The Pelicans have waived Corey Webster, the team announced. The shooting guard from New Zealand was in camp on a non-guaranteed deal. The team is reportedly close to a deal with former University of New Orleans point guard Bo McCalebb, and the release of Webster drops the Pelicans roster to 19 players, giving them an open spot beneath the 20-man preseason roster maximum.
Webster, who turns 27 next month, scored four points in close to 22 total minutes of action across three preseason games for the Pelicans. He dished out six assists and committed just two turnovers, but it appears the Pelicans are focused on other options to handle their ball-distribution duties. Starting point guard Jrue Holiday remains on a minutes limit until January and backup Norris Cole is out six weeks with a high ankle sprain, as Andrew Lopez of The Times Picayune noted in his report about the team’s interest in McCalebb.
New Orleans has had a tough go of it with injuries so far, and already the team has made a series of moves to offset the loss of its top two centers, Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca. The Pelicans have 13 full guarantees and a partial guarantee for rookie Bryce Dejean-Jones, as our roster count shows.