Queen has already received plenty of praise from inside and outside the Pelicans organization. The talent and potential are clearly there for the University of Maryland alum to become an NBA superstar.<\/p>\n
Queen must first avoid the dreaded sophomore slump. One way he can do that is by listening to other players who have been in the league longer than he has. It also helps if those players have found significant success in the NBA.<\/p>\n
Queen has been hanging around the NBA Finals as an NBA player correspondent. As a result, he has received some very valuable advice from his more experienced peers.<\/p>\n
Learning never stops for DQ<\/p>\n
Queen took time to interview his former teammate, Jose Alvarado, during one of the New York Knicks\u2019 practices. Alvarado\u2019s advice to Queen was simple: \u201cshut up and listen.\u201d Alvarado continued, \u201cYou learn from the moments that you weren\u2019t the kid who was trying to act like he knew it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
@PelicansNBA<\/a> rookie Derik Queen interviews his former teammate Jose Alvarado at NBA Finals Game 2 Media Day.<\/p>\n Knicks (1-0) Spurs Game 2: Friday at 8:30pm\/et on ABC \ud83c\udfc6 pic.twitter.com\/vbSPsr34uT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NBA (@NBA) June 4, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Alvarado and Queen only played half a season together before New Orleans traded the undrafted point guard to the Knicks. <\/p>\n Another Knicks player also had advice for Queen during the NBA finals. Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the best big men in the NBA. Now he finds himself just a couple of games away from winning his first NBA title.<\/p>\n Towns gave advice based on the perspective of a big man in the NBA. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it firsthand,\u201d Towns said. \u201cI think, for me, it\u2019d be more about locking into the film consistently. Never leave the gym, be infatuated with the work.\u201d <\/p>\n “The real gift about experience is that you\u2019ll find ways to accomplish the same goal and get the stats with using way less energy,\u201d Towns continued. “And with that, that\u2019s where experience really kicks in, and it\u2019s a beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither Alvarado nor Towns gave advice that Queen couldn\u2019t have gotten from someone else. But it means so much more coming from two guys who are playing pivotal roles<\/a> in the success of a team in the NBA Finals. In an important offseason, Queen already is doing the right things. Being around the NBA Finals and seeing what it takes to be a winner in the NBA can only help the Pelicans’ young big man.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just hope that Queen takes the advice he is getting from Alvarado and Towns to heart. It\u2019s going to be interesting to see what improvements Queen can make in his sophomore season.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\"){kind=icon}
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a>