The Pelicans are close to a deal with unrestricted free agent point guard Bo McCalebb, Andrew Lopez of The Times Picayune reports. The two sides are expected to reach an agreement on Thursday, Lopez adds. The Pelicans currently have the preseason maximum of 20 players under contract, including center Mirza Begić, who was signed by New Orleans earlier today, so the team would need to make a corresponding roster move prior to signing McCalebb.
Several NBA teams were interested in McCalebb back in June, and more recently, two Western Conference teams were said to be involved in discussions with the 30-year-old, according to reports by international journalist David Pick. The Pelicans are in need of depth at point guard in the wake of injuries to Jrue Holiday, who is playing on a minutes restriction until January according to coach Alvin Gentry, and Norris Cole, who is expected to miss up to six weeks with a high ankle sprain, Lopez notes.
McCalebb went undrafted out of the University of New Orleans in 2008, and he’s never spent time with an NBA team aside from a summer league stint with the Kings that same year. He averaged 11.0 points and 3.0 assists in 24.5 minutes per game for Turkey’s Fenerbahce in 2013/14, and 12.4 PPG and 4.8 APG in 25.7 MPG for FC Bayern Muenchen of Germany last season.
I think Bo would do well if he does indeed finally come to the NBA. Fitting that it looks like it may well happen in New Orleans.