The Ideal Next Step for Derik Queen With Pelicans Is Clear

Derik Queen's rookie season gave New Orleans Pelicans fans plenty of reasons to imagine what he could become.

He made history against the San Antonio Spurs, recording the first 30-point triple-double by a rookie center with 33 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and three blocks. In the season finale, Queen delivered another jaw-dropping performance with 30 points and 22 rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Pelicans lost both games.

That doesn't diminish what Queen accomplished. A 21-year-old big man with his combination of strength, footwork, vision, and passing ability is rare. However, those performances also captured the central question he must answer entering his second season.

Can he turn impressive numbers into a consistent impact on winning?

'Film don't lie'

Queen recently joined Hall of Famers Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady on the Cousins podcast to discuss his rookie season, his Baltimore upbringing and the players who influenced him.

He identified LeBron James and James Harden as his favorite players growing up. There's nothing wrong with being inspired by two of the greatest offensive creators in NBA history. Queen's unusual skill set gives him reason to think expansively about his game.

The most revealing part of the conversation, though, had nothing to do with offense.

Queen recalled a game against Indiana in which he initially believed several defensive breakdowns weren't his fault. After watching film the next day, he saw the possessions differently.

"Film don't lie," Queen acknowledged.

Young players can easily measure progress through points, rebounds, assists, and the attention that comes after a big game. Film demands something different. It exposes the late rotation, missed assignment, or poor decision that may not ever appear in the box score.

Production must come with winning results

Queen averaged 11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists while appearing in 81 games. Those are solid numbers for any rookie.

The results tell a more complicated story.

New Orleans went 5-10 when Queen grabbed at least 10 rebounds. The Pelicans finished 5-8 when he dished out seven or more assists, with Portland the only eventual playoff team among those five victories.

The most striking split came when Queen scored. New Orleans went 1-10 when he reached 20 points.

Some of those losses were competitive. Queen helped give the Pelicans chances to win against Dallas and San Antonio. The issue was not that all his production came after games had been decided. It was that even his best all-around performances rarely translated into victories.

Queen was a rookie playing for an injured, unstable team that changed coaches during the season. He was not responsible for everything happening around him.

Still, his production was not consistently winning production.

Learn from Harden, don't imitate him

James Harden didn't enter the NBA with an offense tailored to him. He spent his first three seasons coming off the bench for Oklahoma City, learning how to complement Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. He eventually became a late-game ballhandler who could allow Westbrook to work without the ball.

Only after Harden reached Houston did an organization fully commit to making him the center of its offense. Mike D'Antoni later placed the ball in his hands as the team's point guard and constructed an system around his ability to score and create.

At his statistical peak in 2018-19, Harden posted a 40.5 percent usage rate. Queen's rookie usage rate was approximately 23 percent.

Usage doesn't measure how long a player holds the basketball, but the difference illustrates the size of their offensive responsibilities. Harden was expected to finish more than the lion's share of Houston's possessions. That isn't realistic or desirable for Queen on this Pelicans roster.

New Orleans has Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Jeremiah Fears, Saddiq Bey, and Bennedict Mathurin. All of them can score, and all of them should recieve opportunities within the offense.

Jamahl Mosley won't give Queen the freedom Harden has to hold the ball and survey the defense. At least not now. Learning to play without won't diminish his skill set. It would make that skill set more useful.

Queen must screen with purpose, create space, establish position, cut when defenders lose sight of him, and make quicker decisions. If he can affect possessions without needing the offense to revolve around him, his passing and scoring will complement the Pelicans' other creators instead of competing with them.

Harden's career also offers a warning. He became an MVP and one of the greatest offensive players ever, but he hasn't been to the NBA Finals since 2012 when he was the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year with the Thunder. His postseason career includes enough difficult elimination games to show that individual brilliance does not guarantee team success.

Queen should learn from Harden, and anyone else who can help him grow. He doesn't have to become any of them.

He must become the best version of Derik Queen.

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