Trio of former Maryland basketball stars get good news ahead of 2025-26 NBA season opener

Ahmed Ghafir
Oct 18
2 min read

The 2025-26 NBA regular season is set to kick off in less than a week with NBA champion Aaron Wiggins, Kevin Huerter, Alex Len and Jalen Smith set to kick back up, but a trio of Terps got good news including Derik Queen inching closer toward his NBA debut.

Julian Reese kicked off the news after inking with the Toronto Raptors on Friday before being waived on Saturday morning, officially clearing the way for the rookie to join Raptors 905 for the upcoming G League season. This marked Reese’s first stint back in the league after suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers during summer league where he appeared in four games and averaged three points and 2.5 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.

On Saturday, Jahmir Young continued the good news after officially being converted to a two-way contract with the Miami Heat. Young initially signed an Exhibit-10 deal with the team after dazzling in the G League before being called up by the Chicago Bulls during the end of his rookie season. In 43 games, Young averaged 21.7 points, 7.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 steals in just over 34 minutes per game. Young can only play in a maximum of 50 games on a two-way contract, but he’ll now look to capitalize when called up in a backcourt that will likely start Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell with Terry Rozier back for his second season with the franchise and 11^th in the NBA. With the Heat, Young appeared in three preseason games where he averaged 9.7 points and shot 50% from three-point. Under a two-way contract,

Meanwhile, Pelicans rookie forward Derik Queen has been “cleared to resume full basketball activities” after being sidelined for the bulk of both Summer League and preseason. Queen suffered a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist back on July 15 before having surgery three days later, but his return to the court now makes him a possibility to play in Wednesday’s regular season opener vs. Memphis.

Queen became the program’s third first-round pick since 2018 after coming off the board with the 13^th overall pick in June, selected by Atlanta before being traded to New Orleans on draft night. Queen joins fellow rookie Jeremiah Fears and undrafted free agent Hunter Dickinson while the franchise traded for Jordan Poole and this offseason, months after trading for Dejounte Murray midway through the 2024-25 season.

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