Pelicans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars couldn’t help but laugh while addressing “naysayers” and the noise surrounding New Orleans’ 2025 rookie class.
The Pelicans faced backlash over their decision to give up an unprotected first-round pick in next year’s draft to the Hawks, in order to trade up 10 spots to select Maryland’s Derik Queen with the No. 13 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday.
During a press conference introducing the Pelicans’ new rookie class Saturday, Dumars was confident in his team’s draft, which included taking Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears at No. 7.
“I have been doing this way too long to give credence to naysayers. We are going to trod our own path here. We’re not going to go by anyone elses playbook. These are the guys we really wanted as Pelicans”
— Joe Dumars on the noise surrounding the trade pic.twitter.com/iQHkPAPmul
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) June 28, 2025
“I’ve been doing this way too long to give credence to naysayers,” Dumars said. “I will say this, though. We’re going to trod our own path here, we’re not going to go by anyone else’s playbook.
“These are the guys that we really wanted as Pelicans, and we’re super, super happy to have them here.”
Pelicans president of basketball operations Joe Dumars couldn’t help but laugh while addressing “naysayers” and the noise surrounding New Orleans’ 2025 rookie class. X
Dumars emphasized that the Pelicans targeted players with high basketball IQs.
“We just want guys who are smart, tough and competitive with basketball IQs,” he said. “That’s who we are. That’s the profile of who we want all the players to be at the Pelicans… You don’t have to tell high IQ guys how to play with somebody else.”
Derik Queen poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected 13th overall by Pelicans in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Wednesday, June 25 in New York. AP
Queen explained the outside noise is “definitely” added motivation for him entering the league — and that he’s going to develop and make Dumars “look like a genius” for drafting him.
“I don’t think anybody in that [draft] class is ever going to be better than me, so I block all the noise out,” Queen said. “[Dumars has] a lot of faith in me. Most of those guys I beat on in high school… I know the NBA is a whole different level, so I just got to continue getting better, don’t get too big-headed, don’t get too low. And just beat on them next year when they come in and make Joe look like a genius.”
“Definitely. I don’t think anyone in that class is ever going to be better than me… Most of those guys I beat on in High School… Just beat on them next year and make Joe look like a genius”
— Derik Queen on being motivated by the noise around the trade pic.twitter.com/aWiIkZ4eJK
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) June 28, 2025
Derik Queen poses for a photo after being drafted by the New Orleans Pelicans in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. NBAE via Getty Images
The 6-foot-9 center averaged 16.5 points, 9 rebounds and 2.2 combined steals and blocks in his freshman season at Maryland.
The Pelicans’ decision to give up next year’s first-round pick for 20-year-old Queen was widely criticized, with The Ringer’s Bill Simmons calling the move “one of the five dumbest trades of this decade.”
The Pelicans finished the 2024-25 season at 21-61 and missed the playoffs.