Derik Queen has long been projected as a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and the NBA's decision-makers agree. Queen was one of 13 players invited to the Draft's green room, announced on Tuesday.
More on the green room from ESPN's Jonathan Givony:
The green room is a staging area located in front of the NBA draft podium, where players, their families and agents await commissioner Adam Silver to announce a player's name upon selection.
Players are allowed to invite six people to sit at their tables. The process of deciding whom to invite to the NBA draft involves communication with the presidents or general managers of teams that pick throughout the first round. Teams are asked to vote on the top 25 players they expect to hear their names called first. This is to ensure players aren't sitting for very long before a national television audience.
The news comes as no surprise, though Queen's stock might have fallen a bit lately after flirting with top-five status in some mock drafts a month or two ago. The 6-10 forward-center from Baltimore, the Big Ten's freshman of the year this past season,
"Seeing little stuff about Maryland young star Derik Queen sliding down draft boards because of athleticism. Crazy to see. This kid is easily a top 5 top 10 pick!! If he were from overseas nobody would care about his athleticism. Look at where Joker started. Not saying he could be Joker but Joker is not athletic either. Queen can do it all on the court and that should matter," former NBA standout Quentin Richardson wrote on X.
In an article picking the players who best fit each team's needs, ESPN's Jeremy Woo and Jonathan Givony both picked Queen for the Toronto Raptors, who pick ninth.
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"It's hard to see where a rookie guard, wing or forward would fit into the Raptors' depth chart as currently constructed, as the team has at least eight players vying for minutes at those positions. The situation on the interior looks a lot more uncertain, with Jakob Poeltl entering the final guaranteed year of his contract and possessing a player option in 2026-27," Givony wrote.
"Enter Queen, the most skilled big man in this draft, capable of scoring facing the basket or with his back to it, with impressive passing ability to boot. His shooting will likely need to improve for him to operate effectively alongside Scottie Barnes and Brandon Ingram, but he brings something to this roster that the Raptors don't currently possess, with upside to grow into if his conditioning improves."
Woo concurred.
"For a team such as the Raptors, where there isn't necessarily a perfect fit on the board here, this spot could be one to simply swing on talent. Queen is the most offensively gifted big man in the class, and although he has several areas for improvement, particularly as a defender, Toronto has room to develop talent up front and could certainly justify a swing here."
The full list of green room invitees: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Khaman Maluach, Jeremiah Fears, Kon Knueppel, Kasparas Jakucionis, Egor Demin, Carter Bryant, Derik Queen and Asa Newell.
Queen, Maryland's first one-and-done player in a decade, lived up to expectations in his one year in College Park. A five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American from Montverde Academy in Florida, he averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 blocks per game in his lone college season. He shot 52.6% from the field, 76.6% from the free-throw line and 20.0% from three, though he went 5-for-11 from deep in his final four games. Queen delivered one of the most iconic moments in recent Maryland history, banking in a runner off the glass at the buzzer of a second-round win over Colorado State to send the Terps to their first Sweet 16 since 2016.
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