re not Why why who cares about you know drafting a 19-year-old that pick turned into Kyrie Irving It went number one overall Okay they didn’t think it was going to land number one Of course the Dallas Mavericks didn’t think they were going to land number one Let’s also remember the 2012 Damen Lillard That wasn’t the Blazers pick That was actually the Brooklyn pick that they got in a trade for Gerald Wallace And then they end up with Damen Lillard 2017 the number three pick the Sixers had because Sacramento Vlad Devots took over for Sacramento and said we need to dump all this salary Carl Landry Jason Thompson we need to get rid of this salary because we need to go chase free agents in the offseason And Sam Hanky in Philly was like “Oh great great Let’s take a pick swap in 16 a pick swap in 17.” And Vlatty D is like how what are the odds that that 17 pick swap will really turn into anything turned out it turned into Jason Tatum Okay the number three pick in the 2017 draft turned into Jason Tatum because with the number three pick and they swapped out they ended up going and get Markeel Folultz at number one and of course that pick swap turned into Jason Tatum Let’s talk about 2019 DeAndre Hunter in that big swap like the New York uh the the the Lakers that wasn’t the the the fact that they got number four went to New Orleans ended up with Atlanta that was also a traded pick that ended up being a number four pick and then last year Reed Shepard the number three pick that was via uh Brooklyn going to Houston So it’s like it’s not it’s not out of the realm that this future first unprotected that can be swapped with the Milwaukee Bucks ends up being a top four top five pick and it could be number one We have seen it in NBA history whether it’s Kyrie Irving or others with a with a Jason Tatum trade back in 2017 This is possibly the worst trade of the last decade if that happens if they end up losing the number one overall pick just because they love Derrick Queen especially with the 2026 draft class Uh la last night I I made a post saying how you know as great as the 2025 draft was and as fun as this was 2026 draft is even more loaded because between Darren Peterson and Camboozer and AJ Debons you have three clearcut number one pick quality guys And that’s not even factoring in Nate Ament among like a bunch of other guys who could develop a lot over the next year and play into that top three or even into the number one conversation You cannot rule that out happening over the next year And people replied saying “Well you draft people do this every year You always say next year is better.” That’s not true That is not true A year ago in 2025 there was way more uncertainty about some of these guys behind Cooper Flag Cooper flag was the only certainty and other than that it was like Ace Bailey could be great Dylan Harper could be great but there’s no guarantee about some of these guys as number one pick quality Next year there’s at least three Cooper flags That’s what next year is And so you don’t have to get the number one pick to get a guy who can change your franchise next year And depending on how things develop there could be even more of them And so for New Orleans to do this deal is a monumental risk And for the Hawks to get this pick it continues a run of this new look Hawks front office nailing it I like the Porzingis deal for them Ace Newell at 23 I I thought they would take him at 13 and then they get him 10 spots down at 23 Such a massive victory for that front new front office to get these guys Hawks are nailing it so far There’s a number of other teams Tom that I think have some of my favorite draft halls as

The New Orleans Pelicans traded up to draft Derik Queen — but at what cost? 🧐 Kevin O’Connor and Tom Haberstroh break down why giving up an unprotected 2026 first-round pick (with swap potential from Milwaukee) could go down as one of the biggest risks in recent NBA Draft history.

Between Queen’s question marks and New Orleans’ unpredictable future, KOC says this move could be disastrous. Meanwhile, the Hawks may have come away as big winners.

Is this front-office malpractice… or part of a larger plan? 👀

0:00 – Pelicans Trade Up for Derik Queen
1:35 – What Were the Pelicans Thinking?
3:50 – Worst Trade Since… Kyrie? Dame? Tatum?
5:15 – 2026 Draft Is STACKED 🧠
6:40 – Atlanta Hawks Fleeced Them?

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