Atlanta Hawks: 2025 NBA Draft primer, Derik Queen, Ace Bailey, Khaman Maluach, Collin Murray-Boyles

Atlanta Hawks: 2025 NBA Draft primer, Derik Queen, Ace Bailey, Khaman Maluach, Collin Murray-Boyles

on today’s show I am joined by my good friend Ben Feifer to dive back into the NBA draft with just a few days until the picks come flying off the board we’ll get into the Hawks where they stand right now in this class how the class looks and much more and all that’s coming up right now you are Locked on Hawks your daily Atlanta Hawks podcast part of the Locked Onet your team every day hello friends welcome to episode 20001 of the Lock on Hawks podcast i am your host Brad Rollman coming to you on a Friday evening here in mid to late June and I want to encourage you at the top of the show as I always do to make Lock on Hawks your first listen each and every day check us out and subscribe to the podcast anywhere you find your podcasts each day that includes Apple and Spotify it also includes Overcast we’re also on YouTube on the video side so be sure to tell your friends and family about the podcast subscribe rate review and I appreciate you being here as always if you missed it episode 2000 is now live i was joined by Kevin Shannard of Hawks.com 29 to discuss the state of the Hawks here in mid June in advance of the draft it was a fun conversation with Kevin to kind of commemorate the big round shiny number of episodes on this podcast prior to that it was Jonathan Washerman Witcher report it was Brian Schroeder it was Glenn Willis it’s been very very busy on the show and it’s no different today actually going to be a two-part episode with myself and Ben Feifer who’s been on the show many times talking about the NBA draft ben is one of the brightest minds and scouting evaluators of of the draft really anywhere honestly it’s a fun conversation as always again it is two parts this is part one that you’re about to get listened to right now part two will be available in the same podcast feed as soon as part one is over before we get to Ben I do want to also say that the Hawks have a pretty intriguing announcement that was not a huge news thing but Auntie Salet the Hawks general manager will be speaking to the media at least scheduled to on Monday afternoon that’ll be the first time that anyone from the front office has spoken on the record to the media since the Landry Fields firing which is two months ago now and also the first time that Anie’s spoken on the record to the media since he was hired back in 2024 so it’s been a while that’ll be intriguing kind of a standard pre-draft availability but obviously a little bit of a wrinkle and that auntie has never talked before to the media in this setting also as I mentioned briefly with Kevin on the show on Wednesday the Hawks did finally announce the hires of Bryson Graham and Peter Denwitty to the front office that was covered on the show about two weeks ago but that was now official auntie put out a statement as part of that as the general manager which definitely points in my opinion to the fact that he is definitely in charge and uh as I’ve said now numerous times I expect the Hawks to keep it that way they’ve not closed the door on a higher above Auntie but right now I’m planning as if Auntie is going to be the number one guy heading into the offseason the draft free agency and the season itself but hold on your hats and we’ll get into all of that next week but in the meantime it’s now time talking to Ben Feifer about the NBA draft and again part two is available in the same podcast feed when part one is over here we go now with myself and Ben i am joined now by a repeat guest a multi-time annual repeat guest probably like twice a year honestly ben Feifer’s here hello sir how are you how’s it go how’s it going Brad um I’m doing I’m doing well even though it’s not going the way that I hope the Pacers are in the finals and that enough is to that enough is to lift my like perpetually lift the floor of my mood i feel like the first time we did this was 2019 that sounds right to me something like that it’s been a while anyways I’m excited to talk 2025 draft right now um two first round picks we talked about that that’s awesome yeah 13 and 22 and just as a as a time stamp about your NBA finals you’re Ben is a Patriots fan this might not go up until after game six so uh we’ll see we’ll see how that goes just know that we’re recording it before game before game six happens um but yeah this is an interesting class i’ve as you might imagine talked to a lot of people about this class on the podcast try to cast a wide net a lot of varying opinions and it’s kind of it’s a class for that um I think it is anyway I I’ll ask the standard like what do you make of the class question because it feels like especially in the Hawks range like there’s a lot of uncertainty as we’re recording this like an hour ago where it broke the ace Bailey is not going to work out for the Sixers there’s like there’s drama in that like three to six range the Hawks are in the 13 the Hawks are not to later but like what do you think about the range Atlanta’s at late lottery mid first i think it’s a fantastic year to be picking 13th to be perfectly honest i don’t think it’s the best year in the world to be picking fifth necessarily um but I think it’s a great great year to be picking We’ll see like if I were the GM of every team I’d be happy to pick fifth because I like because like a GM is not probably not taking care of Queen like it in top five but anyways like it’s a it’s still a really deep class like maybe not you know I think there’s maybe like five or six guys who I think are like real star bets and then a couple other that have shakier upside projections but just a lot of players I’m confident in having some kind of role or at least like value enough as an upside swing um but just like looking at the rookie scale consensus board which we’ll reference I’m sure a ton like yeah there are players who I really like and I value well above consensus at those spots um and I think are just good players relative to your average 13th pick so I think it’s a very good draft like again I think obviously Cooper the the the presence of a Cooper like draft you know like like 2019 is an awesome class because of Zion even though it wasn’t like incredibly special after that um and I think Cooper and you know I feel that way about Harper as well to a lesser extent and yeah it’s a great class um it’s not like a special alltime but like it’s Sure just like compared to last year it’s it’s so night and day um yeah I I would agree with that and 13’s really interesting to talk about because number one you don’t know who’s going to be there that’s that seems obvious but it’s also I think even more true this year like I feel like I’m I’m prepared for the inevit yeah someone’s going to slide um I didn’t plan to do this but because you and I discussed this a little bit online um I haven’t really talked about the locked on mock draft I did and other than just I tweeted about it but and I’m not about ace well that too but this is this is not uh it’s not going to happen this way just just a PSA i would be surprised if this happened but if people miss this I of course act as the Hawks and lock on mockdraft i end up with Derek Queen at 13 and people were like “Wait Derek Queen at 13?” Yes and then I had and I got Colin Murray Boils at 22 again not probably likely likely to happen but we you and I were talking um inevitably I I I was thinking man I kind of nailed this not that I think it’s like perfect fits i get all that i get it i mean it’s like in any of these exercises if you get two like top like like people who guys who people have in like their top five it’s kind of Well that’s it’s it’s funny because I have them both in my top 10 um I don’t I don’t know if you want to spoil your board it’s the reason I’m bringing it up now i do as well you you mentioned you mentioned Derrick Queen already so I think Derrick could fall to 13 realistically that that’s that’s a possible outcome is it likely to happen maybe not but um because I took him because I know you have him quite high on your board uh let’s just start there as far as players are concerned because like look I I don’t think maybe we’ll come back to Ace Bailey in a second because I guess maybe there’s like a fall potential there but like is not going to make it to the Hawks trey Johnson is not going to make it to the Hawks um I wouldn’t think Fears would be a Hawks guy um obviously Dylan and Cooper so there’s five or six guys I think are like no chance to fall to fall to 13 i think Malawatch from what I can what I can glean is not going to be a fall to 13 guy the Hawks could trade up to get him but maybe Queen’s like the highest rated guy that might be able to get there and I know you like him so let’s start there what do you think about Derrick Queen and also Dererick Queen with the Hawks which is a different thing than just Derrick Queen I think yeah I love Derek Queen and it’s not like the cleanest fit with the Hawks because I don’t think he’s what you want defensively like like the whole thing is we’ve been trying to get the Hawks like a real sevenfooter who can protect the rim that’s not aging Clink Capella since Clink Capella wasn’t aging and Queen’s just not that i think he’d be an incredible offensive fit with Trey i think that would be be just phenomenal um his ability to obviously pass and you know screen and and rebound but I think he he’d give the Hawks a secondary like advantage creator and scoring option that they just like simply have not had since Trey Young was in the NBA like like they just have not had a player as you know assuming Queen reaches his potential which is far from a given but of course there’s they haven’t had a player as you know maybe Gallow like back in his best years like legend you know which Queen has some of the footworky crafty stuff but it’s also just like the freakiest change of direction guy uh he’s so quick for his size his handle’s incredible he can score efficiently at the basket like he’s just a really really good player And I think there’s enough ways he can work on defense just you know he he does have quick feet he has quick hands he just the motor is a problem absolutely but yeah he just like gets to the rim at a crazy clip finishes there at a crazy clip and I trust him enough he’s like a really nice mid-range shotmaker he’s just a really good player it’s it also gets into like maybe one of those big picture conversations we can kind of have for a second about like best player available because I don’t think Queen’s a great fit in Atlanta like I wouldn’t want to trade up for him if I was the Hawks for example but when you have a guy that is like and you’re for me a top eight guy in my board not as high as you but I have him in my top eight maybe nine something like that and that guy falls to you at 13 how much do you care about fit is like a real question like what’s the dividing line is it just pure tears like how do you even just even big picture but also apply to the Hawks like how do you think about something like that whereas like okay not a great fit maybe but a guy that we think is the best player available yeah i mean it really just depends on how closely you feel the guys who fit better are to Queen like do I think Ryan Kulkrrener is a better fit for the Hawks and Derek Queen absolutely i love him for them at 22 i’ve done that a bunch in my mocks but like I would never take him over Derek Queen for any team at 13 because I think one is a high high you know high-end star bet and the other is a role player you know they’re just totally different tiers but like if Malawash was there like I would definitely consider taking Malawash over sure over Queen even though I prefer Queen and might have him like a half tier up but like Malawash is still the level of prospect where it’s like I still feel really good coming away with him in the lottery right um so so so that’s really what it is like it’s less to me when I’m thinking about team fit it’s less to me about like roster fit and more about like timeline and ecosystem and environment just because like specific roster needs change so much across you know two to three years in the NBA but like you know if you’re a team like Atlanta who’s trying to make the playoffs you you’ll probably want to take someone who can at least give you something immediately but also I think has the kind of ceiling that they need which is a real star ceiling and that’s why I think I mean Queen and Malash would both be freaking awesome um yeah but it makes sense completely and I wanted to always start there knowing you had Queen High knowing that I had drafted him in that mock it’s just an interesting way to jump off into this uh entire thing and it was kind of funny because you know I actually almost took Murray Boils at 13 i was deciding between Murray Boilles and Queen that was my decision and I ended up getting Murray Boils nine weeks later it’s not like expected to happen so this was brought to you by Car Gurus and 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honest with you but now there’s like some mixed let’s say intel on Ace Bailey and maybe he could fall a little bit so and I’ve done literally zero again zero on Ace Bailey what do you think of Ace Bailey in the experience generally who knows if he’s actually going to fall i mean yeah no idea the reports coming out about you know him not working out with any team are are certainly odd um and I’m not really I I feel like the teams like Philly who I think would be the best fits for him or even like Utah makes more sense i I he doesn’t seem interested in going there but you know I’m not as high on Ace Bailey as maybe mainstream consensus i think like he’s the classic guy who like you won’t find many on you know quote unquote draft Twitter who are that high on him and he’s like a top three guy in the eyes of like mainstream consensus but you know I think he’s solid i think he’s a solid like midlate lottery guy and I mean he’d be probably good on the Hawks i don’t know if they really need him or he would be the most important piece to add with the of the guys available there but like I don’t know he’d get a bunch of easy shots playing next to Trey i think he’s going to be good on defense he’s gonna add like another rim protector and another versatile on ball defender like he’d be good like I would like him in in a spot like Atlanta where they would not rely on him to create shots all the time like they have Trey you know Jaylen Johnson’s hopefully going to be healthy we saw like on take a little step at the end of last year like Dyson’s obviously going to get his chances it’s like if they draft Ace they’re not going to need him to jack shots and like they can experiment with bench units with Ace as like a more primary handler but they don’t have to commit to that and I think those situations are going to be the best ones for Ace based on my conception of him you know at his ceiling which is like this kind of turbo like you know shot making and defense wing who you know has the ability to just like really elevate offensive ceilings with his shooting um and then provide value on defense which is like a really damn good player it’s and people are like “Oh it’s slanderous.” It’s like no it really isn’t i have him a little lower than consensus too i think probably around where you have him like as a midl guy and again I just haven’t think about him for the Hawks that much i’ve written about it for other things but not for the Hawks i think I think he actually would be a pretty interesting fit in Atlanta because of what you just said like he doesn’t Yeah it would be good maybe playing with Trey would like kind of unlock him a little bit and he would maybe take take less of the bad shots and all those things i also um it’s maybe a bridge to ask you this question i was going to ask at some point about just trade up in general as the Hawks i’m asking everyone this question because it’s been a one I get all the time like constantly I’m asked should they trade up from 13 it’s hard to say of course without without the specifics of who they’re going to go get but are would you be in generally in favor if you’re the Hawks would you be calling try to trade up like before the draft or during the is there a guy you would like is like or you are you more of like a just take two swings and go based on my based on my evaluation of the class I I have no problem staying at 13 and even like you kind of alluded to I’m so pretty much I’m so like draft pick pill it’s like I if you can get it if you can trade up for like only swaps or just like some like that makes more sense to me but like I just rather have the extra the extra swings at at prospects and there are going like there’s not going to be anyone at least for me because like I said Queen might be there if Murray Boils is there that’s a guy who I don’t think you have to trade up for who I would be happy with if the Hawks picked him at six or whatever um I think Malawash is the only guy that would really make sense to me if they’re just like really dead he’s like the one traditional center i mean like Sorberers is really good but he’s doesn’t consensus doesn’t seem to like him as much he’s like the one true center that you know if they feel like they have to lap Toronto or whoever I don’t know to get him like they trade up to eight maybe they can get it with like a swap or a second or something like that it’s not you know it wouldn’t be my favorite decision but I would understand it if it’s like you know you feel like the prospect’s like a whole tier above anybody else and for them you know especially factoring in team fit a guy like Malawash could be but I still probably wouldn’t again or like I wouldn’t like trade up for Ace Bailey because I don’t view him as like a blue ship prospect i think he’s falling to the range where I have him projected right i might consider trading up for Khan though well I love Khan too and I I I don’t think you can maybe get high enough i think Khan’s gonna go pretty high i mean that’s the thing with the Hawks without going down this rabbit hole too much is like to get into where you’d have to go for a lot of these guys even Malawash there’s a scenario where you might have to go to like five and like that’s a long way from 13 like you gota you got to give up a lot to go from 13 to five that gets underrated it’s like probably two future assets or something crazy you know it’s a lot of stuff um on the Malawash thing while we’re here how do you evaluate as a prospect you know separate from anything else like Atlanta has a well needs probably a little bit too strong but like potential to look for a seven foot traditional center um I know where you have I’m looking at your board right now so I know where you have him but what do you like and not like about Malawatch as a guy seven I think i’ve got He’s like the one Honestly again he’s the As we’re talking it’s not like Shams but it’s like the people that are like know some stuff are like talking about Mile Watch as the Hawks potential trade so he’s the one guy they’ve been linked to as a trade-off candidate i mean it makes just even beyond like the leagues i just think it’s the the Hawks maybe more than like any team in the history of basketball are like we need a rim running center who can defend the basket like that’s legitimately it you know since what cuz like Luca’s always had that um and Malawash is the best bet i don’t want to limit him to that though like I think he could be better than that and his touch is really absurd like he’s obviously going to be a great like lob finisher because he has a seven like seven seven wingspan and like a 96 or whatever standing reach like he’s going to be able to catch lobs like crazy but his touch this year was so good on hook shots on layups he shot 84% at the rim in the half court that is ridiculously high second place in this class was Ryan Caulkrunner at 60 at 76.4% so almost 10% um he is like his ability to like tap in lobs from like weird angles softly is so crazy and like his hands aren’t always consistent but I think that kind of gives him an avenue to be a little more valuable than your average just like rim rim runner glass crasher screener like like I don’t project any shooting or playmaking or handling from him really at least not realistically and defensively like he’s also kind of a weird one because I think he’s a he honestly kind of like in a in a weird way I think positionally is similar to like a Alex Sar or even like a Jiren Jackson coming out where they’re mostly rors like they’re not they’re not like super versatile pick and roll they don’t like they’re too mobile to just park at the rim like Malawash when he can like roam on the weak side and just disrupt stuff with his length and deter shots at the rim is a monster and I think he actually has a good amount of pick and roll of defense upside because he is just active he can get low his feet are fine but not great for his size but like he’s not going to be able to switch under the perimeter my biggest issues with Malawash beyond his like processing and feel on defense which aren’t perfect i think they got better as the season went on are one the physicality which everybody seems to talk about i think that’s real like it’s it it’s definitely something to something to think about and something that needs to improve um it can but then I think the the more concerning thing are like his short area quickness and just like quickness in general where like he can make like big long rotations like from the corner down to the the paint or like from one block to like you know the other side of the floor but he’s not good like changing directions in short spaces he doesn’t get up off the floor super quickly which is why he’s just like a good not great shot blocker to me but he does just have like a different level of movement than most 7 foot one 7 foot2 guys like he’s not goar necessarily as a mover but I’d say he’s like the next tier down whatever that is in terms of movement skill upside and yeah I mean for Atlanta like this is a this is a dream Trey Young big like Trey I’m sure Trey I’m sure Trey is pounding the table for this one like like I would I would be if I was him as well um he’s gonna just I mean like he definitely benefit I think maybe you can make a fair case that like he his finishing numbers benefited from having two of the best passers in the draft on his team often playing together and especially Khan with like his lob pass accuracy and timing was perfect but like that’s not a concern if he goes to Atlanta you’re playing with Ray Young like Yeah no it’s it’s right and also he’s super young like you already said it exactly the way I think about it too i’m not big into trading up he’s the guy that if it makes the most sense on of anybody that’s realistic to go and get if you’re the Hawks it just because the position and and again I’m not People are probably laughing listening i’m not the like they have to go get a seven i’m not that like I think a Congo is pretty good honestly and it’s overwhelmed that he’s small i get all that but I get it i get the I get the idea of Malawash also they definitely take a big guy or acquire a center somewhere but it’s not so urgent that you have beat up into the top 10 for it in my opinion agreed they have to get a center somewhere everyone’s agree in agreement there um even fish is to back up Congo they need somebody else but uh Malawatch is a very interesting player today was brought to you by Wayfair there’s nothing like stepping into the outdoor space that you have and feeling like it’s actually your own personal oasis if you want to update that patio set this season Wayfair has made it so easy to go ahead and do that turn the space into something that feels like your own comfortable stylish and ready for the summer and wait for they have everything you need to load up your outdoor space in general that includes conversation 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wayfair.com right now shop a huge outdoor selection that is w afir wayfair.com that’s wayfair.com wayfair every style every home the other guy we already talked about a little bit but not like as a player is Colorary Boils so let’s just do that real fast color Boils is I think polarizing is fair like I love I I really like him extremely polarizing i really like him people that like him really like him um I’m one of those people but also he’s not super traditional he can’t really shoot right now offensively kind of limited he isn’t like the tallest guy in the world like if you love him you love him if you don’t it’s like what does this guy do again what’s the Where do you fall i think you like him but what do you like about him and what do you I’m definitely pro i’m not as pro as some people who have him like top three i can like kind of understand the vision but I’m I mean I have him what like six to eight range I think like just outside of one of my of my like second or third tier he just he just has a bunch of really highlevel traits that I think are are worth betting on where like his game obviously doesn’t make sense positionally and that’s why people don’t like him he’s a 6’6 you know four and a half five who doesn’t shoot threes like that’s you know certainly concerning yep i don’t doubt that and the shooting indicators aren’t like promising by any means like he’s never been a good free throw shooter he’s never taken threes he took you know barely any threes this year um he took 33 threes in high school you know in the cerebro sample and 39 in in college like it’s it’s just not particularly like he wasn’t a high frequency mid-range guy either um so but Murray Boils is just like a crazy good passer um his finishing is awesome he’s a good driver i wish he was like a little more explosive i think if he was a little more explosive like that to me is more like the Randallish comps kind of fall through a little bit because Randall I mean you know still is especially when he was a teenager was like stupidly explosive like he wasn’t Zion but he was insane uh and Murray Bole is like you know he doesn’t dunk that much he’s not so crazy twitchy but he has like the the crazy strength creation his touch is awesome his driving definitely got better as as his college career went on and then I think he has a strong case is the best defensive player in the draft like he’s not a center in terms of rim protection and that’s literally my only major defensive issue with him and and it’s notable but his instincts and reaction time and hands and mobility and strength and awareness like he carried a a terrible South Carolina team on both ends this year um and I don’t think that should be under underappreciated like he is a incredibly smart passer who I think fits extremely well with the Hawks honestly um I think he’s like a perfect he’s kind of like I think he’s going to be the player who like I wanted Grant Williams to be but like I don’t know if you like again just like this short rolled demon who was like creating you know punishing punishing rotations scoring super high volume and efficiency on the interior and I’m like I think Murray Boils is is the guy who I like thought Grant Williams was when I was 18 um yeah good player by the way like athlete sappyish yep that’s I mean I I uh I pulled that out too as a of course it’s because it’s the Hawks comparison but also that there’s a lot of Milap there and I’ve made that comparison and Milsap also was like people kind of forget this in Atlanta particular before he got to Atlanta was like not a big offensive threat like he was a shoot he didn’t shoot in college i mean it was obviously 2005 or whatever well he didn’t shoot in the pros in Utah he wasn’t shooting in Utah like it’s just he kind of came around late so you can’t bank on that but I I love the defense i mean obviously that’s that’s the selling point with Murray Boils and probably why at least part of why I like him more than a lot of people do like I just value his defense a lot and um yeah he but he he isn’t necessarily a clean fit a lot of places because he has the offensive weirdness i don’t think it’s bad it’s just that it’s not like a plugandplay you have to think about it i will say it wasn’t until his eighth NBA season his first in Atlanta that Milsap took over a over one three per 75 possessions it’s like it took him eight NBA seasons to become an even like a guy and and even then it was like below average volume his whole career right um mostly open spot up shooting but that’s all you need from a guy like Murray Boils to be a really damn effective player um I think that would totally change the calculus for him and I just have a hard time seeing it happening like he could definitely get to the point where he like can hit a spot up or two but I just struggle be like I wish he had more of a pull-up mid-range game because then it would be easier to project him as a pull-up shooter like another like Randall similarity there um or non similarity I guess but it’s just tough with him um I definitely struggle with him he’s not like an easy eval by any means to me um and I don’t feel like incredible about wherever I have him like I’ve you know I feel like he’s a guy I’ I’ve like tested out everywhere it’s like I have him late in the you know later lottery i’m like “No he’s too good.” I’m like “I have him my top five.” It’s like “No I just can’t like justify that.” Um but Right and for me it’s it’s fascinating yeah put it to put it back in Hawk’s terms like at 13 if he’s the if he’s the pick like I’m I’m very excited about that like I I don’t and I I don’t I don’t I know that not everybody will agree with me on that again because of like maybe he’s duplicative with Jayen some like I I get it like there’s some stuff there but I I just I love the defense the frame like I know he’s I know he’s kind of short but he has a seven I think what 71 wingspan like he’s got enough size super long for sure so I mean not I don’t I I refuse to ever do Draymond comps but defensive if you defensively you can kind of see there’s and Murray boils just One last thing um because I can’t get this out of my head he took maybe I think he he took around 120 non- rim twos in two seasons julius Randle took 160 in his one season in one season yeah i’m like I wish Murray Boils had that if he did I would be stupidly high on him well and if R and look Randall I mean you know this i mean I know you were young when it was happening but Randall was like a top five prospect the whole way in that class like it was coming out of high school murray Boils was not that like Rand has had the pedigree that my Boils does not have i think Mury Boils defensively is better than Rain’s ever been probably uh but offensively he had his moments this year but yeah he he was fine no Murray Bo’s I mean he’s a defense first prospect that you draft and you’re like we’ll figure out the offense because this guy like I love him for like a Utah or just like these awful defensive teams just need a backbone and Murray Boils can do everything he’s going to make plays on defense um he’s going to create turnovers he can guard a bunch of positions he can defend screens he’s Yeah he’s he’s I think a It’s a really There are a lot of really high level defensive players in this class i think it’s like to me it’s like pick your flavor between Cooper and Murray Boils as the best defender in the class um which is high price i probably think it’s Cooper but like I don’t feel like so convicted in that [Applause] all right that is all for part one of myself and Ben Feifer talking about the NBA draft through the lens of the Hawks part two should be available in this same podcast feed whether it’s Apple Spotify Overcast YouTube it’s should be there right now so go to part two immediately following this please subscribe to the podcast tell your friends about the show stay tuned go to part two and we’ll see everybody next time

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) hosts Episode 2001 of the Locked on Hawks podcast, and he is joined by Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf) for Part 1 of a 2-part conversation on the 2025 NBA Draft through the lens of the Atlanta Hawks. The first part of the discussion centers on players like Derik Queen, Ace Bailey, Khaman Maluach, and Collin Murray-Boyles.

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