The Pelicans have made a minor change to their preseason roster, signing free agent guard Jalen Crutcher, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans waived Liam Robbins to create a roster opening for Crutcher.
A former college standout at Dayton, Crutcher played four years for the Flyers prior to going undrafted in 2021. He has spent his first two professional seasons playing in the G League for the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — after signing Exhibit 10 deals with and then being waived by the Hornets.
A 6’2″ point guard, Crutcher appeared in 57 regular season games (39 starts, 32.7 MPG) with the Swarm from 2021-23, averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.8 APG and 3.0 RPG with an impressive .473/.430/.774 shooting slash line.
The Birmingham Squadron — the Pelicans’ NBAGL affiliate — acquired Crutcher’s returning player rights last month in a deal with the Swarm. That means the 24-year-old likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New Orleans, which would entitle him to a $75K bonus if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Squadron.
Robbins, a 7’0″ big man who went undrafted in June out of Vanderbilt, inked an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans at the end of last month. It looked like he might be promoted to a two-way contract, but last week he unfortunately sustained a stress fracture in his right fibula and was ruled out indefinitely.
Someone should pickup Robbins to heal. He would be a great backup center. GS?