Trevelin Queen

Magic Waive Mac McClung, Two Others

The Magic have removed three players from their roster ahead of the regular season, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel, who reports (via Twitter) that the club has waived guards Mac McClung and Brandon Williams, as well as swingman Daeqwon Plowden.

McClung, Williams, and Plowden were all on Exhibit 10 contracts. The hope is that all three players will join the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate, according to Beede. Osceola has made trades this offseason to acquire the returning rights for each of them.

McClung has only appeared in four NBA games, but starred at All-Star Weekend last season, winning the 2023 Slam Dunk Contest, and had a big year in the G League. The 24-year-old appeared in 31 NBAGL regular season games for the Delaware Blue Coats – Philadelphia’s affiliate – and averaged 19.8 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.7 rebounds in just 26.8 minutes per game. He posted an impressive .550/.474/.823 shooting line during the G League regular season and helped lead the Blue Coats to a title.

Williams has 24 games of NBA experience under his belt, but spent last season with the College Park Skyhawks, Atlanta’s NBAGL team. Plowden spent his first professional season in 2022/23 playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

The Magic also formally confirmed in a press release that they’ve converted Trevelin Queen to a two-way contract, as previously reported. Their roster is now set for the regular season, with 15 players on standard deals and three on two-way pacts.

Magic Converting Trevelin Queen To Two-Way Deal

Magic wing Trevelin Queen is receiving a promotion, as his Exhibit 10 contract is being converted into a two-way deal, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

In Orlando’s preseason finale on Friday against Brazilian club Flamengo, Queen poured in 24 points (on 9-of-12 shooting) in just 24 minutes. He also had four steals in the game.

Queen went undrafted in 2020 out of New Mexico State. He has spent the majority of his three pro seasons playing in the NBA G League, winning the NBAGL’s MVP award in 2021/22.

The 26-year-old signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent most of ’22/23 with Indiana, but was waived at the end of March.

Queen has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games while on two-way contracts with the Rockets and Pacers over the past two seasons. He holds modest career averages of 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per contest.

Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in ’22/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named to the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.

The Magic had one open two-way spot, so they won’t have to waive anyone to convert Queen’s contract. They still have 21 players on their roster, which is the preseason limit.

Magic Sign Trevelin Queen, Brandon Williams

The Magic have signed free agents Trevelin Queen and Brandon Williams, according to a team press release.

Queen’s agreement with Orlando was previously reported. He received an Exhibit 10 contract and Williams’ contract mirrors Queen’s deal, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

If they are waived before the season starts, both players could earn bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the Osceola Magic, the team’s G League affiliate.

The camp additions will give the Magic 19 players on their roster, including two-way deals. They can carry 21 players into camp, so more signings are likely to be completed. They have a two-way deal available, so it’s possible Queen or Williams could have their contract converted to that slot.

Queen, a 6’6” swingman, played in seven games last season for the Pacers, averaging 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game. He also appeared in 24 games (15 starts) with Fort Wayne of the NBA G League, averaging 22.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 34.3 minutes per game.

Queen has also played in 17 career NBA regular season games with Houston and Indiana. During the 2021/22 season, Queen was named NBA G League Most Valuable Player and led the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to the G League championship.

Williams, a 6’2” guard, played in 27 games (25 starts) last season with College Park of the NBA G League, averaging 19.8 points and 5.9 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.

Williams played in 24 career NBA regular season games with Portland, averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 assists in 26.7 minutes during the 2021/22 season.

Eastern Notes: Hayes, Pistons, Queen, Bulls, Skyhawks

Killian Hayes was Troy Weaver‘s first draft choice when he became general manager of the Pistons, having been selected No. 7 overall in 2020. Three years later, the guard’s future with Detroit is uncertain.

As James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes in his latest mailbag, the Pistons have drafted guards Cade Cunningham (No. 1 overall in 2021) and Jaden Ivey (No. 5 overall in 2022) since Hayes was picked. This offseason, they traded up in June’s draft to acquire former Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall), and sent out a future second-round pick to land veteran guard Monte Morris from the Wizards.

Where does that leave Hayes? In Edwards’ view, the Pistons will either trade the 22-year-old before the 2023/24 season starts, or they added backcourt depth in order to “light a fire” under the young guard so he’ll have to earn his minutes.

Edwards also touches on some other topics, including who might take the backup center job between James Wiseman and Marvin Bagley III. For what it’s worth, Edwards thinks Bagley is a better player right now, but acknowledges Wiseman might have more upside.

Here’s more from the East:

  • Trevelin Queen will be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Queen’s one-year training camp deal is non-guaranteed and worth the veteran’s minimum. If he’s waived before the season starts, he could earn a bonus of up to $75K if he spends at least 60 days with the Osceola Magic, the team’s G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 deals can also be converted into two-way contracts, and Orlando does have a two-way opening, as our tracker shows.
  • Re-signing forward Terry Taylor to a two-year, minimum-salary contract might be the final offseason move for the Bulls, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Having Taylor and Carlik Jones on non-guaranteed deals creates financial flexibility for the Bulls, who now have 15 players on standard deals and all three two-way slots filled, Johnson notes. It’s worth noting that Chicago is virtually certain to add some players on Exhibit 10 deals ahead of training camp, though those are often geared more toward filling out the G League roster.
  • The College Park Skyhawks — the Hawks‘ NBAGL affiliate — have announced Daniel Starkman as their new general manager and confirmed that Ryan Schmidt will be their new head coach, according to a team press release. Starkman, who has been with the Hawks organization since 2015, was previously Atlanta’s senior manager of basketball operations. Schmidt was head coach of the British Basketball League’s London Lions last season. He will also be an assistant coach with the Hawks under Quin Snyder.

Magic To Sign Trevelin Queen

The Magic are signing free agent guard Trevelin Queen to a one-year contract, his agent Daniel Hazan tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (Twitter link).

Queen went undrafted in 2020 out of New Mexico State. He has spent most of his three pro seasons playing in the NBA G League, winning the NBAGL’s MVP award in 2021/22.

The 26-year-old signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent most of 2022/23 with Indiana, but was waived at the end of March.

Queen has appeared in a total of 17 NBA games while on two-way contracts with the Rockets and Pacers over the past two seasons. He holds modest averages of 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds on .355/.282/1.000 shooting in 8.5 minutes per contest.

Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in ’22/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named as a participant in the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.

However, Queen did have some issues with three-point shooting (26.5% on 7.1 attempts per regular season game) and turnovers (3.8 per game) in the G League this season. He also earned a one-game suspension in March for “directing threatening language” toward a referee, which may have been a factor in the Pacers’ decision to release him.

While the terms of Queen’s contract are currently unknown, it seems unlikely that it will contain much — if any — guaranteed money. The Magic have 15 players on standard contracts (14 guaranteed), including Jonathan Isaac, whose $17.4MM contract is partially guaranteed for $7.6MM. Orlando also has an open two-way slot.

Perhaps Queen’s deal will feature Exhibit 10 language. In that scenario, if he’s released before ’23/24 starts, he could receive a $75K bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate, the Osceola Magic. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.

Pacers Waive Trevelin Queen

The Pacers have officially waived guard Trevelin Queen, the team announced today in a press release. Queen had been on a two-way contract with Indiana.

The G League’s reigning MVP, Queen signed with the Sixers last summer, but was waived during the preseason and caught on with the Pacers on a two-way deal a few days later. He spent nearly the entire season with the team, though his NBA playing time was extremely limited — he appeared in just seven games with Indiana.

Queen once again put up big numbers at the G League level in 2022/23, including averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.3 steals per game in 11 Showcase Cup contests (35.7 MPG) for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 24 NBAGL regular season games, he put up 22.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, and 2.1 SPG. He was named as a participant in the Next Up Game at All-Star weekend.

Queen did have some issues with three-point shooting (26.5% on 7.1 attempts per regular season game) and turnovers (3.8 per game) in the G League this season. He also earned a one-game suspension earlier this week for “directing threatening language” toward a referee, which may have been a factor in the Pacers’ decision to release him. He served that suspension on Tuesday during the one-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal, which Fort Wayne lost, ending the team’s season.

The Pacers now have an open two-way slot, which they could fill at any point up until the last day of the regular season on April 9.

NBA G League Announces 24 Players For Next Up Game

The NBA G League announced today that G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson and Timberwolves/Iowa Wolves forward Luka Garza have been named team captains for the NBAGL Next Up Game, which will take place in Salt Lake City during All-Star weekend.

While the exhibition match isn’t technically being called a G League All-Star Game, that’s essentially what it is. The 24-player pool was selected by a fan vote and by the league itself.

Henderson averaged 21.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 4.3 RPG in six Showcase Cup games (28.5 MPG) before missing time with an injury. The guard, widely projected to be the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft, has registered 17.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 4.5 RPG in 11 regular season games (29.8 MPG) since returning.

Garza, meanwhile, has been dominant at the G League level while playing for the Timberwolves on a two-way contract. He averaged 29.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG on .628/.500/.794 shooting in nine Showcase Cup games (34.4 MPG) and has been boosted those averages in two regular season games (32.5 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 5.0 APG) for the Iowa Wolves.

Here’s the full list of players who will take part in the G League Next Up Game:

(* Players marked with an asterisk are on two-way contracts with NBA teams.)

As is the case with the NBA All-Star Game, the team captains – in this case, Henderson and Garza – will select their 12-man squads in a draft. The draft for the G League Next Up Game will take place on February 14.

Central Notes: Carter, Turner, Queen, Noel

An offseason of intense work helped Jevon Carter win a spot in the Bucks‘ starting lineup, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. With Khris Middleton still recovering from offseason wrist surgery, there was an opportunity for Carter heading into training camp and he was ready to take advantage of it.

“That was on my mind all summer, to come in and prove that I’m more than what I’m looked as,” Carter said. “Just seeing it pay off is a hell of a feeling. I can’t even really describe it. I had a goal and I exceeded those goals, you know what I’m saying? It’s just a credit to the work that I put in.”

The Bucks signed Carter after he was waived by the Nets in late February, and he had the most productive stretch of his career over the final 20 games of the season, shooting 50.6% from the field and 55.8% on three-pointers. That success, and the opportunity to play for a title contender, convinced him to accept a new one-year contract with Milwaukee over the summer.

“Give yourself a new goal, new challenge,” he said. “This my fifth year going into the league, I still haven’t done what I want to do, what’s comfortable for Jevon Carter. Until I get to that point, which I don’t think I ever will, I’m going to keep fighting and grinding.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • Pacers center Myles Turner is ready to make his season debut tonight, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Turner, who missed the team’s first four games with a sprained left ankle he suffered on opening night, will play against the Bulls as long as he doesn’t experience any setbacks during warm-ups.
  • The Sixers waived Trevelin Queen a week before the roster deadline, giving him extra time to catch on with another team, notes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscription required). The 25-year-old combo guard wound up landing a two-way contract with the Pacers. “I just feel like they really want me here compared to a lot of other situations I was in,” Queen said. “It was a warm welcoming. “I looked at it as a young group of guys, a lot of opportunity and a lot of potential. It’s like a rebuilding process, coach said. So just coming here and taking advantage of the opportunity given. Whether I play or not, I just feel like it’s a great environment, a great culture, a great development staff. They’ve shown me nothing but love.”
  • Nerlens Noel hasn’t been through a full practice yet, but Pistons coach Dwane Casey believes the veteran center can play a few minutes on Wednesday if necessary, tweets James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Trevelin Queen Signs Two-Way Deal With Pacers

9:00pm: Queen’s two-way contract with the Pacers is official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.


4:43pm: Guard Trevelin Queen is signing a two-way contract with the Pacers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

It’s a quick turnaround for Queen, who was just waived by the Sixers over the weekend.

The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.

The Pacers have an open two-way slot, so they won’t have to make a corresponding move. Kendall Brown holds the other two-way contract.

Sixers Waive Trevelin Queen

10:19am: Queen has officially been waived, the Sixers announced in a press release.


9:59am: The Sixers are waiving Trevelin Queen, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The 25-year-old shooting guard had a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a $330K guarantee for the upcoming season. He was named G League MVP with Rio Grande Valley last season and appeared in 10 games with the Rockets after signing a two-way contract in December.

By waiving Queen before the season begins, Philadelphia was able to avoid a $198K tax variance charge, according to Sixers reporter Derek Bodner (Twitter link).

Queen’s departure leaves the team with 19 players and it means the battle for the final roster spot will likely be between shooting guard Isaiah Joe and center Charles Bassey, Bodner adds (via Twitter). Joe has a $1.78MM non-guaranteed contract that will become fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on opening night, while Bassey has a $75K guarantee on his $1.563MM deal.