New Orleans Pelicans Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pelicans Get Disabled Player Exception, Bulls’ Request Denied

December 29th, 2021 at 8:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have been granted a disabled player exception for Kira Lewis‘ season-ending ACL injury, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link).

A salary cap exception designed to give teams extra flexibility when a player suffers a major injury, the disabled player exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on a single player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.

The DPE is worth half the injured player’s salary if that amount is less than the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Lewis is earning a relatively modest $3,822,240 salary this season, so the Pelicans’ new DPE is worth just $1,911,120, which will limit the team’s options.

A disabled player exception also doesn’t create an extra roster spot, so if New Orleans wants to make use of its DPE, it will need to have an open spot on its standard roster.

Meanwhile, the Bulls – who applied for a disabled player exception in response to Patrick Williams‘ left wrist injury – have had their request denied, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

In order for a team to be approved for a DPE, its injured player must be deemed by a league-approved physician to be “more likely than not” to be out through at least June 15.

In Williams’ case, the Bulls announced a four-to-six month recovery timeline when the forward underwent wrist surgery in October, and reports have indicated he could be back during the postseason. In other words, he’s not considered likely to remain sidelined through June 15, which is presumably why Chicago’s request wasn’t granted.

If it had been approved, the Bulls’ DPE would have been worth $3,711,000.

Pelicans Sign Feron Hunt To 10-Day Deal

December 28th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

DECEMBER 28: The Pelicans have officially signed Hunt, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.

DECEMBER 27: The Pelicans plan to sign G League forward Feron Hunt to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Hunt, a 6’8″ forward, went undrafted out of SMU in 2021 after a junior year in which he recorded 11.1 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 16 games (28.2 MPG).

The 22-year-old has spent his rookie season so far playing for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ G League affiliate, and has averaged 15.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, and 2.1 SPG with a .530 FG% in 12 NBAGL games (32.9 MPG).

New Orleans currently has three players in the health and safety protocols, making the team eligible for three hardship additions. The team has already signed Justin James and Anthony Tolliver to 10-day contracts — Hunt will be the third.

COVID Updates: Wiggins, Poole, Len, Payton, Rogers, Tolliver, Wright

December 27th, 2021 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Here are the latest developments regarding players entering or exiting the league’s health and safety protocols:

Andrew Wiggins has cleared the protocols, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. The Warriors forward practiced on Monday and is probable to play on Tuesday against Denver, Kendra Andrews of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Wiggins entered protocols on December 19.
Guard Jordan Poole has also cleared the protocols, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. He’ll return to the Warriors’ facility on Tuesday but won’t play as the team needs to assess his conditioning, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.
Kings center Alex Len is listed as questionable to play on Tuesday, which indicates he’s cleared the protocols, James Ham of The Kings Beat tweets.
Suns guard Elfrid Payton returned to action on Monday after clearing the protocols, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. Payton had just entered the protocols on Sunday, so apparently he had a false positive.
We noted earlier on Monday that Blazers coach Chauncey Billups has entered the protocols. Assistant coach Roy Rogers is also in the protocols, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian tweets.
Anthony Tolliver‘s 10-day contract with the Pelicans has been voided after he tested positive for COVID-19, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets. Tolliver was signed on Sunday.
Moses Wright, who has been playing on a 10-day contract with the Clippers, has also entered the protocols, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN tweets.

Pelicans Sign Justin James To 10-Day Contract

December 26th, 2021 at 3:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

3:52pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

12:46pm: The Pelicans are signing swingman Justin James to a 10-day contract using the hardship exemption, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

New Orleans has three players — Nickeil Alexander-Walker , Jose Alvarado and Naji Marshall — in the league’s health and safety protocols.

James appeared in 72 games off the bench for Sacramento the past two seasons. averaging 3.2 PPG in 7.5 MPG. He has been playing for the Cavaliers’ G League affiliate, the Cleveland Charge. James was averaging 15.7 PPG and 2.3 APG in 29.0 MPG through 14 games for the Charge.

Pelicans Sign Anthony Tolliver To 10-Day Deal

December 26th, 2021 at 3:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

3:50pm: The signing is official, according to a team press release.

10:13am: Veteran forward Anthony Tolliver will sign a 10-day contract with the Pelicans under the hardship provision, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Tolliver, 36, appeared in 11 games with the Sixers last season after joining the team on a 10-day deal in mid-April. He eventually signed for the remainder of the season, but was waived in August before his 2021/22 contract became guaranteed.

This will mark the 12th team and the 14th NBA season for Tolliver, who went undrafted in 2008. He has appeared in 730 games with career averages of 6.1 points and 3.3 rebounds.

New Orleans currently has three players in the health and safety protocols.

COVID Updates: Joseph, Jackson, Murray, Johnson, Okeke, Rondo, Ball, Maxey

December 26th, 2021 at 12:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The league continues to be ravaged by COVID positives with an increasing number of players entering the league’s health and safety protocols. Here are the latest updates:

The Pistons, who already had six players in protocols, added guards Cory Joseph and Josh Jackson to the list, James Edwards III of The Athletic tweets. The Pistons are scheduled to play the Spurs on Sunday night. San Antonio will be without Dejounte Murray, who also entered protocols on Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Magic, who already had a handful of players in protocols, won’t have B.J. Johnson and Chuma Okeke available against Miami on Sunday after they joined the list, the team’s PR department tweets. Moritz Wagner has exited the protocols but is going through a reconditioning period before returning to action, per the team (Twitter link).
Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo has entered protocols, joining three other Lakers, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register tweets.
Two-way player Jose Alvarado became the third Pelicans players to enter protocols, Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets.
Bulls guard Lonzo Ball has entered protocols, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The Bulls, who have experienced major COVID issues this month, also have Alfonzo McKinnie and Tony Bradley in protocols, Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic tweets. McKinnie just signed a standard contract and he can be replaced via the hardship exemption, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. Chicago has seen 14 players enter protocols this month.
On the positive side, the Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey was spotted at shootaround after exiting protocols, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets.

COVID-19 Updates: Marshall, Cooper, Hampton, Towns, Brown

December 23rd, 2021 at 9:49pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans’ Naji Marshall has entered the league’s health and safety protocols, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune tweets. Earlier in the day, Nickeil Alexander-Walker became the first New Orleans player to enter protocols this season. Marshall, a second-year forward, has appeared in 19 games off the bench this season.

We have more COVID-19 related updates:

Hawks rookie point guard Sharife Cooper has entered the health and safety protocols, Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Cooper joins six other Atlanta players currently on the list. The second-round pick has appeared in eight games off the bench this season.
Magic guard R.J. Hampton exited the protocols on Thursday, Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. He didn’t play on Thursday in order to work on his conditioning. Hampton was placed in the protocols on December 17, which means he produced two negative tests at least 24 hours apart.
Karl-Anthony Towns is asymptomatic, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link). “He is in the best spirits possible,” Finch said, adding Towns was very disappointed he couldn’t play on Thursday. Towns was placed in the protocols on Thursday, joining six other Minnesota players.
Warriors assistant coach Mike Brown has entered the protocols, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Becomes First Pelican To Enter Protocols

December 23rd, 2021 at 10:23am CST by Luke Adams

Third-year guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker has entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols, becoming the first Pelicans player to do so this season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Assuming Alexander-Walker registered a confirmed positive COVID-19 test, he’ll remain in the protocols for 10 days or until he can return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart.

Alexander-Walker has struggled with his shot this season, making just 37.2% of his attempts from the floor (including 31.9% of his threes) through 32 games. However, the 23-year-old is coming off perhaps his best game of the season, so the timing of his entry into the protocols is unfortunate — he scored 27 points in 26 minutes on 10-of-16 shooting on Tuesday in a win over Portland.

New Orleans had been just one of eight teams without a player in the protocols. The Rockets, Pacers, Thunder, Suns, Trail Blazers, Spurs, and Jazz make up the rest of that group.

Several times this month, we’ve seen one positive test lead to a flurry of additional positives, so it’s possible Alexander-Walker won’t be the last Pelican to be affected — hopefully the team can avoid an outbreak.

Southwest Notes: W. Green, Porter Jr., Mavericks, Dudley

December 22nd, 2021 at 9:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The faith that first-year Pelicans coach Willie Green showed in his players during a horrendous start is beginning to pay off, writes William Guillory of The Athletic. It appeared New Orleans might be headed for a lost season after opening with a 3-16 record and having no clarity on the return of star forward Zion Williamson, who had offseason foot surgery. Williamson still hasn’t played, but his teammates have turned things around, winning eight of their last 13 games and moving to within two games of the play-in tournament.

“That patience came with a lot of prayer,” Green said. “It was rough at the beginning, and it was challenging, even on me, to stay patient. It’s a long season, and this is an unbelievable group — high-character guys. We can see improvement every week. We didn’t get the results initially, but the guys are believing more and more.”

After making coaching changes the past two offseasons, Pelicans management needed Green to succeed, Guillory adds. Beyond the results on the court, the front office was looking for someone who could get through to the team’s best players and convince them to buy into what he wants to do.

“He didn’t change. … He continued to believe in what got him the job and continued to believe in us,” Josh Hart said. “That was the biggest thing for us — to obviously have a coach who’s confident, a coach who has trust in us to go out there and execute and play.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Injured Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. doesn’t have a return date yet, but he’s continuing to make progress with his bruised left thigh, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter, who hasn’t played since December 3, has been ramping up his workouts over the past week. “We’re getting there,” he said. “It has been a work in progress, but we’ve just been making progress each and every day. I’m feeling good. We’re taking steps forward. It’s always hard waiting. Honestly, when it first happens, I feel like it’s the worst because (the rehab) is a long-ball game, but almost being back is a boost of confidence and (to) your self-esteem about everything every day, everything you do daily.”
Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News takes a closer look at the six hardship additions the Mavericks are making in the wake of a COVID-19 outbreak. Theo Pinson, Marquese Chriss and George King have already joined the team, and the signings of Charlie Brown, Carlik Jones and Brandon Knight are expected to become official soon.
Jared Dudley, a first-year assistant coach with the Mavericks, talks to Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times about the transition from playing to coaching. “I really wanted to play one last season with the Lakers, to be honest, but I’m also loving coaching,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a coach and for (Jason Kidd) to give me this opportunity, I am so grateful.”

Pelicans Sign Jared Harper To Two-Way Contract

December 21st, 2021 at 4:07pm CST by Luke Adams

4:07pm: The Pelicans have officially signed Harper to a two-way contract and waived Hommes, the team announced in a press release.

10:43am: The Pelicans are expected to release Hommes to make room for Harper, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (Twitter link).

8:38am: The Pelicans are signing free agent guard Jared Harper to a two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Harper had been playing for New Orleans’ G League affiliate in Birmingham.

Currently, Daulton Hommes and Jose Alvarado occupy the two-way contract slots on the Pelicans’ roster, so one of them would have to be either waived or moved to the standard roster in order to make room for Harper.

A 5’10” point guard, Harper spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way contract with the Suns, then played for the Knicks last season. He logged just 24 total minutes across 11 NBA games for Phoenix and New York, but has been a G League standout for the Northern Arizona Suns, Westchester Knicks, and Birmingham Squadron.

Across three NBAGL seasons, Harper has averaged 20.7 PPG, 5.7 APG, and 2.8 RPG with a shooting line of .430/.380/.800 in 60 games (30.7 MPG). This season, he has knocked down 41.0% of his three-pointers and is launching 7.5 attempts per game for the Squadron.

Harper won’t face any games-played limits at the NBA level on his two-way contract, but won’t be eligible for play-in or postseason contests unless he’s eventually promoted to the 15-man roster. Of course, at 10-21, the Pelicans are out of the play-in picture at this point.