The New Orleans Pelicans stunned the NBA world — and not in a good way — on draft night last week.
New Orleans' fresh front office brain trust of Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver surprisingly opted to trade up into the end of the lottery, acquiring the rights to No. 13 draft pick Derik Queen, a center out of the University of Maryland, from the Atlanta Hawks.
All it cost the Pelicans was the rights to Georgia power forward/center Asa Newell, the No. 23 selection this year, and the team's unprotected first round pick in what's supposed to be a loaded 2026 draft.
Given how tenuous this New Orleans roster is looking, that pick seems likely to land in the lottery. Putting no lottery-proofing protections on it feels borderline certifiable.
Joe Dumars
Former Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars during a press conference
Leon Halip-Imagn Images
That deal was so shockingly beneficial to Atlanta (who, lest we forget, enjoyed a terrific offseason in obtaining present-day talent upgrades too, and looks like a major threat to crash the party in the Eastern Conference) that Hawks management wasn't quite sure it was real, per Shamit Dua of In The N.O. (shared via ESPN's Dan Devine).
"One Eastern executive with knowledge of how the conversation went from Atlanta’s perspective described a perplexing scene," Dua notes. "When Senior Vice President Troy Weaver made the call to Atlanta’s Bryson Graham, Graham couldn’t believe what was actually being offered."
The Pelicans also drafted undersized Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 pick last week.
"Graham asked for clarification multiple times to confirm the unprotected pick was indeed part of the deal," Dua adds. "It got to the point where Hawks General Manager, Onsi Saleh, called Joe Dumars directly to confirm for himself. The Hawks waited nervously for Dumars to confirm, hoping he would not realize what was going on and walk the trade back. But the Pelicans persisted and the Hawks got their steal."