NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The New Orleans Pelicans may be projecting a vision of the future when Summer League tips off Thursday in Las Vegas.
It’ll easily be the most anticipated Summer league for Pelicans fans since Zion Williamson’s rookie season in 2019. Typically, the games are usually a mundane run for younger players, but lead executive Joe Dumars has retooled the roster in New Orleans in favor of a youth movement.
Dumars and company took Jeremiah Fears at No. 7, a move which could usher in the Pelicans’ starting point guard of the future. They made a splash by trading their No. 23 pick for No. 13 to take the offensively skilled center Derik Queen. The Pelicans are hoping that gambling on Queen by giving up a potential high lottery pick in 2026 will pay off in the short term.
“I just want to show that I’m one of the best that got drafted this year. It don’t matter that I went 13th… I just want to show I’m the best”
— Derik Queen on the statement he wants to make at Summer League pic.twitter.com/pg7QrnH4HP
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) July 6, 2025
“It reminds me of Baltimore a lot, like the people. Y’all’s food might be better. Y’all’s downtown is better too… Living situation and everything reminds me of home”
— Derik Queen on New Orleans pic.twitter.com/mSGLwnQqxb
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) July 6, 2025
Thursday (July 10) at 2:30 p.m. on the Gulf Coast Sports and Entertainment Network, fans will get their first look at how the one-two punch of Fears and Queen might work together on the court. They’ll also feature second-round pick and steadily rising prospect Micah Peavy.
“That I’m a dawg. That I just make winning plays. I want to guard the best player on the court. I want to show what I can do”
— Micah Peavy on the statement he wants to make at Summer League pic.twitter.com/2KwxYVFlCM
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) July 7, 2025
“I have been working on my strength, getting a little bigger, not being pushed around. That’s the goal for the whole summer… The league is more physical each year. You have guys 250+, mostly centers. I’ve got to get up there”
— Yves Missi on gaining weight this summer pic.twitter.com/t04f5R5BAM
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) July 7, 2025
Last year’s Rookie-of-the-Year candidate Yves Missi will also get reps in Las Vegas, as well as two-way players Trey Alexander, Keion Brooks Jr., and undrafted 7-footer Hunter Dickinson out of Kansas.
The Pelicans will face the Timberwolves on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on the Gulf Coast Sports and Entertainment Network.
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