Pelicans' Derik Queen Had Surgery on Wrist Injury, Will Be Re-Evaluated in 12 Weeks

The New Orleans Pelicans announced Friday that rookie center Derik Queen will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist.

The Pelicans added that Queen suffered the injury during a 93-87 NBA Summer League loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

Queen, who was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, finished that game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 28 minutes of action.

During his one collegiate season at Maryland, Queen averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, while shooting 52.6 percent from the field.

As a result, he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in addition to being an All-Big Ten First Team selection.

The Atlanta Hawks used the 13th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft to take Queen before flipping him to the Pels that same night for the No. 23 overall pick in Asa Newell and a future first-round pick.

That future pick is a 2026 first-rounder, and the Hawks will get to choose the more favorable first-round selection between that of the Pelicans or Milwaukee Bucks.

Given that the Pelicans had the fourth-worst record in the NBA last season at 21-61, the trade with Atlanta is both a vote of confidence in the team's ability to improve in 2025-26, and in Queen to be a big-time player in the NBA.

The 6'10", 250-pound Queen joins a Pelicans roster that is far more talented than last season's record would suggest.

New Orleans boasts a potential starting lineup of Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole and Herb Jones, with Yves Missi, Kevon Looney and rookie No. 7 overall pick Jeremiah Fears all possibly playing pivotal roles as well.

For Queen, a timeline of 12 weeks means he will be re-evaluated in mid-October, which is just before the start of the 2025-26 NBA regular season on Oct. 21.

Just because Queen will be evaluated in 12 weeks, though, it doesn't mean he will be ready to play right then and there.

That suggests it is possible Queen could miss the start of his rookie season, which may put him a bit behind in his development.

However, if the Pelicans can remain healthy otherwise, they have plenty of other frontcourt options who can pick up the slack, including Williamson, Jones, Missi and Looney.