Feb 25, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Willie Green Gets Honest on Developing New NBA First-Round Picks

Originally posted on New Orleans Pelicans on SI
By Logan Struck | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 5:59 PM ET

The New Orleans Pelicans have made some noise throughout the 2025 NBA offseason, and while it has not all been positive noise, they are trending in the right direction by making changes. Before this offseason, the Pelicans were sitting in an awkward spot where they were not competitive in the West. While that still has not changed, they have focused on building a stronger young core.

The Pelicans, of course, continue to build around former first-overall pick and two-time NBA All-Star Zion Williamson, with a core group of Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Yves Missi, Jordan Poole, and Dejounte Murray around him, but they added some impressive young talent in the 2025 NBA Draft as well.

Pelicans' polarizing 2025 NBA Draft

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

With the seventh pick, the Pelicans selected Jeremiah Fears out of Oklahoma, a very talented point guard who is just 18 years old. Fears is expected to be an elite offensive talent at the next level, and while he could take some time to improve his efficiency as a score-first guard, he should have no trouble making an impact in New Orleans.

After that, however, the Pelicans' draft took a turn. The Pelicans traded up from pick 23 to pick 13 to select Derik Queen, but they had to give up their first-round pick next year to do so. If the Pelicans are bad again, which many expect them to be, then they likely traded away a potential top-ten or top-five pick to acquire Queen.

FIRST LOOK: Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears in Pelicans threads pic.twitter.com/DN5KciObfl
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) June 26, 2025

Regardless of how they acquired Fears and Queen, the two rookies could be new building blocks in New Orleans if they develop properly.

Willie Green has high hopes

In a recent interview with WDSU News, Pelicans head coach Willie Green talked about developing his two new lottery picks.

"Yeah, it's a balance. It's a balance of making sure that we continue to develop them, continue to have communication about the things that they're doing really well, the improvements that they can make, but making sure that they play through some of those mistakes as well," Green said. "That's how guys get better in this league, and we're extremely excited about both Jeremiah and Derik, two really fantastic young players that we feel can make an impact in this organization."

The Pelicans should certainly be excited about the new rookie duo of Fears and Queen, who are both extremely talented. While there are certainly more question marks about whether Queen's game will translate to the next level, both lottery picks could make a big impact in New Orleans, especially if their head coach buys into them.

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

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