New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Zion Williamson: “My Intentions Are To Stay With The Pelicans My Whole Career”

July 30th, 2019 at 9:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Zion Williamson hasn’t yet made his NBA debut in New Orleans but he has already expressed his interested to remain with the franchise long-term.

“Growing up, I loved what Kobe [Bryant] did and Dirk [Nowitzki] did… My intentions are to stay with the Pelicans my whole career,” Williamson told Macklin Stern of Complex. “But if something happens, I wouldn’t leave because I hate the place. It’s just the business.”

The Pelicans are beginning a new era after trading away superstar Anthony Davis this offseason. Davis demanded a trade last February with over a year left on his deal and the team held onto him until this summer when the new front office – led by David Griffin – traded him to the Lakers.

Williamson is the star of the future in New Orleans. Like many top players, he may take recruiting free agents into his own hands one day. RJ Barrett, who played with Williamson at Duke and was drafted by the Knicks at the No. 3 overall pick, could be a player Williamson targets.

“Yeah, [Barrett and I] talked about it in college a lot. We kinda talked about it as we were both going to get our careers started and see how it goes. I mean, if we can possibly link up in the future, that would be great. But we both understand that if things are going well in our prospective cities, we’ll just kind of leave it there,” Williamson said.

The Pelicans brought on two other 2019 first-round picks (Jaxson Hayes and Nickeil Alexander-Walker) during an offseason of change that also includes the acquisitions of a trio of former top-three overall picks (Derrick Favors, No. 3, 2010; Brandon Ingram, No. 2, 2016; Lonzo Ball, No. 2, 2017). Williamson believes the Pelicans currently have the talent to reach great heights.

“Me being confident in my teammates, I would say I think the ceiling is [a] championship,” the latest No. 1 overall pick said. “But I have to be realistic about this. I have high expectations for us, but you gotta see how we’re gonna work. I think we are going to work, but it does take time to adjust to each player—knowing what they like to do, finding out their tendencies. So I think the quicker we find out those things, I think we have a very high ceiling.”

Griffin: Zion Williamson Is Still Growing

July 28th, 2019 at 2:31pm CST by clarkcrum

Pelicans president of basketball operations David Griffin tells Jeff Duncan of The Athletic that rookie phenom Zion Williamson is still getting taller and that the team is more worried about making sure the 19-year-old is eating well and in good condition than what his playing weight will be.

Atlantic Notes: Gasol, Lin, Poirier, Erman

July 28th, 2019 at 11:41am CST by Arthur Hill

Raptors center Marc Gasol is thankful that the Grizzlies didn’t agree to his request not to be traded, relays Alex Madrid of Eurohoops. Gasol had been with Memphis for more than a decade before the team committed to rebuilding and sent him to Toronto in a deadline deal. The move led to Gasol collecting his first NBA championship ring.

“There have been few players that haven’t been traded over the years in the NBA,” Gasol said. “If it had been dependent on me, I wouldn’t have been traded. I always thought I could reverse the situation there (in Memphis) and bring the team to the top. But, thank God, they ignored me.”

Gasol will be part of the remaining foundation as the Raptors try to stay in contention without Kawhi Leonard. The 34-year-old will earn $25.6MM this season in the final year of his contract.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Jeremy Lin appears distraught about his free agency situation in a video tweeted by Daily Sports Dosage. “Free agency has been tough,” Lin says. “Because I feel like in some ways the NBA has kind of given up on me.” The Raptors signed Lin in February to provide backcourt depth, but he shot just 37% in 23 games and was barely used during the playoffs.
French center Vincent Poirier could have made more money in Europe, but he wanted the challenge of playing in the NBA, tweets Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports. Poirier was the EuroLeague’s top rebounder last season, and the Celtics believe his athleticism will translate well.
Former Celtics assistant Darren Erman will become head coach of the organization’s G League affiliate in Maine, according to Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Known as a defensive specialist, Erman has spent the past four seasons with the Pelicans.

Pelicans Notes: Melli, Ball, Ingram, Redick, Miller

July 26th, 2019 at 7:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin was able to land Euro star Nicolo Melli by selling him on the team’s system and through a connection with Melli’s agent, Griffin told Jeff Duncan of The Athletic in a Q&A session. Melli joined New Orleans on a two-year, $8MM contract.

“It’s not like anybody discovered Melli. Everybody knew Melli. What was interesting is we were able to create a situation that attracted Melli. He had other opportunities to come to the NBA. He’s a player that, because he’s an elite defensive rebounder and floor spacer — I think he’s the leading rebounder in Europe since 2015 and he shoots 42 percent from 3 — that type of player is attractive to the NBA. What I think was significant for us was our situation spoke to him to because he saw his fit within Alvin Gentry’s system, and he’s represented by Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports Management and Jeff Schwartz, whom I was really close to.”

We have more on the Pelicans:

Griffin received trade inquiries regarding the three rotation players he received from the Lakers in the Anthony Davis blockbuster but didn’t get close to moving Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart or Brandon Ingram, Griffin indicated in the same story. “There was interest but nothing that really spoke to us to any degree. … We felt really fortunate that we were able to land the players we did, and it became really evident that we were fortunate because of the interest in them that was shown by several other teams basically immediately after the deal was announced. It was fascinating to go through the experience, but we didn’t acquire them to move them, so nothing was even close.”
Pelicans guard J.J. Redick will not participate in Team USA’s training camp for the FIBA World Cup, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Unlike some players on the original 20-man roster who pulled out to concentrate on the next NBA season, Redick declined to be added to the roster due to family reasons as he transitions to a new city. Redick joined the Pelicans on a two-year, $26.5MM contract.
Forward Darius Miller‘s contract has an early July trigger date next summer, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Miller will make $7.25MM in guaranteed money next season and is due $7MM in 2020/21 in the non-guaranteed portion of his contract. Miller was officially signed over the weekend.

Pelicans Sign Nicolo Melli

July 25th, 2019 at 8:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 25: The Pelicans have officially signed Melli, the team announced today in a press release. New Orleans used its room exception to complete the signing.

JUNE 30: The Pelicans are finalizing a deal with Italian power forward Nicolo Melli, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It’s a two-year, $8MM deal, according to Wojnarowski, who confirms (via Twitter) that the two sides are in agreement.

Will Guillory of The Athletic confirms the report, adding that the Pelicans see the 6’9″ Melli as an efficient passer who can space the floor (Twitter link). The 28-year-old played for Fenerbahce this season and was the leading scorer in the EuroLeague Finals.

Melli has been playing professionally in Europe for more than a decade. He also has extensive international experience, starting with Italy’s Junior National Team in 2007.

He will be part of a revamped team in New Orleans as the Pelicans build around No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson and No. 8 selection Jaxson Hayes, along with the package of players they’re getting from the Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade.

And-Ones: Team USA, Harrell, Redick, Hampton

July 25th, 2019 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Team USA appeared to replenish its World Cup training camp roster this afternoon by announcing a group of six players who will help replace the nine who have already removed their names from consideration. However, apparently not all of those six new additions are locks to attend training camp in Vegas next month.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), Clippers center Montrezl Harrell is appreciative of the invite from USA Basketball, but is unlikely to actually participate for Team USA due to scheduling issues and a desire to prepare for the upcoming season.

Meanwhile, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports that new Pelicans sharpshooter J.J. Redick has also received an invitation to join Team USA’s roster, but is still mulling over whether to accept it. While Redick would love to represent his country, he’s wary of making a six-week commitment as he and his family make the move to New Orleans.

“I’m thrilled beyond belief to be considered but also trying to work through our family’s transition to New Orleans,” Redick told Wojnarowski.

As USA Basketball continues to put together its final training camp roster, here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Top 2020 draft prospect R.J. Hampton – who will forgo college next season to play in New Zealand – has signed a lucrative shoe deal with Chinese brand Li-Ning, writes Nick DePaula of ESPN. Li-Ning aggressively pursued Hampton, according to DePaula, who says the deal’s total value would’ve made the young guard one of the four highest-earning players in the 2019 draft. Being selected in the top 10 next year will help secure a larger payday for Hampton, but ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link) hears that the 18-year-old will still be guaranteed several million dollars even if he never appears in an NBA game.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps polled NBA executives, coaches, and scouts to get their thoughts on the best, worst, and most surprising moves of the offseason. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry examined the biggest questions facing the league’s new group of championship contenders.
What exactly does it mean when a player – or a group of players – has a workout for an NBA team? In an interesting piece for HoopsHype, Alex Kennedy spoke to players and coaches to get an idea of what individual and group workouts for NBA teams actually look like.

Zylan Cheatham Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans

July 24th, 2019 at 3:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

JULY 24, 3:24pm: The Cheatham signing is official, according to a team press release.

JUNE 21, 12:59am: The Pelicans are signing Arizona State forward Zylan Cheatham to a two-way contract, tweets Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype, and will pick up a couple more undrafted free agents as well.

Aubrey Dawkins of Central Florida has agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), and Javon Bess of St. Louis will sign with New Orleans as well, relays Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Cheatham averaged 12.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in his first season with the Sun Devils after two years at San Diego State. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony lists him as the fifth-best available player after the draft.

Dawkins is best known for his outstanding performance against Duke and his new teammate, Zion Williamson, in the NCAA Tournament. Dawkins poured in 32 points as the Knights lost at the buzzer in the second round.

Bess is an older prospect at 23, but he is coming off a strong senior season with the Billikens, averaging 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game.

Pelicans Sign Josh Gray To Two-Way Deal

July 24th, 2019 at 3:22pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 24, 3:22pm: It’s official, according to a team press release.

JULY 19, 12:57pm: Free agent point guard Josh Gray has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Pelicans, agent EJ Kusnyer tells Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A former LSU standout, Gray went undrafted in 2016 and spent his first two professional seasons with the Northern Arizona Suns in the G League, averaging 16.2 PPG, 5.4 APG, 4.2 RPG, and 1.9 SPG in 95 total contests (29.3 MPG).

His play in the G League earned Gray a brief audition at the NBA level, as Phoenix signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts during the 2017/18 season. However, he appeared in just five games during that stretch, and then spent the 2018/19 campaign playing in South Korea.

Gray returned stateside to play for the Nets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas this month, averaging 9.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, and 2.2 APG in six games (22.7 MPG) for the club.

Gray will occupy one of New Orleans’ two-way contract slots to start the season, with Arizona State forward Zylan Cheatham claiming the other. The Pelicans reportedly reached an agreement after the draft to ink Cheatham to a two-way deal, though it’s not yet official.

Northwest Notes: Wiggins, Coaching Additions, Bradley

July 23rd, 2019 at 8:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman makes a case for the Thunder to trade Chris Paul to the Timberwolves for Andrew Wiggins. Paul would elevate the team’s immediate ceiling in Minnesota, providing Karl-Anthony Towns with arguably the best point guard he’s played with at the professional level.

Tramel believes OKC may provide Wiggins with an environment that would allow him to improve. Wiggins has played under four head coaches in Minnesota and the organization doesn’t have the recent track record for developing players that OKC does.

Here’s more from around the Northwest Division:

The Thunder have named David Akinyooye, Dave Bliss, Mark Daigneault, Brian Keefe, and Mike Wilks as assistant coaches, the team announces on its website. The group will join head coach Billy Donovan and assistant coaches Maurice Cheeks and Vin Bhavnani on the bench.
The Timberwolves are close to adding Pelicans assistant Kevin Hanson to their coaching staff, as Chris Hine of the Star Tribune reports. Hanson spent the past four seasons in New Orleans.
Tony Bradley, who was selected in the 2017 draft, had a Summer League that saved his roster spot on the Jazz, Tony Jones of The Athletic explains. Third-year first-rounders don’t typically play in the Summer League and the front office told the center that it wanted to see him be the best player on the team. Bradley shined and will be the third center behind Rudy Gobert and Ed Davis.

And-Ones: Zion, World Cup, Schedule, Marinkovic

July 23rd, 2019 at 1:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Zion Williamson, one of the top free agents on the shoe endorsement market, has reached a deal with Jordan Brand, he announced today on Instagram. Although terms of the multi-year arrangement were not released, Williamson received offers in excess of $10MM a year from some of Jordan’s competitors, relays Nick DePaula of ESPN.

“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family,” Williamson said. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league and having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had and continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to, and I really can’t express how happy and excited I am for this journey.”

The company held an all-employees meeting this morning where the news was disclosed. Digital billboards featuring Williamson are scheduled to be unveiled soon.

There’s more NBA-related news to pass along:

FIBA’s decision to move the World Cup to the summer before the Olympics may be responsible for so many stars deciding to skip the event, tweets Michael Lee of The Athletic. He notes that it’s difficult to find elite players who are willing to commit two straight offseasons to international competition. Many of the players who withdrew are sincere about their desire to prepare for the upcoming season, observes Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). With no obvious favorite for the 2019/20 title, many stars are seeking any advantage they can get. Damian Lillard and DeMar DeRozan are the latest players to pull their names out of consideration for Team USA.
A summer filled with blockbuster trades and unprecedented free agent movement presents unique challenges for schedule makers, writes Jacob Feldman of Sports Illustrated. The scheduling process usually starts in mid-June, but the league came to an agreement with ESPN and TNT to push it back because of the expected flurry of transactions. The schedule release is still anticipated for its normal time of early to mid-August.
Kings second-round pick Vanja Marinkovic will leave his Partizan Belgrade team to sign with Valencia in Spain, tweets international basketball consultant Vedran Modric. It will be a two-year deal with an option for a third season, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link).
Center Matt Costello, who played briefly for the Spurs during the 2017/18 season, has reached a deal with Spanish club Herbalife Gran Canaria, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando.