By rssfeeds-admin 
NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Pelicans traded up in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, and they did it without dealing the seventh overall pick.
Joe Dumars and company selected Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears with the seventh overall pick.
Fears was considered one of the top scorers in the SEC, averaging 17 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds per game in his freshman year with the Sooners.
When asked what he brings to the Pelicans’ organization, Fears says, “My star power, my leadership, and wins to the win column.”
Fears has proven to be an elite scorer who can both complement Zion Williamson and be a long-term solution at point guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Later in the first round, the Pelicans elect to trade the 23rd overall pick in the draft and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the 13th overall pick.
That’s where Dumars selected Maryland center Derik Queen.
The 6’10, 245-pounder was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game and recorded 15 double-doubles as a freshman.
Queen averaged nearly 22 points per game in the Terapins’ NCAA Tournament run to the Sweet 16.
The Pelicans currently hold the 40th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and that selection will be made when the second round begins Thursday at 7 p.m.
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