Derik Queen, the former Maryland Terrapins standout center who was taken with the 13th pick in last month’s NBA Draft, is going to miss at least the next 12 weeks of Summer League games and team activities after having surgery done on his left wrist to repair a torn scapholunate ligament. Queen’s status will be re-evaluated in about three months, the Pelicans said in a statement.

Queen hurt his left wrist in the Pelicans’ Summer League game against the Portland Trail Blazers on July 15th. He played a little over 28 minutes in that contest, going five for 11 from the field on his way to a 17-point outing. He also recorded ten rebounds, three assists, a steal, and two blocks.

Pelicans forward/center Derik Queen underwent surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist and will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 18, 2025

On the night of the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans made a trade with the Atlanta Hawks that gave New Orleans the 13th pick in the draft while the Hawks received the 23rd pick as well as a first-round pick swap in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Pels used their selection to take Queen, and Atlanta selected Asa Newell with the 23rd pick.

As a freshman, Derik Queen averaged 16.5 points and nine rebounds in 36 games for Maryland. He also famously hit a game-winning shot to lift the Terrapins over the Colorado State Rams in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

A bad trade looks even worse now

I have not shied away from stating that I hated the trade the Pelicans made with the Atlanta Hawks. Though I’m a big fan of Derik Queen and believe he can be a good center, I had serious qualms with New Orleans sacrificing its 2026 first-round pick to acquire him. After all, that selection could end up being the one that wins the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery if next season is anything like this past year for the Pelicans!

In all likelihood, New Orleans’ leaders probably believe that the Pels are due for a bounce-back. But, as I mentioned in previous articles, that belief is rooted in the idea that Zion Williamson will be healthy for most of next season. Considering he has missed 117 regular-season games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign (an average of 39 games per season), it is laughable to think a team would bank its success on Zion Williamson remaining healthy.

Even though it is foolish to hitch their wagon to Zion Williamson’s health, New Orleans’ head of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, still went ahead with that plan anyway. So they moved up ten spots in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft to take Derik Queen, another puzzling decision because the Pels used their lone 2024 NBA Draft pick to take Yves Missi, who also plays center. After all that, New Orleans signed center Kevon Looney earlier this month, leaving the Pelicans with three starting-caliber centers heading into the start of the NBA Summer League.

— derik queen (@derikqueen1) July 18, 2025

I can understand the idea of triple-dipping at the five-spot. I would even go as far as to say that it’s a good idea. Since Zion Williamson is injury-prone, it’s wise to invest in extra frontcourt support if he has to miss any time. But if Williamson remains healthy for most of the 2025-26 season, then the Pelicans can deploy a three-center rotation until one of those guys emerges as the team’s clear-cut starter.

Now, though, Derik Queen could potentially miss the start of the 2025-26 season, which would be a huge blow to New Orleans’ plans. At the very least, Queen’s development will take a hit because he won’t be able to participate in any more Summer League games. This is another gut-punch to the Pelicans because Queen has been coming along slowly, as proven by the fact that he isn’t a top 50 scorer through the first few days of Summer League play. He needed those games and reps to be fully prepared for the regular season. Instead, he’ll go into the 2025-26 campaign virtually untested and will be given a baptism by fire when he has to go up against NBA bigs as a 20-year-old center with one year of college basketball under his belt.

Every day, the decision to part with their 2026 first-rounder looks worse and worse. This team had the fourth-worst record in the NBA last season. They’re a serious injury to Zion Williamson away from once again being a lottery team. Now that one of their most-promising prospects, whom they traded that 2026 draft pick to get, is going to possibly miss the beginning of the upcoming season, what was arguably the worst move of the 2025 NBA off-season now looks even worse. The Pelicans better hope that Zion Williamson can play a majority of the 2025-26 campaign. Otherwise, Joe Dumars’ tenure as the head of New Orleans’ basketball operations will be short-lived.