The Pelicans have removed four players from their preseason roster, announcing in a press release on Wednesday that they’ve requested waivers on Elfrid Payton, Keion Brooks Jr., Trhae Mitchell, and Josh Oduro.
All four players were on essentially identical non-guaranteed contracts with Exhibit 10 clauses and will now be eligible to earn bonuses worth $77.5K apiece if they reported to the Birmingham Squadron and spend at least 60 days with New Orleans’ G League affiliate.
Brooks and Oduro went undrafted earlier this year and have no prior G League experience, so they can be designated as “affiliate players” for the Squadron. Payton and Mitchell played for other NBAGL teams last season, but had their returning rights acquired by Birmingham in a pair of separate trades during the offseason.
The Pelicans now have 14 players on guaranteed contracts and three on two-way deals, for a total of 17 players on their preseason roster.
Those are the 17 players who appear likely to open the regular season with the club, though it’s possible New Orleans will continue shuffling Exhibit 10 players on and off the roster over the next few days for G League purposes.
I like Brooks but poor Payton