Derik Queen doing his best to justify much-maligned Pelicans trade

The New Orleans Pelicans fell to 3-22 after a 135-132 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. But rookie Derik Queen is giving them hope for the future after his career-high 33 points and his first career triple-double almost got the Pelicans the big upset.

Queen hit a go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left, only to be denied the win when fellow rookie Dylan Harper hit his own layup with nine seconds to go. He's showing a nice scoring touch and some excellent passing, so much that the Pelicans might ignore the high-risk deal that got him in a Pelicans uniform.

Pelicans paid a high price for Derik Queen

On draft night, the Pelicans used the No. 7 pick to select Jeremiah Fears, a 19-year-old guard averaging 15.4 points in his rookie season. They also moved up to No. 13 to select Queen out of Maryland, but paid a high price. They traded the Indiana Pacers' first-round pick in 2026 for their first-rounder in 2025, No. 23. Then, the Pelicans got No. 13 from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for No. 23 and a first-round pick next year — the most favorable of their own and that of the Milwaukee Bucks.

That's looking like it might be a very high pick. Offseason acquisition Jordan Poole has missed 18 games, while Zion Williamson has been injured for 15. The Pelicans fired their head coach and now have the NBA's worst record at 3-22 — and tied for the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the 2026 draft, which they'd have to send to Atlanta.

Potentially giving up the top pick in next year's draft is a steep price, not to mention forward prospect Asa Newell, who the Hawks drafted at No. 23. Queen needs to be very good to justify the deal, and he has been — but not consistently.

The highs have been high and the lows low for Derik Queen

Queen has scored 20 points or more in six games, and fewer than 10 points in 10 games. He's had games like Monday when he earned 13 free throws, and games where he hasn't gotten to the line once. Queen is shooting 73.8 percent near the basket and only 11.1 percent from three-point range.

But where Queen is beginning to stand out is in his passing. Monday was his second game of the year with double-digit assists. After a slow start, he averaged 4.4 assists in November and he's up to 6.5 assists per game in December.