Magic to sign one-time G League MVP

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.

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 NBAGL MVP 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 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.

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 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 $17.4M contract is partially guaranteed for $7.6M. 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 2023-24 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.