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Bill Simmons calls Pelicans’ draft trade with Hawks one of ‘dumbest of decade’
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- Bill Simmons calls Pelicans’ draft trade with Hawks one of ‘dumbest of decade’
The post Bill Simmons calls Pelicans' draft trade with Hawks one of 'dumbest of decade' appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The New Orleans Pelicans stunned fans and media members alike on Wednesday with a draft-night trade — and not in a good way.
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Despite being one of the NBA's worst teams this past season, the Pelicans, in a move not seen often by bottom dwellers, traded away future draft capital to get back into the lottery Wednesday night. New Orleans ultimately traded the Indiana Pacers ' 2026 first-round pick back to Indiana in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick last night. The Pelicans then turned the 23rd pick into the Atlanta Hawks ' 13th selection when they shockingly threw in either their pick or the Milwaukee Bucks ' pick next year. They used the 13th pick to draft Derik Queen.
With no protections and considering it is the most favorable pick of the two teams, the Pelicans could have inadvertently traded away one of the best picks in the 2026 draft. And Bill Simmons is not going to let them forget it.
"This was when I lost my mind. I think I blacked out," Simmons said on the 'Bill Simmons Podcast' last night. "I'm so glad the NBA can still give us these. New Orleans trades up 10 spots so they can take Derik Queen . And they give up their unprotected 2026 first-round pick swap that they have with Milwaukee, where they have the favorable — whatever the better pick is, they keep. They send that to Atlanta, who had to be deliriously happy. Like, 'We only have to move down 10 spots and we get an unprotected…' This was one of the five dumbest trades of this decade. I was speechless! I just can't believe it. And who is it? It's our guy, Joe Dumars. And now he just traded away their unprotected 2026 pick… They're in the West. What the f–k does he thinks is going to happen next year?"
Dumars, who defended the trade for the pick used to draft Queen , joined the organization earlier this offseason, shortly after David Griffin was fired as president of basketball operations. He was most recently working in the NBA league office, and before that, was a longtime executive with the Detroit Pistons .
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The Pelicans would seemingly be among the worst teams in the NBA next season, particularly with major questions surrounding Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray , both of whom missed extensive time this past season due to injury.
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