Willie Green's Latest Injury Update On Derik Queen Should Excite Pelicans Fans

According to Pelicans writer Jim Eichenhofer, Green informed the media that Quene is trending in the right direction for Wednesday's contest. "He’ll be evaluated after today’s practice. But it looks like he’ll be a go," shared Green.

Derik Queen's Impact In New Orleans

Even though Queen was drafted at the end of the lottery in 2025, the expectations will be sky high for the former Maryland Terrapins star after New Orleans parted ways with their unprotected 2026 first-round pick to acquire the rights to draft him. While it's not fair to put all this pressure on Queen right away, it's the unfortunate circumstance he's in.

Queen's left wrist injury has kept him sidelined for the entire preseason, meaning all fans have seen from him since being drafted was three games at the Las Vegas Summer League. Across those three contests, he averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists with a less-than-desirable 5.7 turnovers per game. Regardless, there's no denying the offensive potential he has.

His fit in New Orleans will be interesting, especially since he's not a floor spacer and is undersized for a center at 6-foot-9. Ideally, becoming a reliable outside shooter will get him on the court more, but the Pelicans can still use him in lineups with shooters around him or in double-big lineups with Yves Missi.

Since he didn't play at all during the preseason, it's hard to expect much action from Queen in the season opener. However, if Karlo Matkovic isn't good to go for Wednesday's contest, Queen could be forced to see a solid workload right away with Looney sidelined.

Tip-off on Wednesday in Memphis is set for 8:00 p.m. EST, and Queen will be an interesting player to pay attention to in the opportunities he sees, especially going up against a depleted Grizzlies frontcourt.

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