April 2: Payton has officially signed his second 10-day contract with the Pelicans, the team announced today in a press release.
March 31: Elfrid Payton will get a second 10-day deal with the Pelicans, agent Darrell Comer of CSE tells Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
The 31-year-old point guard appeared in four games for New Orleans during his first 10-day contract, which expired on Sunday. He moved into a regular rotation role off the bench and handed out 14, 10, and six assists in his last three outings.
Payton also spent time with the Pelicans in November and December on a non-guaranteed contract, and he signed a pair of 10-day deals with Charlotte in February. In 17 total games this season, he’s averaging 3.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 20.4 minutes per night with .348/.352/.333 shooting numbers.
The Pelicans will have a full 15-man roster again once the contract becomes official. Payton will earn a $171,756 salary on his new deal, just as he did on his other 10-day contracts. New Orleans will incur a cap charge of $119,972.
The Pelicans don’t play again until Wednesday, so it’s possible that Payton’s contract won’t be finalized until then. If that happens, he would be eligible to appear in six games before it expires at the end of the day on April 11. If the team wants to keep him on the roster for its April 13 finale, he’ll have to be signed to a standard deal.
Just sign him for the season. Stop being cheap
He will be a great coach someday.