The New Orleans Pelicans moved up in the 2025 NBA draft to select Derik Queen, a power forward out of Maryland. The Pelicans acquired the No. 13 pick from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the No. 23 pick and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder.

It was a move that many felt was an overpay on the part of New Orleans. Chief among that crowd was Bill Simmons of The Ringer, who called the decision to make the trade one of the "dumbest" of the last decade.

It seems the Pelicans' social media team caught wind of Simmons's comments, and they took something of a jab at him while responding to a clip from The Pat McAfee Show in which ESPN's NBA insider Shams Charania dissected the draft day trade. Charania stated that it was too early to fully judge the trade because none of the components of the deal had even touched the court in the NBA yet.

"How can you judge that? What if [Queen] ends up being a Hall of Famer? What if he ends up being a perennial All-Star? Then no one is going to be talking about this in three years. ... To me, it's too early to judge if they won or lost," Charania said.

"This rational take won't get you a Ringer pod, Shams," the Pelicans wrote on X.

It's clear the Pelicans are excited about Queen, lest they wouldn't have moved up 10 selections to draft him. While Simmons was quick to offer some harsh criticisms about the deal, the Pelicans' social media team clapped back and suggested he was being dramatic in his assessment in order to generate a bolder talking point on his podcast.

More NBA Draft on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Pelicans Subtly Fire Back at Bill Simmons for Bashing Derik Queen Trade.

Test hyperlink for boilerplate