To say the New Orleans Pelicans had a confusing offseason wouldn't quite be strong enough. The strangest move Joe Dumars made, though, saw the Pelicans part with their own unprotected 2026 first-round pick, which happens to come with very valuable swap rights with the Milwaukee Bucks, along with the No. 23 pick in the NBA Draft, only to move up 10 spots and select Derik Queen.
Somehow, that trade looks even worse now that Queen has suffered a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist, which ESPN's Shams Charania reports will knock him out of action for at least the next three months.
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
Queen looked good in Summer League, giving Pelicans fans a chance to begin to forgive Dumars for making such an ill-advised trade, only to then suffer a serious injury that will cause him to get a late start to his rookie season.
This injury makes an already bad Pelicans offseason look even worse.
Pelicans offseason looks even worse thanks to Derik Queen injury
There's no disputing that Queen is extremely talented, but the Pelicans trading for him, especially when the deal involved parting with what could be an extremely valuable first-round pick, was already questionable. Now, after this injury, Pelicans fans will have to wait to see him play, making an iffy deal look worse.
If the Queen deal was the only questionable one Dumars made, Pelicans fans might not care too much. This outcome following what was a string of strange moves made by Dumars, though, has Pelicans fans incredibly frustrated.
Dumars willingly chose to take on the remainder of Jordan Poole's hefty contract, parting with a pair of veterans on expiring contracts in the process. The Pelicans signed Kevon Looney, a veteran who averaged just 15 minutes per game last season, a two-year deal worth $16 million to, when the team is healthy, be their third-string center.
They drafted Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 overall pick despite having both Poole and Dejounte Murray under contract, and despite Fears not being a good three-point shooter. The Pelicans surrounding a team centered around Zion Williamson with a bunch of non-shooters, including Queen, was... a choice.
Overall, it felt as if none of the team's offseason moves made much sense, and now, Pelicans fans can't even see the team as a whole to start the year due to this injury. Pelicans fans hope for better times ahead, but things look awfully bleak right now.