Pacers’ Trevelin Queen Reflects on Short Time With 76ers
When the free agency floodgates opened in the summer, Daryl Morey and the Philadelphia 76ers added several prospects within the opening hours.
PJ Tucker was the first free agent to ink a deal with the Sixers. Danuel House became the second, and the former NBA G League MVP Trevelin Queen was the third.
The first two mentioned were locks to crack the Sixers’ roster. As for Queen, he would be one of several young Sixers battling for one of the final roster spots.
After going undrafted, Queen joined the Houston Rockets in 2021. He spent ten games on the court for the Rockets and appeared in 34 games across two seasons with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
When he joined the Sixers for training camp last month, Queen anticipated getting playing time in the preseason to help him make a case to crack a spot on Philadelphia’s roster. Unfortunately, a head injury in the first game set him back.
After being ruled out for the rest of the game against the Brooklyn Nets in the preseason opener, Queen showed concussion-like symptoms. As a result, the Sixers held Queen out for their second preseason matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Once the 25-year-old guard was cleared from the concussion protocol, the Sixers waived him with two games left in the preseason.
A few days later, Queen inked a two-way deal with the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers came to Philadelphia for the first time this year on Monday night. Before the game, Queen reflected on his time in Philadelphia with the Sixers.
“It was a blessing to be around all of those Hall of Famers and a great organization,” said Queen. “There are good people. I feel like I learned a lot there about myself and basketball in general just being around James Harden, Joel Embiid, and all of these veteran players that have so much already invested in the game. It was a learning process for me. I’m just ready for any situation.”
Queen didn’t get many opportunities to showcase his skillset in Philadelphia, where he felt he could’ve been a contributor. But after landing with the Pacers, he doesn’t have any hard feelings toward the first team that gave him a shot this season.
“I can do something anywhere I’m at,” he continued. “Indiana is a home for me. Everything happens for a reason at the end of the day. I feel like I could’ve been a contributor to Philly. I feel like I had a good training camp. I thought they supported me as a player. Like I said, it’s a tough business, so I just stay ready for any situation.”
Like his time in Philly, Queen has struggled to see the floor early on in Indiana. When the Sixers hosted the Pacers on Monday, the trend of Queen being ruled out as inactive continued.
Considering the Pacers are a young team, Queen’s time will come. As he’ll once again earn playing time in the G League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Queen will have an opportunity to continue developing and showcase his skillset to his new organization. If he sees similar success on the G League level, Queen could soon earn some rotational minutes with the Pacers.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
