Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Jeremiah Fears stands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the seventh pick by the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

National Writer Bashes Pelicans After 2025 NBA Draft Decision

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Grant Mona | Last updated Jun 27, 2025 4:00 PM ET

A media storm awaited the New Orleans Pelicans after they traded up in the draft, trading away a future unprotected first-round pick, and drafting prospects that have a questionable fit with the team.

New Orleans selected Jeremiah Fears with the 7th overall pick. Still, with the addition of Jordan Poole in a trade that sent CJ McCollum to the Washington Wizards, it seemed as if the Pelicans had already found a combo guard who could score.

Stephen A. Smith on Jeremiah Fears: “He’s the second coming of Kyrie Irving.”

(via @Frankie_Vision)
pic.twitter.com/ZP7a9r5r9b
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 26, 2025

Fears only shot 28.4% from beyond the arc and averaged 3.4 turnovers per game for Oklahoma. While he did average 6.3 free throws per game in the 2024-25 season, his defensive abilities at his size were some of the worst in the draft.

The most puzzling is Derik Queen at the 13th overall pick. Queen averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds per game in the 2024-25 season after a year at Maryland. His positional overlap with Zion Williamson makes him a poor fit on paper, and Queen is widely considered to be a weak defensive big.

“This was one of the five dumbest trades of this decade.”@BillSimmons was SPEECHLESS after the Pelicans traded away a 2026 unprotected first-round pick to move up 10 spots. pic.twitter.com/GpV3N53eBW
— The Ringer (@ringer) June 26, 2025

ESPN's Kevin Pelton revealed his draft grades after the 2025 NBA Draft and had some very negative thoughts about the Pelicans' draft process. He gave New Orleans a brutal grade of "F."

"It's possible for a trade like the Pelicans made to take Queen at No. 13 to work out. The Phoenix Suns gave up an unprotected future first-rounder in 2018 to move up six spots and never regretted landing Mikal Bridges," he wrote.

Pelton continued to say, "Still, New Orleans is betting heavily on its evaluation that Queen is less valuable than Fears and still worth moving up to get. And the downside is higher because the Pelicans' own 2026 pick is potentially part of the deal. At least Bridges was a prospect who rated sixth overall in my projections. Queen was outside the top 30."

The New Orleans Pelicans are trading CJ McCollum, Kelly Olynyk and a future second-round pick to the Washington Wizards for Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the No. 40 pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2025

The Pelicans are looking to add ready-to-play depth to their team after being decimated by injuries and trading away both Dyson Daniels and CJ McCollum in the past year, so New Orleans' draft picks could be crucial in the 2025-26 season.

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This article first appeared on New Orleans Pelicans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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