10:36am: It’s a non-guaranteed contract, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
FRIDAY, 10:31am: The deal is official, the team announced.
THURSDAY, 4:15pm: The Pelicans are set to sign unrestricted free agent combo guard Nate Robinson, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter links). The deal will be for one year, and is for the veteran’s minimum, Stein adds, though the level of guarantee on his salary is unclear. The Pelicans already have 20 players on their roster, which is the preseason maximum, so a corresponding move will need to be made prior to inking Robinson.
Robinson had reportedly been considering an offer from the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese league, according to international journalist David Pick. The 31-year-old began last season with the Nuggets and appeared in 33 games before he was traded to the Celtics in January for Jameer Nelson. Robinson then reached a buyout agreement and was waived by Boston in mid-January. The veteran also played for the Clippers last season on a pair of 10-day contracts but they opted not to sign him for the rest of the campaign because of a left knee injury. The Clippers wound up re-signing Lester Hudson heading into the playoffs because of lingering concerns over Robinson’s sore knee. Robinson appeared in a total of nine games for the Clippers, averaging 5.1 points and 2.2 assists in 14.0 minutes.
New Orleans is in need of backcourt depth 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. The team also added Bo McCalebb on a partially guaranteed deal to bolster its backcourt ranks.
It’s a good spot for Robinson, with the injuries to Holiday and Cole. He’s only 31 and got caught in a bad situation last year. I think he can help the Pelicans.