Pelicans' injury woes continue with Derik Queen update

Derik Queen reacts on stage after being selected as the 13th pick by the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Pelicans' injury woes continue with unfortunate Derik Queen update

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 6:17 PM ET

The New Orleans Pelicans received some troubling injury news on Friday. It was revealed that Derik Queen, one of the team's first-round draft picks in 2025, is going to be sidelined for the next three months after undergoing wrist surgery. Queen was injured in Tuesday's summer league game and will be re-evaluated in early October, right around the time the team will be opening its exhibition schedule.

It's concerning news for the Pelicans for a lot of reasons.

For one, Queen is going to miss significant training camp time as he recovers, and will likely not be 100% when he does get back on the floor.

Also, because the Pelicans are already dealing with an extensive list of players that will be coming off of surgery when the season begins, including Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray and Queen.

Now, the Pelicans will be heading into training camp with Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray and Derik Queen all recovering from surgery. https://t.co/wmrcFuq4jw
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) July 18, 2025

Queen is one of two players the Pelicans came away with in the first round, having also selected Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 overall pick.

The Pelicans paid a steep price to get Queen at No. 13, sending an unprotected 2026 first-round pick and No. 23 overall pick (Asa Newell) to the Chicago Bulls to acquire him.

Given that New Orleans had one of the worst records in the league in 2024-25, sending an unprotected pick in 2026 away is a significantly risky move. Any sort of injury issue is going to put an already thin team into an even tougher spot. Not a great sign for that future first-round pick.

Queen was a star at the University of Maryland during the 2024-25 season, averaging 16.5 points and nine rebounds per game.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on Twitter @AGretz

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