Pelicans' Derik Queen Concerns Go From Bad to Worse in Latest Stretch

The 2025-26 season for the New Orleans Pelicans has been nothing short of a disaster. After giving up their unprotected first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Pelicans have been one of the worst teams in the league all season, and currently have the third-worst record in the Western Conference. They are so far away from being a relevant, competitive team, and they won't even have a draft pick to show for the utter disappointment.

In the first half of the season, they could at least point to Derik Queen's impressive start to justify the offseason trade and talk themselves into having hope for the future. Not that anything Queen does or doesn't do on the court justifies the unforgivable miscalculation from Joe Dumars & Co. that convinced them to give up their first-round pick, but the Pelicans at least seemingly had the building blocks for the future.

After Queen's hot start, however, things haven't been going well for the rookie big man. His production, along with his playing time, has taken a nosedive, which in turn has been negatively impacting his effort. The 21-year-old center was averaging 12.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 26 minutes per game on 55.5% True Shooting before the All-Star break. Since then, not only has Queen been benched, but he has seen his numbers go down across the board.

Derik Queen's Struggles Further Highlights Disastrous Pelicans Season

Queen is playing 21.4 minutes per contest in the last nine games, averaging 9.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists on 51.8% True Shooting. His usage rate has largely stayed the same throughout the season, but his level of aggression and effort has been noticeably waning.

As a result, the talented rookie's minutes have not been consistent. He hasn't played over 20 minutes in back-to-back games since getting benched ahead of the February 24 clash against the Warriors. He has scored in double digits only twice in that seven-game span.

While the fall in his offensive production can't be ignored, it's not even the main problem with Queen. The defensive and rebounding concerns are the bigger reasons why Queen's playing time has been inconsistent. When Queen is at the five, the Pelicans struggle rebounding the ball. As an undersized center without elite length, athleticism, or motor, Queen is a very poor defender. The Pelicans give up 31.7% offensive rebounding rate when Queen is on the floor, per Cleaning the Glass. This would make that group the second-worst defensive rebounding team in the league for the whole season.

Queen doesn't protect the rim well, either. He can be an active defender with good hands, but he is rarely in the right position to challenge shots at the rim. When he is there, he doesn't have the length to disrupt shots. As a result, the Pelicans are significantly worse with him on the floor defensively. New Orleans has a defensive rating of 121.2 when Queen is playing and 115.8 when he is on the bench.

There is no evidence so far that Queen has the physical tools and skill set to be a center in the NBA. But if he plays the power forward, that creates other challenges. His athletic shortcomings become more of an issue in perimeter defense, and his inability to shoot the ball creates spacing problems offensively. It also makes his fit with Zion Williamson particularly bad.

The Pelicans are young and aren't going anywhere this season. They have time to figure out all of these things. But the facts that Queen is trending downward and the Pelicans haven't put him in a position to succeed should be deeply concerning.