Pelicans rookie Derik Queen has undergone surgery to address a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist, the team announced today in a press release.
Queen sustained the injury in Tuesday’s Summer League game vs. Portland in Las Vegas and underwent the procedure days later in Los Angeles. He’s expected to be reevaluated in approximately 12 weeks, according to the Pelicans. Training camp is scheduled to get underway in about 10-and-a-half weeks.
Queen was selected with the 13th overall pick last month after the Pelicans sent Atlanta this year’s No. 23 selection and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder (the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks) for the right to draft the Maryland big man, who was highly productive in his freshman season with the Terrapins. He averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest across 36 total games, helping guide Maryland to a 27-9 record and a spot in the Sweet 16.
In three Summer League appearances for the Pelicans this month, Queen averaged 14.0 points per game and ranked first among players in Vegas in both rebounds (11.0) and turnovers (5.7) per contest.
A torn scapholunate ligament isn’t an uncommon injury among NBA players, with Thunder forward Jalen Williams the latest player to undergo surgery to address the issue. The timeline the Pelicans provided for their next update on Queen also doesn’t come as a surprise, since the ailment generally requires a few months to come back from — when Hornets forward Brandon Miller underwent surgery on January 23 of this year to repair the torn scapholunate ligament in his wrist, for instance, he was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Still, it’s a disappointing setback for New Orleans and for Queen, who won’t be ready for the start of training camp and whose availability for the start of the regular season is also very much up in the air.
Queen is one of several key Pelicans players who is now in the process of recovering from a major surgery. Dejounte Murray is coming off an Achilles tear, while Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy underwent procedures to repair labrum/rotator cuff tears during the second half of the 2024/25 season.
Tough break after they gave up quite a bit to move up to get him, I believe.
Now you know why most teams let their lottery picks play a game or 2 at the most.
I know a player can get injured at any time, but what is the real point of summer league? I’m sure the league is getting all the money and the teams aren’t getting anything out of it.
Young assistant coaches and young players get a tremendous opportunity to get better, showcase their talents, and chase their dreams. That’s the real point.
And you just made his point for him. Lottery picks do not need to “showcase” their talent, nor does the team need to see their talent. They were picked in the lottery for a reason. Teams know who they are, and protecting them from meaningless summer league games should be their first priority.
Because we all know every lottery pick is guaranteed to pan out. /s
Cooper Flagg may not need to showcase his talents, but guys like EJ Liddell, for example, deserve a venue to chase their dream of staying in professional basketball. The way to do that is to keep working, try to take advantage of every opportunity to impress coaches, scouts, and executives.
Lottery picks aren’t the only people that matter. If the summer league wasn’t valuable and meaningful to the wide majority of people in the business of basketball, it wouldn’t exist.
The teams are the league.
Man The Pelicans can’t seem to get a break.
The Atlanta Hawks are about to get Cam Boozer with that Pelicans 2026 1st lol
Definitely rather take Mikel Brown Jr or AJ with that #1 pick
The Pelicans aren’t winning the lotter next year lol. Danny Ainge has been promised the #1 pick so he can take Utah high schooler AJ Dybantsa to SLC. That’s why there wasn’t much pushback from the other GMs that were screwed this year.
You have no idea how good he’ll be in college. Don’t take the height from TV. This guys are getting paid by families to hide these games up in college. You know how much money Carlos is paid out millions to have his sons name mentioned. announcers are making side money. All the greatest announcers are now dead or retired and would never accept a penny and would call out a bad player, but now these guys are making so much money off of mental names to great of money that will eventually get them in trouble.
What? Wow, OK.
Bob moose
What is making money off mental names to great of money?
What is height on tv?
What is hide these games up from college?
Dumars is already acting like the worst GM in the league somehow
lol meanwhile the Ainge fam is 2yrs away from being 2yrs away
He likely is.
Pelican name is for the Birds.
End the Utah Relocation Hex
Bring back the name “Jazz”.
I hear they are already calling him, “Dairy Queen”.
I think he has an endorsement deal with them
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
New Orleans got what these deserved on this one.
There should be a cap on how many times “and so it begins” is used on a godforsaken, snakebitten team like the PELICANS.
Trading up for a guy that gets hurt isn’t easy to swallow. Tatum, Luka vibes.
That sucks man. He is a top rook imo. Hope he stays in shape…….
Or balloons out like Shawn Kemp and Oliver Miller
Queen playing C is trash. Definitely a PF
The Pelicans curse continues…
At least it’s his left (non-shooting) hand. This doesn’t have to mess up his rookie season. But he can’t use Zion’s rehab methods, or we might not see much of him this next season.