The 2025 Rookie Class

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Confidence is key, but did he say too much?

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[nate33]

Remains to be seen if Queen a good defender on a contending team, but he’s proving me wrong.

Shows what kind of scout I’d be. I was convinced Queen and knueppel would be bums. They both looking terrific.

Really? I think it was always pretty clear he'd be an offensive weapon, the problem was the sheer scale of liability he'd be on defense, from a "weakness/problem," to catyclsmically bad". I do not care that we let him pass, the offense is not a surprise to me beyond the scale of it (I thought it would be good, but not this good). But the problems are the problems, I have seen an endless litany of scoring bigs in the modern NBA become utterly worthless over time because of how much of a liability they are on defense. No interest last spring, no interest now.

Exactly. His scoring doesn't surprise me at all. But coaches often lose patience with scoring bigs who don't defend. They get a lot of minutes as rookies, but if they can't figure out the defensive end, they eventually find themselves on the bench later in their careers.

Food for thought: rookie Jahill Okafor was an equivalent scorer to rookie Queen, but with fewer fouls and turnovers, despite being a year younger. And Okafor ended up playing fewer and fewer minutes each year after his rookie year until he was out of the league.



I'll eat crow if Queen starts playing good defense and his team starts winning. Until then, I'll stand by my original opinion on Queen.

[Wizardspride]

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[prime1time]

Remains to be seen if Queen a good defender on a contending team, but he’s proving me wrong.

Shows what kind of scout I’d be. I was convinced Queen and knueppel would be bums. They both looking terrific.

Really? I think it was always pretty clear he'd be an offensive weapon, the problem was the sheer scale of liability he'd be on defense, from a "weakness/problem," to catyclsmically bad". I do not care that we let him pass, the offense is not a surprise to me beyond the scale of it (I thought it would be good, but not this good). But the problems are the problems, I have seen an endless litany of scoring bigs in the modern NBA become utterly worthless over time because of how much of a liability they are on defense. No interest last spring, no interest now.

Exactly. His scoring doesn't surprise me at all. But coaches often lose patience with scoring bigs who don't defend. They get a lot of minutes as rookies, but if they can't figure out the defensive end, they eventually find themselves on the bench later in their careers.

Food for thought: rookie Jahill Okafor was an equivalent scorer to rookie Queen, but with fewer fouls and turnovers, despite being a year younger. And Okafor ended up playing fewer and fewer minutes each year after his rookie year until he was out of the league.



I'll eat crow if Queen starts playing good defense and his team starts winning. Until then, I'll stand by my original opinion on Queen.

The passing changes the conversation. You are wrong. The only argument before was that he couldn't pass like Jokic. Well...he can.

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[prime1time]

I don't think people understand what's about to happen with Queen. Pelicans are going to run the offense through him. He's arguably their best player right now. The problem with Okafor is that he was a ball stopper. But Queen's passing enables him to play like Jokic. 11 assists tonight. The most assists Okafor ever had in a game was 6. Queen already has had assists of 7, 8 and 11. People really don't understand how important good passing is. Sengun, Jokic and Queen. Fans need to prepare themselves. Queen is going to put up massive numbers in his career. He's just getting started. They are going to build the team around Queen. Get rid of Zion.

[prime1time]

Really? I think it was always pretty clear he'd be an offensive weapon, the problem was the sheer scale of liability he'd be on defense, from a "weakness/problem," to catyclsmically bad". I do not care that we let him pass, the offense is not a surprise to me beyond the scale of it (I thought it would be good, but not this good). But the problems are the problems, I have seen an endless litany of scoring bigs in the modern NBA become utterly worthless over time because of how much of a liability they are on defense. No interest last spring, no interest now.

Exactly. His scoring doesn't surprise me at all. But coaches often lose patience with scoring bigs who don't defend. They get a lot of minutes as rookies, but if they can't figure out the defensive end, they eventually find themselves on the bench later in their careers.

Food for thought: rookie Jahill Okafor was an equivalent scorer to rookie Queen, but with fewer fouls and turnovers, despite being a year younger. And Okafor ended up playing fewer and fewer minutes each year after his rookie year until he was out of the league.



I'll eat crow if Queen starts playing good defense and his team starts winning. Until then, I'll stand by my original opinion on Queen.

The passing changes the conversation. You are wrong. The only argument before was that he couldn't pass like Jokic. Well...he can.

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I have real questions about this pass. And it goes beyond just the passing ability. He looks to his left when he's initially on the break. He doesn't look left again. Maybe he sees him peripherally but it's really hard to put into words just how impressive this is. This is Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Nikola Jokic level passing. Like more than just being able to make the pass. He's seeing plays before they happen. Taking quick mental snapshots of the floor and feeling where players will end up. Pelicans will lean into this skill. I watched a lot of Queen last year but it's clear now that as good as he was at UMD, Willard was holding him back. I mean in Queen's prime what do you think his averages will be?

It'll sting that the Wiz weren't able to draft him. At the same time, I'm happy for him. If he continues to lock in, the sky is the limit for him.

[Kanyewest]

8 assists in the first half! And 7 in the first quarter !! He did air ball the potential game winner but he had a great game.

[TGW]

Queen is an amazing offensive player. He is absolutely embarrassing on defense.

[Dat2U]

Queen is basically NO's PG, running the offense completely through him. His handle/passing is changing the offensive equation for the Pels. He's not a poor man's Jokic, he's 1 of 1 with other wordly footwork & feel for the game. He's special enough offensively that I think he can stay floor despite the clear effort issues defensively (and he was pretty bad tonight as well as not aggressive on the glass by most accounts). In a playoff environment, I have extreme concerns of him being targeted but the playoffs are a couple of years away for NO.

[Kanyewest]

Looking at the game, I thought Queen had some good defensive plays and some others that were not so much. On one possession he forced a Mavs player into a midrange shot- on one hand the contest was not great but at least it wasn't a rim shot which is what Gafford seemed to constantly give up. Flag at times did take advantage of the Pels lack of rim rotection. The Pelicans had 64 points in the paint compared with the Mavs who only had 40.

Flag was having his way with Queen but Queen was also taking advantage of his matchup with Flag in crunch time in the 4th quarter. Then on the next possession they switched to him up on Lively.

Also the Pelicans were going with a Zion, Missi, Queen lineup down the stretch.

I would say the big thing that Queen has to work on is his 3 point shot. He has only made 2 of 13 on the season. But given that he has a reliable mid range game I think he can improve on this portion of his game

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Queen is an amazing offensive player. He is absolutely embarrassing on defense.

Queen is an amazing player.

Queen is basically NO's PG, running the offense completely through him. His handle/passing is changing the offensive equation for the Pels. He's not a poor man's Jokic, he's 1 of 1 with other wordly footwork & feel for the game. He's special enough offensively that I think he can stay floor despite the clear effort issues defensively (and he was pretty bad tonight as well as not aggressive on the glass by most accounts). In a playoff environment, I have extreme concerns of him being targeted but the playoffs are a couple of years away for NO.

Geez, a 20-year-old had 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists in 32 minutes, yet you ding him as "not aggressive on the glass my most accounts." Dat, why such endless fault finding?

Let me refresh your memory and enlighten on Queen's last two games.

Derik followed up his 30-pt game with 20 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds with even sicker highlights.

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His passing reminded me of Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd.
One behind-the-back pocket pass on the fast break was vintage Pistol Pete.
His driving hook shot over Daniel Gafford was a Dave Cowens shot.
He made an amazing tear drop half hook over Derrick Lively.
He made floaters over Gafford and Flagg.
He abused Lively from the right elbow and shouldered him into the basket.
DQ posted up a too little guy.
He big-bodied Flagg, who is too light in the cakes to guard him.

Extreme concerns about him being targeted in the playoffs? He's better than Zion Williamson, Dat.

Looking at the game, I thought Queen had some good defensive plays and some others that were not so much. On one possession he forced a Mavs player into a midrange shot- on one hand the contest was not great but at least it wasn't a rim shot which is what Gafford seemed to constantly give up. Flag at times did take advantage of the Pels lack of rim rotection. The Pelicans had 64 points in the paint compared with the Mavs who only had 40.

Flag was having his way with Queen but Queen was also taking advantage of his matchup with Flag in crunch time in the 4th quarter. Then on the next possession they switched to him up on Lively.

Also the Pelicans were going with a Zion, Missi, Queen lineup down the stretch.

I would say the big thing that Queen has to work on is his 3 point shot. He has only made 2 of 13 on the season. But given that he has a reliable mid range game I think he can improve on this portion of his game

Flagg could not guard him in the post. He made Lively look silly. Queen can't guard Flagg either, but isn't that Zion or someone else's cover?

Queen ia about 4 feet away from having a good three-point shot. I am not concerned about him hitting it.

All Queen needs is for big men to back off and dare him to shoot. Once they give him space, he owns them. DQ calls their bluff. He waits and head fakes, or he steps in and splashes an 18-footer. Or, he drives past. He is killing guys with his footwork. He will be unstoppable when he develops a three-point shot.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

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[dcstanley]

Remains to be seen if Queen a good defender on a contending team, but he’s proving me wrong.

Shows what kind of scout I’d be. I was convinced Queen and knueppel would be bums. They both looking terrific.

Really? I think it was always pretty clear he'd be an offensive weapon, the problem was the sheer scale of liability he'd be on defense, from a "weakness/problem," to catyclsmically bad". I do not care that we let him pass, the offense is not a surprise to me beyond the scale of it (I thought it would be good, but not this good). But the problems are the problems, I have seen an endless litany of scoring bigs in the modern NBA become utterly worthless over time because of how much of a liability they are on defense. No interest last spring, no interest now.

Exactly. His scoring doesn't surprise me at all. But coaches often lose patience with scoring bigs who don't defend. They get a lot of minutes as rookies, but if they can't figure out the defensive end, they eventually find themselves on the bench later in their careers.

Food for thought: rookie Jahill Okafor was an equivalent scorer to rookie Queen, but with fewer fouls and turnovers, despite being a year younger. And Okafor ended up playing fewer and fewer minutes each year after his rookie year until he was out of the league.

I'll eat crow if Queen starts playing good defense and his team starts winning. Until then, I'll stand by my original opinion on Queen.

It's not just the scoring, though. It's his feel, passing, and ability to be an offensive hub. He's more akin to the Sengun/Sabonis archetype of player than an Okafor. That archetype has all-star/all-NBA potential despite their defensive foibles.

[AFM]

There's no one else in the league like this. He's one of one and some people held that against him.

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[tontoz]

Why can't the Pels win a game? I don't want the Hawks to get ahead of us in the tank race.

[nate33]

The passing changes the conversation. You are wrong. The only argument before was that he couldn't pass like Jokic. Well...he can.

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This is fair. The passing really is impressive. I still say the key will be his defense.

[AFM]

The passing changes the conversation. You are wrong. The only argument before was that he couldn't pass like Jokic. Well...he can.

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This is fair. The passing really is impressive. I still say the key will be his defense.

He had 7 assists in his first 8 minutes. Anyway, we will make a Queen fan out of you eventually...

[nate33]

Reed Sheppard's per 36 numbers:

20.4 points
3.7 rebounds
4.6 assists
2.4 steals
0.5 blocks
8.8 3PA's
.488 3P%
.657 TS%
6.7 BPM

At this point, I'd say I was still wrong in favoring him over Sarr on Draft Day, but it's no longer looking like such a bad take.

[Dat2U]

Zacc looking like a real bad pick right now as he's stagnated while Sarr, Sheppard & Castle have all looked good this season.

[The Consiglieri]

Remains to be seen if Queen a good defender on a contending team, but he’s proving me wrong.

Shows what kind of scout I’d be. I was convinced Queen and knueppel would be bums. They both looking terrific.

Really? I think it was always pretty clear he'd be an offensive weapon, the problem was the sheer scale of liability he'd be on defense, from a "weakness/problem," to catyclsmically bad". I do not care that we let him pass, the offense is not a surprise to me beyond the scale of it (I thought it would be good, but not this good). But the problems are the problems, I have seen an endless litany of scoring bigs in the modern NBA become utterly worthless over time because of how much of a liability they are on defense. No interest last spring, no interest now.

Exactly. His scoring doesn't surprise me at all. But coaches often lose patience with scoring bigs who don't defend. They get a lot of minutes as rookies, but if they can't figure out the defensive end, they eventually find themselves on the bench later in their careers.

Food for thought: rookie Jahill Okafor was an equivalent scorer to rookie Queen, but with fewer fouls and turnovers, despite being a year younger. And Okafor ended up playing fewer and fewer minutes each year after his rookie year until he was out of the league........

I'll eat crow if Queen starts playing good defense and his team starts winning. Until then, I'll stand by my original opinion on Queen.

It's almost like we're all old and came of age watching 80's and 90's basketball and can't picture an NBA w/o offense only centers lol, like we went into a fugue state around 2010, and haven't noticed how the league has used and chosen not to use centers, and seen legit all start centers suddenly become worthless and disappear from the league entirely or become immensely devalued. It's almost like every post noting Queen, completely ignores defense oriented stats and performance and wouldn't you know, just clocks what he did with the ball lol.

NOBODY DOUBTED HE WAS A GOOD OFFENSIVE PLAYER lol. Somehow this take was missed.