Pacers waive two-way guard Trevelin Queen
Queen was added to the roster before the regular season and appeared in seven games with the Pacers. He primarily spent the season in the G League with the Mad Ants.
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants season came to an end Tuesday night in Washington DC and on the next day, Trevelin Queen was waived by the Pacers.
The 26-year-old guard signed a two-way contract with the franchise back in mid-October, a few days after being released by the Philadelphia 76ers.
This announcement by the team — just an 11-word press release — comes two days after Queen was suspended one game by the G League for “for directing threatening language toward a game official.” There was no news release or tweet, and the important update was buried on the G League’s website.
Whatever was said led to him being ejected during the third quarter of their game last Saturday in their regular-season finale.
“He did some very good things,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Wednesday before they played the Milwaukee Bucks. “It’s just one of these decisions. We move forward from here and he’ll do the same.”
The suspension came at an unfortunate time, just as the Mad Ants reached the postseason for the first time since 2018. And the first three (of four) rounds are one-and-done.
Without Queen and veteran Justin Anderson — who was earned two early technical fouls, including one for something he said in response to a fan courtside — the Mad Ants shot 36% and struggled to score in a 101-87 loss to the Capital City Go-Go.
Those two players are among the top six scorers in the entire G League. When healthy and at full strength, the Mad Ants were one of the top-scoring teams in the G League and averaged 121 points per game this past season.
The Mad Ants finished the season with a 30-20 record and they won their last five games in order to qualify for the playoffs. It was Tom Hankins' third season as head coach.
Queen, the NBA G League MVP during the 2021-22 season, appeared in seven Pacers games. His last opportunity was was over two months ago, on January 25, in Orlando. He and guard Gabe York represented the Mad Ants in the G League Next Up Game at NBA All-Star Weekend in February.
The Pacers now have one available two-way roster spot and I’m told York is expected to sign a two-way, just as he did to conclude last season.
More on Queen: A scorer with an edge: Queen discusses joining the Pacers