{"id":898300,"date":"2026-09-20T00:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T00:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/898300\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T00:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T00:02:10","slug":"unfiltered-nba-scouts-thoughts-on-pelicans-derik-queen-experiment-i-dont-see-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/898300\/","title":{"rendered":"Unfiltered NBA Scout\u2019s Thoughts on Pelicans\u2019 Derik Queen Experiment: \u2018I Don\u2019t See It\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0For the\u00a0upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026\u201327 basketball preview magazine<\/a>\u00a0that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.<\/p>\n

The Pelicans had one of the more unique offseasons in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Instead of making a big move to switch up their core, drafting a young prospect or signing an impact veteran, New Orleans stood pat. The Joe Dumars\u2013led front office didn\u2019t do anything notable until signing Bennedict Mathurin to a two-year contract<\/a> worth $16 million in late August.<\/p>\n

That means the Pelicans, coming off a 26\u201356 season, are running it back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Once again, they\u2019ll be led by former No. 1 pick Zion Williamson, who\u2014believe it or not\u2014is entering his eighth NBA season.<\/p>\n

\u201cZion is capable of being a big-time threat offensively,\u201d an anonymous NBA scout told Sports Illustrated. \u201cHe can do a couple things in terms of catching a drive going left, and his second jump on offensive glass is unreal. Those are two things he does as well as anybody. So he does have some weapons. However, he\u2019s a terrible defender and doesn\u2019t try. But he\u2019s not the only one who made it in the league like that, so he has to be a threat offensively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anonymous scouts break down each Western Conference team: Clippers<\/a> | Grizzlies | Jazz | Kings<\/a> | Lakers<\/a> | Mavericks | Nuggets | Pelicans | Rockets<\/a> | Spurs<\/a> | Suns<\/a> | Thunder | Timberwolves | Trail Blazers | Warriors<\/a><\/p>\n

Williamson missed 20 games last season, but it went down as the second-healthiest campaign of his career. He\u2019s played over 30 games in a season just three times: a career-high 70 in 2023\u201324, 62 last season and 61 in 2020\u201321.<\/p>\n

\u201cReliability\u2019s still an issue [with Zion],\u201d a scout told SI. \u201cBut then I think the biggest issue with him is how do you use him? Where do you play him? What do you run? Who do you put around him to allow him to unlock those two things that he does the best? And I\u2019m not even sure what the answer is, to be honest, but getting him catches at the elbow with a little bit of space would be my first guess. To do that, you\u2019re going to have to have some shooting around him, and those guys that are around him shooting have to be able to play some defense because he\u2019s not going to run back and do it himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he could get one dribble to the rim with space where he can either get to his left hand or get to his right hand and spin back, he\u2019s a problem for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those guys the Pelicans handpicked to play alongside Williamson is second-year center Derik Queen. New Orleans paid a hefty price\u2014the No. 23 pick and a 2026 unprotected first-round pick (which turned out to be No. 8 pick Kingston Flemings)\u2014to trade up draft Queen at No. 13 in 2025. <\/p>\n

NBA Championship Power Rankings: Where Does Your Favorite Team Stack Up?<\/a><\/p>\n

As a rookie, Queen had a solid year, logging 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. But he\u2019s got plenty of room for improvement. And at least one NBA scout doesn\u2019t like his fit with Williamson.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey invested a lot in Derik Queen, but I don\u2019t see it,\u201d the scout told SI. \u201cI have a low, low opinion. He doesn\u2019t seem like a real high-motor guy when you watch him in pregame or in the game. I thought he had some fake numbers from the start of the season that he got a little bit of hype on. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s that good. Again, I could be wrong, but when he\u2019s at his best, it feels like you have to play through him, and if you\u2019re playing through him, that means Zion is a liability because he\u2019s not defending and he doesn\u2019t have the ball in his hands, so I don\u2019t think they\u2019re a great fit together for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the bright spots of the Pelicans\u2019 26-win campaign was the rise of Jeremiah Fears, who New Orleans drafted six spots ahead of Queen at No. 7 in 2025. Fears registered 14.3 points on 43.4% shooting from the floor as a rookie and ended the year scoring a whopping 40, 36 and 36 points in his final three games.\u00a0He\u2019s got potential to be great.<\/p>\n

\u201cFears is interesting,\u201d the scout told SI. \u201cHe was kind of in that mold where I expect [the Kings\u2019] Darius Acuff Jr. to be\u2014high risk, low efficiency. But you get a year under your belt, maybe he can turn that around a little bit and slow down and use the good skills that he has. But we\u2019ll see. We\u2019ll see what he does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offseason recapWho\u2019s in: Bennedict Mathurin\u00a0Who\u2019s out: Jordan Hawkins, Kevon Looney, Micah Peavy<\/p>\n

Aside from adding Mathurin, the Pels also re-signed DeAndre Jordan to a two-year contract. Jordan was voted the NBA\u2019s Teammate of the Year winner despite playing in just 12 games last season. New Orleans also lost Kevon Looney, who ventured to Los Angeles to join Luka Don\u010di\u0107 and the Lakers.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

NEXT: We Simulated the 2026-27 Season 100 Times on NBA 2K27. Here Are the Results.<\/a>SI\u2019s prediction for 2026\u201327 seasonRecord: 29\u201353 | Predicting the 2026\u201327 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?<\/a><\/p>\n

The West is just too stacked for a team undergoing an experiment. Even if Queen and Fears take big leaps, it\u2019s probably not enough for the Pels to make even a play-in tournament run. <\/p>\n

PODCAST\u00a0\ud83c\udfa7: Listen to SI\u2019s NBA podcast,\u00a0Open Floor, below or on\u00a0Apple<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on\u00a0SI\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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