Derick Queen Fires Back at Fitness Critics
Pelicans rookie Derick Queen clapped back after analyst Dylan McNeely questioned his conditioning, days after Tracy McGrady called him a step slow.
Derick Queen asked on social media whether the doubts about him come down to one thing: "Is that because I'm fat and slow?"
The New Orleans Pelicans centre, the 13th pick of the 2025 draft, was reacting to a comment from Dylan McNeely of The Assist podcast, who had flagged him as the rookie he worries about most beyond this season. "Long-term, Derick Queen is the one who concerns me most. Nothing to do with his basketball skills. Something's just not sitting right. I don't even know," McNeely said.
McNeely laughed off Queen's reply. "😂😂😂😂😂 No, it's about the role — it doesn't show off your game," he wrote back.
It is not the first time Queen's conditioning has come up. Tracy McGrady raised it on his own podcast earlier, calling Queen a "slow-ass" to his face during an interview. Queen took it in stride: "I'd still beat you though."
Queen made the second All-Rookie team last season but left mixed impressions along the way. He is listed at 206cm and 113kg.
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