New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Notes: Zion, Lewis, Luxury Tax, Coaching Changes

September 26th, 2022 at 2:22pm CST by Rory Maher

Appearing on The Hoop Collective (video link), Brian Windhorst’s podcast, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez said Pelicans star Zion Williamson is “ready to go” for the 2022/23 season. Williamson, who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery and subsequently experiencing setbacks from a broken foot, has been working out with his trainer as opposed to the team’s staff since he was cleared to play with no restrictions at the end of May, Lopez added.

“He is now working with Jasper Bibbs, his strength and conditioning coach, he has a chef, he has taken steps to improve his body so we don’t have a situation where he is only playing 85 games in a three-year stretch, or missing an entire season,” Lopez said.

In an interview last week with William Guillory of The Athletic, Bibbs said Williamson was in “fantastic shape” and “a better athlete now than he’s ever been.” The former No. 1 overall pick signed a five-year, maximum-salary extension in July, and will reportedly be required to undergo regular weigh-ins throughout the duration of his new contract due to a conditioning clause.

Here’s more on the Pelicans:

Speaking at Media Day on Monday, general manager Trajan Langdon said guard Kira Lewis Jr. is not ready for five-on-five yet action yet, according to Lopez (Twitter link), who notes that Lewis tore his ACL last December. The recovery period for a torn ACL is typically 12-plus months, so it might be a while until we see the 21-year-old former lottery pick back in action.
When asked about paying the luxury tax, executive VP of basketball operations David Griffin said that ownership was willing to commit when appropriate. “When it’s time to really go all-in on something, we will,” Griffin said (Twitter link via Christian Clark of NOLA.com). New Orleans is currently about $3.5MM under the $150,267,000 luxury tax line for ’22/23.
The Pelicans announced a series of front office and coaching promotions and additions in a press release. Sammy Gelfand is the team’s new senior director of basketball analytics. Ryan Pannone, formerly the head coach of the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, is now an assistant coach. Jordan Kincaide has also been added as an assistant strength and conditioning coach. Ryan Frazier has been promoted to assistant coach; Both Corey Brewer and Darnell Lazare have been promoted to assistant coach/player development coach; Brandon Demas has been elevated to two-way coach; Jordan McGuire and D’Or Fischer have been elevated to player development assistant, with McGuire also serving as an assistant shooting coach.

CJ McCollum Signs Two-Year Extension With Pelicans

September 26th, 2022 at 10:32am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 26: McCollum’s extension is now official, according to Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin, who praised the veteran guard for “taking less money in his extension to keep this group together” (Twitter links via Andrew Lopez of ESPN and Christian Clark of NOLA.com).

SEPTEMBER 24: The Pelicans and CJ McCollum have reached an agreement on a two-year extension valued at $64MM, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. This deal, which was confirmed by McCollum’s agent, Sam Goldfeder of Excel Basketball, will run through the end of the 2025/26 season.

McCollum made an immediate impact in New Orleans after being acquired from the Trail Blazers in February. He averaged 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game as the Pelicans stormed back from a slow start and earned a spot in the play-in tournament. He was equally effective in the playoffs as New Orleans took the top-seeded Suns to six games in their first-round matchup.

The 31-year-old shooting guard is part of what looks to be a strong foundation that could keep the Pelicans in playoff contention for the next few years. Brandon Ingram provides another consistent scoring threat, and the return of Zion Williamson could round out one of the league’s most dangerous offenses.

All three players are now under contract for the next three seasons, notes Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link).

The extension was a priority for Pelicans senior vice president of basketball operations David Griffin and general manager Trajan Langdon, Wojnarowski adds. They were impressed by the way McCollum was able to transform the team with his production and leadership after the trade.

McCollum was a fixture in Portland after being selected with the 10th pick in the 2013 draft. He spent eight and a half seasons with the Blazers and ranks fifth on the team’s career scoring list.

McCollum will earn $33.3MM this season and $35.8MM in 2023/24 before the new extension takes effect.

Pelicans Sign Cheatham, Butler; Waive Brockington

September 24th, 2022 at 12:57pm CST by JD Shaw

The Pelicans have signed forwards Zylan Cheatham and John Butler ahead of training camp, the team announced in a press release today. New Orleans also waived two-way guard Izaiah Brockington.

Cheatham, 26, is a 6″6″ guard who played for the Pelicans’ G League affiliate last season. In 21 outings, he scored 14.0 points per game on 55% shooting from the floor and 38% shooting from distance. He signed a 10-day hardship deal last season and was a two-way player for New Orleans in 2019.

Butler, a 7’2″ center, played four games with the Pelicans during summer league this year. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 16.7 minutes, shooting 12-of-16 from the floor (75%) and 6-of-9 from three-point range (67%). The 19-year-old went undrafted out of Florida State in June.

The Pelicans signed Brockington, a 23-year-old guard who also went undrafted in June, to a two-way deal earlier this month. The team’s roster now stands at 20 players, which includes two-way swingman Dereon Seabron.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Mavericks, Doncic, Spurs

September 23rd, 2022 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

Although the Pelicans didn’t make any major offseason changes to a team that posted a 36-46 record in 2021/22, their expectations for the coming season are higher than ever. Zion Williamson is set to return from a foot injury that has sidelined him since last summer, CJ McCollum will be spending his first full season in New Orleans, and the team’s young contributors like Herbert Jones, Jose Alvarado, and Trey Murphy all have a year of NBA experience under their belts.

During a speech this week at the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club, Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin said he’s excited to see how the team will respond to its increased expectations, as Christian Clark of NOLA.com relays.

“What’s going to be really exciting for us is we have an incredible amount of talent,” Griffin said. “We have more talent than I’ve had almost anywhere I’ve been, including teams that won a championship. But this talent has never had to win a game when they were supposed to win a game. That’s really the next step in our evolution.

“… Last year, we won games at the end of the season when nobody thought we were any good,” Griffin added. “It’s a whole lot easier to be the hunter than the hunted. We were good last year. We get an opportunity now to prove that we’re actually a good team. That’s a super-exciting time in the growth and evolution of a franchise. We never get these moments back.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Speaking to ESPN’s Malika Andrews during an NBA Today appearance (video link), Luka Doncic said he doesn’t think the Mavericks need another All-Star player to be a legit title contender. “No, I think we have great players on our team,” he said. “There’s plenty of very underrated guys that I think should be talked about more. So I don’t think (we need another All-Star). I think we have a great team.”
The Spurs issued a press release today announcing several changes to their front office and coaching staff. Notably, the team has promoted Dave Telep to vice president of basketball operations, named former NBA center Greg Stiemsma a player development assistant, and hired longtime WNBA star Candice Dupree as a player development coach.
Another noteworthy former player is moving into an important role at the G League level for the Spurs. Ex-NBA guard Brent Barry has been named the general manager of the Austin Spurs, San Antonio’s NBAGL affiliate, the club announced today.

Western Notes: Zion, Blazers, Okpala, Thunder

September 20th, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Zion Williamson‘s strength and conditioning coach, Jasper Bibbs, tells William Guillory of The Athletic that the Pelicans forward is “in fantastic shape” with the 2022/23 season around the corner.

“He’s been committed to putting in the work day in and day out,” Bibbs said. “I’m really proud of what he’s been able to accomplish. He’s a better athlete now than he’s ever been.”

Williamson missed the entire ’21/22 season due to a broken foot, so ensuring that he’s healthy and fully recovered from that injury is a crucial first step. The former No. 1 overall pick has also been plagued by questions about his weight throughout his NBA career, and while Bibbs declined to say how much Zion weighs, he expressed optimism about the forward’s physical condition.

“… (His body composition) has improved at an extremely high level,” Bibbs told Guillory. “That’s all I’ll say.”

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

The Trail Blazers have officially announced a series of additions to their basketball operations staff, including Jonah Herscu as an assistant coach, David Adkins as director of player development, and former WNBA star Tina Thompson as a scout. Herscu previously worked for Sacramento, Adkins was with the Clippers, and Thompson was the head coach of Virginia’s women’s basketball team.
The two-year, minimum-salary contract KZ Okpala signed with the Kings is virtually identical to the one Chima Moneke received earlier this offseason, as our JD Shaw reports (Twitter links). Okpala has a $250K partial guarantee in 2022/23 that would increase to $500K if he makes the opening night roster. He’d receive a partial guarantee of $250K for 2023/24 if he plays at least 1,000 minutes this season and Sacramento wins 41 or more games. His full ’23/24 salary would become guaranteed if he’s under contract through June 30, 2023.
If the NBA and NBPA agree to remove the one-and-done rule for prospects, as has been rumored, there will be one super-sized draft class during the year in which players become draft-eligible out of high school. Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman explores what it might mean for the Thunder, who have loaded up on future picks, if that happens in 2024. Oklahoma City holds its own pick, the Clippers’ pick (unprotected), the Rockets’ pick (top-four protected), and the Jazz’s pick (top-10 protected) in the first round of the ’24 draft.

Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Meeks, Kidd, Brunson, Wood

September 17th, 2022 at 8:39am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ NBA G League affiliate, has named T.J. Saint as its head coach and Billy Campbell as GM of Basketball Operations, according to a team press release. Recently retired guard Jodie Meeks will be an assistant coach on Saint’s staff.

Saint was the associate head coach for the Pelicans’ G League team from 2020-22. Campbell was the assistant GM for the team’s inaugural year in Birmingham last season. Meeks, who had a 10-year NBA career, announced his retirement earlier this month.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Former Squadron head coach Ryan Pannone has been promoted by the Pelicans to an assistant coaching position on the NBA team, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez tweets. Former Squadron GM Marc Chasanoff will remain in a front office role with the Pelicans. The NBA team will play its preseason finale against the Hawks at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, according to Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times Picayune.
It may not make Mavericks owner Mark Cuban happy but head coach Jason Kidd is pleased that Jalen Brunson got a huge payday in free agency, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. Kidd make that comment on the “All the Smoke” podcast. “The biggest thing is I’m happy he got paid,’’ Kidd said. “He helped us. I know Cuban doesn’t like this, but I love when I can get a player get paid.’’ Brunson signed a four-year, $104MM contract with the Knicks.
Christian Wood will need to spend a lot of time in the low block and be a physical presence at both ends of the court, Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com writes. While Wood’s 3-point shooting is a big part of his skill set, the Mavericks will also need him to be a presence in the paint. They essentially used the trade for Wood with Houston as their main free agent addition, Sefko adds.

Javonte Smart To Sign Training Camp Deal With Pelicans

September 15th, 2022 at 5:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Free agent guard Javonte Smart is set to sign a training camp deal with the Pelicans, sources inform JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

After going undrafted out of LSU in 2021, the 6’4″ point guard inked two-way contracts with the Bucks and Heat during the 2021/22 season. Across 17 NBA games, the 23-year-old averaged 3.0 PPG, 1.4 RPG, and 0.9 APG across 11.8 MPG on .317/.296/.833 shooting splits.

In 25 contests with the Heat’s NBAGL affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Smart got considerably more run, averaging 21.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.9 SPG. He also posted a shooting line of .419/.320/.754.

New Orleans currently has guards Daeqwon Plowden and John Petty signed to Exhibit 10 training camp contracts, making Smart their third addition whenever the agreement becomes official.

And-Ones: Top Under-25 Players, Wade, EuroLeague, More

September 14th, 2022 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Fifteen NBA executives polled by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype unanimously picked Mavericks star Luka Doncic as the NBA player under 25 years old whom they’d most want to build a team around. While Doncic’s selection comes as no surprise, there are some interesting picks further down Scotto’s list, which was derived from asking those 15 NBA execs to name the five players under 25 they’d most want to build around.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant ranked second and third, with Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley following them at No. 4. Former first overall picks Anthony Edwards (Timberwolves) and Zion Williamson (Pelicans) came in at Nos. 5 and 6, with last season’s Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes (Raptors) rounding out the top seven. You can check out Scotto’s full story to see the other seven rising stars who received votes.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

After spending three years in an analyst role with the network, Dwyane Wade won’t return to TNT for the 2022/23 NBA season, reports Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. According to Marchand, TNT made an offer to retain Wade, but he decided to leave his position to focus on other business ventures.
Euroleague Basketball has appointed Dejan Bodiroga as its new president and Marshall Glickman as acting CEO, per a press release. They’ll replace Jordi Bertomeu, who served as president and CEO for 22 years and was a co-founder of Euroleague Basketball, which operates and oversees the EuroLeague and EuroCup, two of the world’s biggest non-NBA basketball leagues.
Former NBA star Baron Davis and ex-NBPA executive director Michele Roberts are among the backers of the new Fan Controlled Hoops league, which is scheduled to launch in February of 2023, as Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic outlines. The league, which will follow in the footsteps of Fan Controlled Football, will feature 4-on-4 games played on an LED floor, with fans getting the opportunity to illuminate parts of the court to create zones where players get extra points when they score.

Izaiah Brockington Signs Two-Way Deal With Pelicans

September 12th, 2022 at 5:56pm CST by Rory Maher

5:56pm: Brockington’s two-way contract is now official, per NBA.com’s transactions log.

2:17pm: The Pelicans are signing undrafted free agent Izaiah Brockington to a two-way contract, his agent Darnell Comer tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

According to Wojnarowski, the 23-year-old guard suffered an ACL injury prior to this year’s draft, but is hopeful of making a return at some point during the season. ESPN’s Andrew Lopez reports (via Twitter) that Brockington sustained the injury during a workout with the Pelicans, who were thinking about selecting him with one of their second-round picks and remain high on his upside.

It was reported the day after the draft that Brockington would be signing an Exhibit 10 deal with New Orleans, but that was never officially confirmed. Now he’ll be getting a pay increase on a two-way deal.

Brockington played four collegiate seasons for three teams. He started out at St. Bonaventure, spent two seasons with Penn State and finished up Iowa State. In 2021/22 with the Cyclones, Brockington averaged team-highs of 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG on a .447/.362/.775 shooting line.

Once Brockington officially signs, the Pelicans will have both of their two way spots filled — Dereon Seabron occupies the other.

Second-round pick E.J. Liddell, who suffered a torn ACL during Summer League, remains unsigned and doesn’t have a clear path to a roster spot — the 15-man roster has 14 players with guaranteed contracts and Jose Alvarado with a large partial guarantee as the 15th. Alvarado made a big impact as an undrafted rookie last season, so I’m sure he’ll be sticking around.

Pelicans Sign Dereon Seabron, John Petty Jr.

September 9th, 2022 at 4:37pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have officially signed guards Dereon Seabron and John Petty Jr., the team announced in a press release.

According to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link), Petty will receive an Exhibit 10 contract, while Seabron’s two-way contract, which was reported back in June, is now official. The Pelicans also confirmed that they have signed Daeqwon Plowden, who is on an Exhibit 10 deal.

Seabron, 22, was one of the top undrafted players following the 2022 NBA draft a few months ago. He averaged 17.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals during the 2021/22 season while leading North Carolina State in all four categories.

The 6’7″ guard was named the Most Improved Player in the ACC and was a second-team all-conference choice as a sophomore for the Wolfpack. Seabron most recently suited up for New Orleans during Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 in five games (18.6 minutes), per RealGM.

Petty, 23, went undrafted in 2021 after four years at Alabama. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans last fall and was waived before the season, designating him as an affiliate player for their G League team, the Birmingham Squadron.

In 31 games (26.2 minutes) for the Squadron last season, he averaged 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. Like Seabron, Petty also suited up for New Orleans during Summer League, averaging 7.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals in five games (24.0 minutes), per RealGM.

The Pelicans still have one two-way slot still open after signing Seabron. Second-round pick E.J. Liddell, who unfortunately tore his ACL during Summer League, remains unsigned.