Izaiah Brockington Rumors

Pelicans Sign Adonis Arms To Camp Deal

October 1st, 2024 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have made a minor change to their 21-man training camp roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve signed guard Adonis Arms and waived guard Izaiah Brockington.

Arms, 26, has played in the G League since going undrafted out of Texas Tech in 2022, spending time with the Nuggets’ and Grizzlies’ affiliates in his first two professional seasons. In 42 total Showcase Cup and regular season NBAGL games last season for the Memphis Hustle, he averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per contest, with a shooting line of .458/.399/.720.

The Birmingham Squadron announced last month that they’d acquired Arms’ returning rights from the Hustle in a five-team trade, which is a signal that the Pelicans’ plan is to waive him before opening night and have him report back to the G League this fall. Assuming Arms spends at least 60 days with the Squadron, he’ll earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K.

That figures to be the plan for Brockington too. He signed an Exhibit 10 deal with New Orleans last week after spending the 2023/24 season with Birmingham.

Pelicans Sign Three Players To Camp Deals

September 24th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans have signed forward Keion Brooks Jr., guard Galen Robinson Jr., and guard Izaiah Brockington, the team announced in a press release. According to Christian Clark of NOLA.com (Twitter link), all three players received Exhibit 10 contracts.

Brooks went undrafted in June after a five-year college career that included three years at Kentucky and two at Washington. He averaged 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game in 32 starts for the Huskies in 2023/24, then played for the Pelicans’ Summer League team in Las Vegas in July.

Robinson is a G League veteran who played his college ball at Houston from 2015-19. While he has played in Germany, Mexico, and France since going pro five years ago, he has spent most of those five seasons in the NBAGL, including for the Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G league affiliate, in 2023/24.

Brockington also played for the Squadron last season after missing nearly all of the 2022/23 campaign due to a torn ACL. His agreement with the Pelicans was previously reported.

All three players will likely end up with the Squadron to open the 2023/24 season. Signing Exhibit 10 contracts will entitle them to bonuses worth up to $77.5K if they’re waived by New Orleans and then spend at least 60 days with the Pelicans’ G League team.

The Pelicans now have a full 21-man preseason roster. Elfrid Payton is also reportedly signing a camp contract with the team, so someone will have to be waived before that deal can be officially completed.

Pelicans Signing Izaiah Brockington To Camp Deal

September 19th, 2024 at 9:50pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pelicans will sign free agent guard Izaiah Brockington to a training camp contract, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN (Twitter link).

Brockington, who played his final year of college ball at Iowa State in 2021/22, suffered a torn ACL during a pre-draft workout with New Orleans that spring. However, the Pelicans remained high on his potential, waited, out his recovery, and kept him in their system — he finished his rookie year with the Birmingham Squadron, joined the Pels’ Summer League team in 2023, and then rejoined the Squadron for the 2023/24 campaign.

Brockington’s first fully healthy professional season was a good one. In 49 Showcase Cup and regular season games for Birmingham, he averaged 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 29.2 minutes per game, posting a strong shooting line of .461/.395/.845 as the G League level. He also received a brief NBA call-up on a 10-day contract in March and appeared in a game for the Pelicans before reporting back to the Squadron.

The Pelicans don’t have any two-way contract openings, so unless Brockington comes to camp with the team and plays well enough to supplant one of the current two-way players, he’ll likely be waived and then rejoin the Squadron to open the 2024/25 season.

Assuming Brockington’s contract with New Orleans includes Exhibit 10 language, which is likely, and he spends at least 60 days with New Orleans’ G League affiliate, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Pelicans Sign Izaiah Brockington To 10-Day Contract

March 3rd, 2024 at 1:50pm CST by Luke Adams

1:50pm: The Pelicans have signed Brockington to a 10-day deal and assigned him to the Squadron, the team announced today in a pair of press releases.

7:37am: The Pelicans are set to sign guard Izaiah Brockington to a 10-day contract, agent Darrell Comer tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Brockington, who played his final year of college ball at Iowa State in 2021/22, suffered a torn ACL during a pre-draft workout with New Orleans that spring. However, the Pelicans remained high on his upside, waiting out his recovery and keeping him in their system — he finished his rookie year with the Birmingham Squadron, joined the Pels’ Summer League team in 2023, and then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club this past October.

Brockington was waived by New Orleans before the 2023/24 season began, but has spent the year with the Squadron, averaging 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 30.3 minutes per game across 40 appearances in the G League’s Showcase Cup and regular season. He has posted a strong shooting line of .462/.400/.854 at the NBAGL level.

While it remains to be seen if Brockington will stick in the NBA beyond these 10 days, the deal will at the very least give him a nice raise on top of his G League salary — he’ll earn $64,343 on the 10-day contract.

New Orleans won’t have to make a corresponding roster move to open up a spot for Brockington, since Jalen Crutcher‘s 10-day contract with the club expired overnight on Saturday, creating an opening on the 15-man standard roster. The Pelicans will once again have a full roster once Brockington officially signs.

Pelicans Waive Five Exhibit 10 Players

October 21st, 2023 at 5:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pelicans have waived five players, according to the NBA.com transactions log.

Guards Izaiah Brockington, Jalen Crutcher and Tevian Jones, forward Malcolm Hill and center Trey Jemison all have Exhibit 10 contracts, so they’ll probably end up with the team’s G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. They can earn bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the G League club.

Of the five, Jemison saw the most playing time during the preseason, appearing in four games and averaging 4.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per night. Crutcher and Hill both got into two games, while Brockington and Jones saw limited time in one game.

The moves leave New Orleans with 13 players who have fully guaranteed contracts, plus Jose Alvarado‘s non-guaranteed deal. The Pelicans only have two of their three two-way slots filled.

Pelicans Sign Izaiah Brockington, Waive Landers Nolley II

October 16th, 2023 at 2:59pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pelicans have waived Landers Nolley II in order to sign free agent guard Izaiah Brockington, the team announced in a press release.

NBA teams typically specify when they have signed players to two-way contracts, so it seems likely that Brockington signed an Exhibit 10 deal. He could receive a bonus worth up to $75K if he’s waived before the season starts and then spends at least 60 days with the Birmingham Squadron, New Orleans’ G League affiliate. Exhibit 10 contracts can also be converted into two-way deals.

Brockington missed nearly all of his rookie season in 2022/23 after sustaining a torn ACL during a pre-draft workout with the Pelicans last year. After going undrafted, New Orleans signed him to a two-way deal last September, but he was waived a couple weeks later.

The 24-year-old 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 ’21/22 with the Cyclones, Brockington averaged team-highs of 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG on a .447/.362/.775 shooting line.

Brockington made two brief cameos for the Squadron in March and suited up for the Pelicans during Summer League in Las Vegas.

Nolley, who went undrafted in June out of Cincinnati, was signed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal. He’s likely headed to Birmingham for his first pro season.

The Pelicans’ roster remains at 21 players under contract, which is the preseason maximum. They have one open two-way slot.

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.

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 To Sign Izaiah Brockington to Exhibit 10 Deal

June 24th, 2022 at 2:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington has agreed to join the Pelicans on an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Richard Stayman of MavsDraft.com (Twitter link).

Brockington played four collegiate seasons for three teams. He started out at St. Bonaventure, spent two seasons with Penn State and finished up with the Cyclones. In his senior year, Brockington averaged 16.9 PPG and 6.8 RPG. The 6’4” guard also made 36.1% of his 3-point tries and was second on his team in steals.

An Exhibit 10 is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum-salary contract that counts toward a team’s 20-man offseason roster limit, but doesn’t count against the cap unless the player makes the regular season roster.

A player on an Exhibit 10 contract can earn a bonus of up to $50K if he’s waived and then joins his team’s G League affiliate.

Lakers Notes: Ham, Rivers, Pelinka, Brockington

May 21st, 2022 at 8:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bucks assistant Darvin Ham is the only finalist for the Lakers‘ coaching vacancy without previous head coaching experience, but he apparently has the support of LeBron James, according to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. “He’s the guy LeBron wants,” a source from a rival team tells Pincus.

Ham, 48, also has the advantage of a previous relationship with the Lakers. After his playing career ended, his first NBA job was an an assistant coach in L.A., where he stayed for two seasons before joining Mike Budenholzer‘s staff in Atlanta and later in Milwaukee. Ham possesses a strong personality and plenty of energy, and Pincus believes he could be the best choice to motivate the Lakers’ veteran-laden roster.

Assessing the other finalists, Pincus calls Terry Stotts the “safest choice,” but says he’ll need an experienced assistant to handle the defense, and he views Kenny Atkinson as a “wild card” with a reputation for being rigid in his approach to the game.

There’s more on the Lakers:

None of the finalists inspire any excitement, in the view of Bill Plaschke of The Los Angeles Times, who says the Lakers need to find a way to acquire Doc Rivers from the Sixers. Rivers still has three seasons left on his contract in Philadelphia and recently received a vote of confidence from president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, but Plaschke cites rumors that Morey would prefer Mike D’Antoni, especially in the wake of the Sixers’ second-round exit. Plaschke theorizes that the Lakers would have already hired Rivers if he weren’t under contract with another team.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka and Nets GM Sean Marks were seen meeting at the NBA Combine this week, tweets Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog. While no details of the conversation were made public, it’s worth noting that the Lakers had internal discussions about acquiring Kyrie Irving before he resumed playing in January. Marks is also very familiar with one of Pelinka’s head coaching finalists, having hired Atkinson during his first year in Brooklyn.
The Lakers are part of a growing list of teams that have lined up a workout with Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington, per Spencer Davies of Basketball News. Brockington wasn’t invited to the Draft Combine or the G League Elite Camp, but he has already worked out for the Hawks and sources tell Davies that as many as 14 teams are interested in seeing him in action. The Lakers don’t have any picks in this year’s draft, so they would have to trade for one or hope to sign him as a free agent if he goes undrafted.