2021-22 Rockets roster review, offseason outlook: Trevelin Queen

(Editor’s note: We are continuing our individual reviews of all players from the Houston Rockets who finished the 2021-22 season with the team. To access other reviews as part of this ongoing series, click here.)

Rockets Player: Trevelin Queen, 6-foot-6 wing, 25 years old

2021-22 G League statistics: 25.3 points (47.1% FG, 33.7% on 3-pointers), 6.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 3.6 steals, 1.0 blocks in 34.9 minutes

Professional Experience: 2 seasons; went undrafted in 2020

Contract Status: Restricted free agent in 2022 offseason

The Rockets signed Queen to a two-way contract during the 2021-22 season, which makes him a restricted free agent this offseason and gives Houston the right to match any outside offer and retain him. Queen played only sparingly with the Rockets, averaging 4.3 points (45.5% FG, 37.5% on 3-pointers) and 1.6 rebounds in 7.4 minutes (10 games).

In the G League, Queen embraced Houston’s emphasis on 3-pointers and attacking the rim — with over half (10.1) of his average 19.8 shot attempts per game coming from behind the 3-point arc. That makes Queen’s 3-point accuracy (33.7%) a bit more impressive than it might initially seem, since that type of extreme volume can often skew percentages relative to a more controlled role at the NBA level.

Highlights

Analysis

To say the least, 2021-22 was a dynamic season for Queen. He led Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, to their fourth championship in club history — all while winning the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for both the regular season and the G League Finals. Among other honors, Queen was named to the first team of both the All-NBA G League and All-Defensive groups.

Last summer, Queen turned heads in the 2021 Las Vegas Summer League when he played on the Los Angeles Lakers roster. In that setting, he averaged 13.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 steals in 19.0 minutes, with shooting clips of 48.0% overall and 53.8% on 3-pointers.

At the NBA level, Queen likely profiles as a “3&D” wing, with enough length and athleticism to provide defensive value on top of his clear attributes as a long-range shooter and shot creator.

Outlook

Since Queen will be a restricted free agent, the obvious play for general manager Rafael Stone is to try and keep him with the Rockets.

With that said, Queen and his agency representation will likely be searching for playing time at the NBA level. At 25 years old and coming off a historically elite G League campaign, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to send Queen back down to a level he’s already dominated. On paper, Queen — who turns 26 next season — is no longer a developmental prospect. He should be at or very close to his prime years, physically.

Yet, based on how Houston’s roster is currently constructed, it’s hard to see a path to wing minutes with so many established players (Jalen Green, Eric Gordon, Josh Christopher, Garrison Mathews) ahead of Queen in the pecking order. It’s also possible that the Rockets may take another wing with one of their two first-round picks in the 2022 NBA draft.

Should that dynamic not change, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if Queen and his reps explore opportunities with other teams that may have less of a logjam at the wing spots. That said, even when considering Queen’s gaudy G League numbers, it’s difficult to envision another team awarding a substantial contract to a recently undrafted player who doesn’t yet have a track record at the NBA level. Thus, any contract that Queen signs with another team would likely be small enough that Stone and the Rockets wouldn’t hesitate to match using restricted free agency rights.

Perhaps the best outcome for Queen’s future in Houston is if a veteran like Gordon or Jae’Sean Tate is traded for draft assets. In that scenario, it creates an opening for Queen to earn NBA minutes with a strong showing at training camp and in the 2022-23 preseason. Regardless, he’s already shown enough for the Rockets to keep him around at a presumably low salary figure — and they can worry about the roster fit later.