Indiana Pacers waive guard Trevelin Queen, opening up two-way contract slot
The Indiana Pacers announced on Wednesday that they have waived guard Trevelin Queen. The 26-year old was on a two-way contract this season and played in seven games for the Pacers.
Most of Queen's time this campaign was spent with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. He averaged 22.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game across 35 games with the G League club.
"He's grown defensively quite a bit," Mad Ants head coach Tom Hankins said of Queen just over a week ago.
Recently, Queen was suspended for one game for "directing threatening language toward a game official." That held him out of Fort Wayne's only G League playoff game this year, which they dropped on Tuesday to end their season.
When the G League season ends, two-way contract players typically return to their NBA club for the rest of the season. But Queen was waived one day after the conclusion of the Mad Ants campaign. His season with the Pacers is over.
"He did some very good things and it's just one of these decisions. We just move forward from here and we'll do the same," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of moving on from Queen on Wednesday. "He did some good things. He had some great stretches during the season. But a decision was made." Queen averaged 3.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game for the blue and gold this season.
The Pacers have an open two-way contract slot now. They can fill it with another player that they want to get eyes on before the season ends, like they did last season when they brought in Gabe York and Nate Hinton for the final few days of the season. Given that the Pacers are in a state of learning right now, an opportunity for a younger or less experienced player makes the most sense.
Last season, every player that Indiana gave a midseason two-way deal to spent time with the Mad Ants prior to their call-up. They have a track record of giving Fort Wayne players a chance in the NBA. It's reasonable to assume they could do the same in the coming days.
If they do, Jermaine Samuels and York stand out as the most likely candidates. York averaged over 22 points per game for the Mad Ants this season and played in two games for the Pacers last campaign while Samuels was with Indiana for both summer league and one day in training camp of the ongoing season. The rookie forward averaged 15.4 points and 7.6 rebounds at the G League level this season.
The Pacers have five games left this year, so the sooner they can sign a player, the more time they will have to evaluate them down the stretch. The blue and gold have 16 players under contract.
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