It’s Happening AGAIN…

It’s Happening AGAIN…

It’s happening again after a devastating update to the New Orleans Pelicans off season that has fans very upset and worried about this team’s depth. Now fans are seriously concerned that all of their worst fears are going to be coming true after Joe Dumar has made a move that has been generationally roasted by the NBA masses. And we’re going to break it all down. What’s up guys? Welcome back to Pelicans Digest. It’s Chris here. We’re going to jump right into things. As always, if you guys are part of that 74% that’s not subscribed to Pelicans Digest, make sure to subscribe for daily New Orleans Pelicans updates. I know we’ve been on a break for a bit, but we are back. We got daily videos coming out. You do not want to miss out from all the content that me and Mel’s got for you guys, but let’s jump right into the video. There’s a lot to go over. Look, it happened a few days ago for sure, but the big story surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans is still going to be Derek Queen’s injury. And that is because this is exactly the worstc case scenario for the New Orleans Pelicans for around 75 million reasons. And on top of that, this whole situation is just happening again. It feels like when you watch the New Orleans Pelicans, you’re just sitting there living in Groundhog Day except every single one of those days is just a complete nightmare. Nothing good that happens to Bill Murray in that movie is going to happen to us here. It’s just constant torture. Like you’re being dangled upside down over a bridge being forced to watch this absolute disaster come down with the Pelicans. Look, there’s been a lot going on with the Pelicans this off seasonason for sure. I mean, the Jordan Pool trade for one, but the biggest story was when Shams revealed that Pelicans forward center Derek Queen underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist and will be evaluated in 12 weeks. Now, Queen is now likely going to be missing at least the beginning of training camp. And considering this is just a re-evaluation, this could mean that he misses the beginning to his rookie season. Now, as we all know, when we think of injuries with the New Orleans Pelicans, we tend to think of the same thing, we tend to think just when considering the Pelicans big man situation as well. The guy sitting on the left of this photo, the best player on the New Orleans Pelicans, Zion Williamson. Since getting drafted to the Pelicans, Zion has shown that he’s exactly who everyone expected he was going to be when he got drafted, except with the caveat that he was going to get injured constantly. Obviously, Zion missed the first couple months of his rookie season with an injury and then came back, hit that hit those four threes in a row and made everyone’s jaw drop when we realized Zion Williamson is exactly what we thought he was going to be. However, he never really stayed healthy. Had that one healthy season, but now we’re six years into this Zion Williamson experience. He has not played a minute of playoff basketball. Obviously, there was the playin game where he was phenomenal, hurt his hamstring, and then it felt like the air got sucked out of the room because Zion was carrying. I mean, it’s just what Zion does whenever he’s healthy and on the floor. He plays phenomenal basketball, but it’s been rare that we’ve seen Zion be able to be fully healthy for this team. Zion used to be the biggest name in basketball in 2019. I mean, literally, he was the biggest name in basketball. And it felt like the Pelicans were about to be put seriously on the map, even in ways that it never fully happened with Anthony Davis, especially considering the trade stuff, putting Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart on that team. It felt like something was going to be happening. Obviously, nothing happened. A team that looked like it had one of the best futures in the NBA and the Pelicans never really got there in the end. And now literally everyone who was named is gone. Lonzo ended up leaving for the Bulls. The offer didn’t get matched. BI’s on the Raptors and Josh Hartz on the Knicks after being traded to the Trailblazers for CJ McCollum who’s on the Wizards. And now Jordan P is here. things look very bleak right now and the big man situation is something to be concerned about. Now, in regards to Derk Queen, he was certainly viewed as a questionable pick selection, but not necessarily terrible. And once he got in summer league, the numbers were solid. He was putting up 14 points and 11 rebounds per game, grabbing two assists as well and blocking a shot. Now, the field goal numbers were not great, shooting around 44% from the field. And he did shoot 50% from three, but it was on two attempts. He made one of his two attempts, but it is nice to know that Queen is open to shooting threes in some capacity. That is important as well, considering if Queen ends up getting started by Willie Green at points where Zion’s not playing and Eve’s miss, he can still hold down the center position and the spacing won’t be completely abolished with that. So, it is something to sort of be able to be like, okay, we have that in our side. It’s not going to be the end of the world. But obviously, this is a serious cause for concern here. Now, with everything else in mind, Queen was good in college. Obviously, in his one and done season, he averaged 16 and a half points per game with nine rebounds and two assists. He shot 52% from the field and at a 24.7 per and also shot well from the free throw line, showing that that three-point percentage can go up in time. Free throws are a great metric for seeing how well someone will be able to shoot throughout their career. and Queen. I mean, look, we can’t dance around the fact that when Joe Dummars traded the unprotected 2026 first round pick in that deal to get Derrick Queen, it really became all right, winning has to start this season. There’s no there’s no way around it. You have to start winning games. There’s We need the team to be healthy. We need Derrick Queen to be everything that we need him to be. And on top of that, everyone else needs to buy in and play their role. Obviously, Deonte Murray’s injury stuff, he’s not the most injuryprone guy in the world. He had that torn ACL in his what would have been his third season or still was his third season with the San Antonio Spurs. He just didn’t play because he tore his ACL in summer league. But since then, outside of last year, Deonte has been fairly healthy. He will be back as the full-time point guard for the team. Jordan Pool will be at that two spot. And just taking a look at that depth chart in its entirety, there is stuff to like for sure. I mean, you have Dejante Murray, you have Jordan Pool, you have Trey Murphy, and we could also just easily throw Herb Jones in the starting lineup. You have Zion Williamson and Eves Missy. Sadique Bay, good backup forward. Obviously, no, the one of Herb Jones, Trey Murphy or Jordan Pool ever ends up coming off the bench at points. Excellent bench player. Jos Alvarado there. Jordan Hawkins has another year to try to really get things going. Jeremiah Fears is a rookie. You have Antonio Reeves. You have you have guys. You definitely got guys. And the big man depth is still good. Cavon Looney was signed to that one-year $8 million contract as well, giving the team more depth and a veteran player to lean on who knows how to win and has spent his entire career in a winning situation. It’s why he was brought in to New Orleans, so he could be brought into a winning situation. So, right now, you do have some unrestricted free agents as well. I mean, Bruce Brown obviously is back with Denver and Alfred Payeyton’s around, but you do have a lot of guards right now. So, Alfred Peyton is not exactly someone that’s super needed, though. He is a New Orleans native, so that’s cool. Or Louisiana native, I should say. So, you do have some interesting pieces. BJ Boston, you could probably get on that two-way contract if you want to do that as well. So, there again, there’s options. It’s not the end of the world in this situation, but the problem is we’re in another day of just injury concerns, and that is an issue. Now, as the New York Post mentioned, the Pelicans traded up in the draft to take queen after moving an unprotected 2026 first round of the Hawks. As New Orleans already roster Zion Williamson, some were left puzzled by the se by the selection, including the ringer founder Bill Simmons, who said after the draft that the pick left him speechless and blacked out. Look, it should have been a different position. It should have been some sort of guard probably or some sort of wing, but it wasn’t. They went with Derrick Queen and the reason that Joe Dear straight up was to get Derrick Queen. And Queen understands the hate that’s come with this and sort of the judgment on all of it. And he said that I don’t think anyone in that class is ever going to be better than me. Most of those guys I beat on in high school. Just beat on them next year when they come in and make Joe Dummars look like a genius. So, there’s obviously that there’s that chance. But also, to be fair, what is what is Derek Queen going to really say here? H what a dumb dumb idea by Joe Dmers to pick me? I suck. And also, it’s not high school anymore. So, that’s the thing. Derrick Queen’s going to have to go in there and do what he did in college and better as well and go and show that Joe Doomers was right to make this trade. It it just becomes a matter of can you get proven right when everyone’s doubting you. And part of that is Derrick Queen being on the court proving people right. Derrick Queen is now going to be behind schedule of most rookies because he is going to be focused on rehab throughout training camp, rehabbing the injury, trying to get back, making sure his wrist is good. That’s what he has to focus on. he doesn’t get to focus on the normal stuff. And yeah, he’ll still be in there watching film, understanding, getting the plays down, getting all that stuff good, but at the same time, it’s not just that that we have to worry about. What we have to worry about is the fact that Derrick Queen needs to figure out a way to catch up when all these healthy rookies are going to be fully ready to go and he’s going to be coming off an injury in a role that there’s a lot of bigs. There’s Zion, there’s Missy, there’s Kavon Looney, there’s a lot of bodies out here. So Derek Queen is going to have to find a role and he’s going to have to carve it out and it’s a lot harder to do that when you don’t have that advantage of being fully healthy come training camp and preeason. That’s going to make things a little bit more shaky and fans should definitely be concerned. Now again, a lot of this also does hinder on what the front court’s health looks like, specifically Zion’s because we know he’s the one we really have to worry about health-wise. And Zion Williamson, look, when he played last year, he was great. No one’s doubting that. He put up 24.6 6 points per game, seven rebounds, and five assists. He blocked a shot per game, got a steal, and shot 56% from the field. He was good. No doubt about it. He was great. In fact, these are all-star numbers when you’re healthy. The question is, is Zion ever going to be healthy? And if he is, then maybe Derek Queen’s minutes will be a little bit down, but at the same time, the Pelicans wins will go up. So, it’s a matter of that and also seeing if Derrick Queen can play more than just that center position. That’s going to have an impact on things as well. What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments down below. Be sure to get back to you. Like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications. Have a great day.

Chris Gallagher breaks down the implications of a serious injury.

Pelicans Digest is a YouTube channel dedicated to covering all the latest news, trades, reports, and rumors about the New Orleans Pelicans. We provide in-depth coverage of game highlights, player performances, and analysis of team strategies. Our channel features discussions on key players like Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, and Herb Jones, along with insights from Head Coach Willie Green and General Manager Bryson Graham. Stay tuned for all the exciting updates and engaging content on everything Pelicans!

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