Pelicans rookie Quinn will miss 12 weeks due to wrist injury

On July 19, the Pelicans officially announced that this year's No. 13 pick Derek Quinn had undergone surgery for a torn ligament on his left wrist.

Queen had faced Hansen Yang in the game against the Trail Blazers, and he was also injured in this game and underwent surgery in Los Angeles a few days later. According to the Pelicans, he is expected to be re-evaluated in about 12 weeks. The team's training camp will be opened in about 10 and a half weeks as planned.

Quin was the rookie who was selected by the Pelicans with the 13th overall pick last month. To get the draft pick to pick the University of Maryland big man, the Pelicans traded the No. 23 pick this year and an unprotected first-round pick in 2026 (the more favorable one from New Orleans and Milwaukee) to the Hawks. Quinn performed well in his freshman season at the University of Maryland. In 36 games, he averaged 30.4 minutes per game, scoring 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks, helping the University of Maryland to achieve a record of 27 wins and 9 losses and reach the Sweet Sixteen.

This month, Quinn averaged 14.0 points per game, rebounding (11.0 per game) and turnovers (5.7 per game) in three summer league games for the Pelicans.

A torn lunar ligament is not a rare injury among NBA players, and Thunder forward Jaylen Williams is the latest player to undergo the injury surgery. The Pelicans' timeline for Quinn's next assessment is not surprising, either, as the injury usually takes several months of recovery — for example, Hornets forward Brandon Miller underwent a wrist-moon ligament tear repair surgery on January 23 this year, when he was announced to be reimbursed for the season.

Nevertheless, it was a disappointing setback for both the New Orleans Pelicans and Quinn. Quinn will not be able to catch up with the start of training camp, and there is also great uncertainty about whether he can make a comeback at the beginning of the regular season.

In recent years, the Pelicans seem to be in the curse of injury. Ingram, who has left the team, has often been unable to play. Quinn is one of several key players on the Pelicans who are recovering from major surgery. Dejunta Murray has just recovered from an Achilles tendon torn injury, while Herbert Jones and Trey Murphy underwent a lip tear/rotch cuff tear repair surgery in the second half of the 2024-25 season.