Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog

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Pelicans missing four starters tonight against the Mavericks

The Pelicans will barely be the Pelicans tonight. Via the Times-Picayune:

The New Orleans Pelicans will be without four of their usual starters in a must-win situation against the Dallas Mavericks.

Starting guard Lonzo Ball will miss Wednesday’s game with a right thumb strain, the team announced. Ball, Brandon Ingram (left ankle sprain), Zion Williamson (finger fracture) and Steven Adams (right MTP sprain) will all be sidelined while New Orleans fights to keep its play-in tournament hopes alive.

The Pelicans are 31-38, tying them with the Kings for the 11th best record in the Western conference.

Pelicans sign Naji Marshall to standard NBA contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward Naji Marshall to a multi-year contract.

Marshall, 6-7, 220, has appeared in 26 games for the Pelicans this season playing on a two-way contract, averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.8 steals. The Atlantic City, NJ native appeared in 12 regular season games for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League earlier this year, posting averages of 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals.

Over his three-year career at Xavier (OH) University, Marshall appeared in 99 career games and averaged 12.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals. He earned All-Big East First Team honors in 2020 after averaging a career-high 16.8 points and 4.0 assists, to go along with 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals.

Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram out with ankle sprain

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram has been diagnosed with a left low ankle sprain.

An MRI taken today at Ochsner Health confirmed the diagnosis.

The injury occurred during the second quarter of last night’s game vs. Golden State.

Ingram will miss Friday night’s game at Philadelphia and his status will be day-to-day moving forward.

Pelicans sign Didi Louzada

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Didi Louzada to a multi-year contract.

Louzada, 6-5, 210, has played the last two seasons for the Sydney Kings (NBL Australia), where he appeared in 45 games and averaged 10.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists.

Selected with the 35th pick in the 2019 draft by Atlanta, Louzada’s draft rights were acquired by New Orleans along with draft rights to Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Jaxson Hayes, in exchange for the draft rights to De’Andre Hunter, Solomon Hill, and a future second-round draft pick on July 6, 2019.

The Brazilian native appeared in four games as a member of the Pelicans’ Summer League team in 2019, averaging 11.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists.

Louzada will wear #0 for the Pelicans. New Orleans’ roster currently stands at 16 players.

Pelicans sign James Nunnally, waive Will Magnay

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward James Nunnally to a two-way contract.

In a related move, the Pelicans waived two-way player Will Magnay.

Nunnally (6-7, 208) most recently played for the February 2021 USA Basketball Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team. He played in both games during the AmeriCup Qualifying February 2021 window, averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 23.0 minutes per game.

Nunnally has played internationally in Greece, Puerto Rico, Spain, Israel, Italy, Turkey and China. Throughout his international career, Nunnally has shot better than 45% on more than 500 3-point attempts.

In 2019-20, he played for Fenerbahçe (Turkey) and the Shanghai Sharks (China). He helped Fenerbahçe to back-to-back EuroLeague Final Four appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18, including winning the championship in 2017. Nunnally earned Italian League MVP honors following the 2015-16 season after averaging 18.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 40 games for Sidigas Avellino.

Undrafted in 2012 after his senior season at UC Santa Barbara, Nunnally has appeared in 28 career NBA games with Atlanta, Philadelphia, Minnesota and Houston.

Nunnally will wear #21 for the Pelicans.

New Orleans’ roster currently stands at 16 players.

Pelicans guard Josh Hart out after thumb surgery

New Orleans Pelicans guard Josh Hart underwent surgery to repair a torn UCL in his right thumb. The surgery was performed by Dr. Michelle Carlson at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Hart will be re-examined and an update on his return to play will be made available in approximately three weeks.

Additionally, an MRI taken yesterday on Pelicans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker revealed a moderate left high ankle sprain. Alexander-Walker will be re-evaluated in two weeks and further updates will be provided upon re-evaluation.

Pelicans sign Isaiah Thomas to 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract.

Thomas, 5-9, 185, holds career averages of 18.1 points, 5.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game in 525 career regular season games (361 starts) over nine NBA seasons with Sacramento, Phoenix, Boston, Cleveland, L.A. Lakers, Denver and Washington.

Thomas, a two-time NBA All-Star, was selected with the 60th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings. He was named to the All-NBA Second Team following the 2016-17 season after averaging a career-best 28.9 points per game while shooting .463 from the field and leading the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Most recently, Thomas played for the February 2021 USA Basketball Men’s AmeriCup Qualifying Team. He started both games in the AmeriCup Qualifying February 2021 window, leading the USA to wins over Bahamas and Mexico. In the two games, the University of Washington product averaged 21.0 minutes, a team-high 14.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists a game, while shooting .435 from the field.

Thomas will wear #24 for the Pelicans. New Orleans’ roster now stands at 16 players.

Pelicans trade JJ Redick to Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks have acquired guard JJ Redick and forward/center Nicolò Melli in a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans for forward James Johnson, forward Wes Iwundu, the club’s 2021 second round pick and cash considerations.

Redick (6-3, 194) is a 15-season veteran with career averages of 12.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 25.7 minutes in 927 games (488 starts) with New Orleans, Philadelphia, L.A. Clippers, Milwaukee and Orlando. This season, Redick averages 8.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 18.6 minutes in 31 games off the bench.

A career 41.5% 3-point shooter, Redick ranked second in the NBA in 3-point percentage last season (.453, 180-397 3FG) and ranks 15th all-time in 3-pointers made (1,935). He is also a career 44.7% field goal and 89.2% free throw shooter.

Redick, 36, enjoyed his best statistical season in 2018-19 with Philadelphia when he averaged 18.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 31.3 minutes in 76 games (63 starts).

He reached the NBA playoffs in each of the first 13 seasons, averaging 10.9 points in 110 postseason games (70 starts) with Philadelphia, L.A. Clippers, Milwaukee and Orlando.

Melli (6-9, 236) holds averages of 5.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 15.6 minutes in 82 games (eight starts) over two NBA seasons with the Pelicans after being signed as a free agent in 2019.

A native of Reggio Emilia, Italy, Melli played nine seasons in Europe before starting his NBA career. He appeared in 207 EuroLeague games, averaging 7.4 points (.466% FG, .387% 3FG), 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists with Olimpia Milano (Italy), Brose Bamberg (Germany) and Fenerbahçe İstanbul (Turkey). Melli scored a game-high 28 points in Fenerbahçe’s 80-85 loss to Luka Dončić’s Real Madrid in the 2018 EuroLeague Finals.

He also represented the Italian National Team in two EuroBasket tournaments (2013, 2015).

Redick will wear No. 17 and Melli will wear No. 44.

Johnson, 6-7, 240, has appeared in 29 games this season with the Mavericks, averaging 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Selected 16th overall out of Wake Forest in the 2009 NBA Draft, Johnson has appeared in 663 career regular season games with Chicago, Toronto, Sacramento, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota and Dallas, posting averages of 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks in 20.5 minutes per contest.

Iwundu, 6-6, 195, has appeared in 23 games for Dallas this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds. Selected 33rd overall out of Kansas State by Orlando in the 2017 NBA Draft, Iwundu has appeared in 205 career regular season games with the Magic and Mavericks, averaging 4.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists.

Johnson will wear #16 and Iwundu will wear #4 for New Orleans.

LaVar Ball says he hopes Pelicans trade Lonzo Ball

LaVar Ball hasn’t been heard from much this season, but with the NBA trade deadline approaching he has come out with his latest headline-snatching quotes. Via the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

The NBA trade deadline is exactly one week away, and the New Orleans Pelicans have a difficult decision to make about the future of their backcourt.

Lonzo Ball is in the final season of his rookie deal. New Orleans must decide if it wants to cut bait on the improving but inconsistent 23-year-old, or hold onto him and enter restricted free agency, where it would have to reward him with a new deal or risk losing him for nothing.

In an appearance on ESPN radio in Los Angeles on Thursday, LaVar Ball, the outspoken patriarch of one of America’s most well-known basketball-playing families, said he hopes his oldest son gets moved.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do,” LaVar said. “I hope he gets traded, though. Here’s the thing. I don’t like watching him play like he plays.”

The Pelicans are 17-23 this season, which ties them with the rebuilding Thunder for the 11th best record in the Western conference. A disappointing season so far.

They’re being led in scoring by Zion Williamson at 25.6 points per game, Brandon Ingram at 23.9 ppg, then Ball at 14.2 ppg.

For the season, Ball is averaging 4.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game, shooting 42.6% FG and 38.9% from three-point range.

Pelicans sign Sindarius Thornwell to another 10-day contract

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Sindarius Thornwell to a second 10-day contract.

Thornwell, 6-4, 215, has previously appeared in 11 games (one start) this season with New Orleans, averaging 1.4 points in 4.8 minutes per contest.

The Pelicans roster now stands at 16 players.

The Pelicans are just 15-21 this season, which ties them with the Thunder for the 11th best record in the Western conference. They’re being led in scoring this season by Zion Williamson at 25.6 points per game, Brandon Ingram at 23.9 ppg, Lonzo Ball at 14.5 ppg, and Eric Bledsoe at 12.6 ppg.