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Apr 1, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; McDonald's All American West guard Darryn Peterson (22) and McDonald's All American East forward Cameron Boozer (12) pose for photos after the game at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Pamela Smith-Imagn Images Pamela Smith-Imagn Images

Pelicans Could Miss Out on Future NBA All-Star After Controversial Trade

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 3:50 PM ET

The New Orleans Pelicans have been busy on the trade market throughout the 2025 NBA offseason, headlined by a deal with the Washington Wizards that landed them Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. While there were many fans who did not like swapping out CJ McCollum for Poole, it could turn out to be a beneficial move for New Orleans as they get younger.

However, the Pelicans made another offseason trade that even less fans approved of.

Pelicans' draft night blunder

During the 2025 NBA Draft, the Pelicans wanted to add another lottery talent after selecting Jeremiah Fears seventh overall, so they agreed to a trade with the Atlanta Hawks that landed them the 13th pick as well. In this deal, the Pelicans sent the 23rd overall pick and their 2026 first-round pick to the Hawks in exchange for pick 13, which they used to select Derik Queen.

The Atlanta Hawks are trading the No. 13 pick in the Draft to the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first round pick (most favorable of New Orleans and Milwaukee), sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2025

This was a shocking trade, as the Pelicans lost their draft rights for next year, just to acquire the 13th pick. Sure, Queen is a talented prospect, but he is very flawed as well, and there was even a possibility that he would have been available for them at pick 23.

Of course, time will tell if trading up for Queen was worth it, but on paper, it was a costly move.

Throwing away a potential future star

The Pelicans have plenty of talent on their roster with Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Jordan Poole, and more, but they are betting way too much on a successful 2025-26 season. The public's expectation for the Pelicans for this upcoming season is that they will be a lottery team again, especially in a loaded Western Conference.

Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Last season, the Pelicans had the fourth-worst record in the NBA, giving them about a 36.5% chance to land a top-three pick. Of course, they got unlucky in the lottery and fell to the seventh spot, but what if they have another disastrous, injury-filled 2025-26 season and another chance at a top pick? Now, however, it will not matter since they gave up their draft rights for next offseason.

The 2026 NBA Draft class is absolutely loaded, especially with a generational group of the top-three prospects. Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer will all be available at the top of the board, and the Pelicans have thrown away their chances at landing a franchise difference-maker.

The trio of

Cameron Boozer
AJ Dybantsa
Darryn Peterson

Is the best prospect trio in the same class since _______ pic.twitter.com/Lh0iwfXJmS
— nbadraftpoint (@nbadraftpoint) February 9, 2025

All three of those guys have the potential to be future Hall of Famers, and should all have an incredible opportunity to be future NBA All-Stars, but the Pelicans chose to acquire Derik Queen over having a shot at one of them. Of course, the best-case scenario is that the Pelicans are actually competitive and they would not have to worry about the draft lottery anyway, but they threw away their fail-safe.

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

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