The Pelicans have reached an agreement to sign free agent forward Kaiser Gates to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Gates, who went undrafted out of Xavier in 2018, spent one season (2021/22) in Israel with Hapoel Jerusalem but has otherwise been playing in the G League since going pro, enjoying stints with Windy City, Maine, and Long Island.
In 40 total appearances in the NBAGL regular season and Showcase Cup for the Long Island Nets last season, the 26-year-old averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .473/.468/.674.
The Pelicans still have several openings on their 21-man offseason roster and had been the only NBA team with multiple two-way slots available, so they won’t need to make a corresponding move to clear room for Gates.
Once Gates’ deal is official, New Orleans will be able to add one more two-way player to join him and Dereon Seabron. Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link) says he’d be surprised if rookie big man Liam Robbins – who reached a deal with the Pelicans in June – doesn’t end up filling that opening.
3 ppg, 2 rpg, 0 apg/spg/bpg (29%FG, 23% 3FG) in 16.5 minutes for the Nets in the summer league, screams for a two-way…
14, 6, and 2 in the G-League last year. (53%, 54%, 70%)
Zion hears Kaiser and gets hungry.