Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog

The New Orleans Pelicans waived forward Alonzo Gee today, and confirmed that Lance Stephenson has made their regular season roster.

Gee, 6-6, 225, has appeared in 73 career games with New Orleans, averaging 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.4 minutes per game. Gee was originally signed by New Orleans on July 16, 2015.

Undrafted in 2009 out of the University of Alabama, Gee has appeared in 404 career regular season games with Washington, San Antonio, Cleveland, Denver, Portland and New Orleans, holding averages of 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.2 minutes per contest.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 15.

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived guard Quinn Cook and guard/forward Quincy Ford.

Cook, 6-0, 174, appeared in three preseason games for New Orleans, averaging 8.3 points and 2.7 assists in 9.6 minutes per game. After a four-year career at Duke University, Cook spent the 2015-16 season with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League. The Washington, D.C. native was originally signed by the Pelicans on Sept. 24.

Ford, 6-8, 225, was originally signed by New Orleans on Oct. 17. After a four-year collegiate career at Northeastern University, the Florida native appeared in eight games for the Utah Jazz’s summer league team, averaging 5.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 16.

The New Orleans Pelicans waived center Robert Sacre and guard Shawn Dawson today.

Dawson, 6-6, 205, appeared in three preseason games for New Orleans, averaging 1.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists. The Israeli native was originally signed by the Pelicans on Aug. 12.

Sacre, 7-0, 270, appeared in one preseason game for the Pelicans, recording three points and two rebounds. Originally signed by New Orleans on Sept. 22, the Baton Rouge, La. native spent his first four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers after being taken 60th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft out of Gonzaga.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 18.

The Pelicans yesterday (Saturday) signed free agent guard Quinn Cook. The team’s training camp roster now stands at 20.

Cook, 6-2, 179, spent his first professional season with the Canton Charge of the NBA Development League. Appearing in 43 games (37 starts), Cook averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 33.7 minutes per game, en route to earning All-NBA D-League Third Team and NBA D-League All-Rookie Team Honors, and being named a D-League All-Star and the 2016 NBA D-League Rookie of the year.

A four-year letterwinner at Duke, Cook held career averages of 10.9 points, 3.7 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 143 games for the Blue Devils, helping the school capture the 2015 NCAA National Championship as a senior in 2015.

The Pelicans have signed free agents Chris Copeland and Robert Sacre.

We assume these are non-guaranteed contracts that merely bring Copeland and Sacre to Pelicans training camp.

Copeland, 6-8, 235, appeared in 24 games with Milwaukee last season, posting averages of 2.1 points in 6.5 minutes per game. Undrafted out of Colorado in 2006, Copeland has appeared in 171 career regular season games (26 starts) with New York, Indiana and Milwaukee, posting averages of 5.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.

Sacre, 7-0, 270, appeared in 25 games last season for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 3.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game. Drafted 60th overall by the Lakers in 2012 out of Gonzaga, Sacre has spent his entire career in Los Angeles, averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds over 189 career regular season games (35 starts).

The Pelicans have signed free agent guard Lance Stephenson.

Stephenson, 6-5, 230, spent the 2015-16 season with the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. In a total of 69 regular season games (13 starts), Stephenson averaged 8.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 19.9 minutes per game. After being acquired by Memphis at the trade deadline, Stephenson appeared in 26 regular season games for the Grizzlies, averaging 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists, and 13.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four post-season games against the San Antonio Spurs.

Selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 40th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft out of the University of Cincinnati, Stephenson has appeared in 340 career regular season games (189 starts) with Indiana, Charlotte, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis, averaging 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 25.1 minutes per game. During the 2013-14 season, Stephenson led the NBA in triple-doubles with five and finished second in the NBA Most Improved Player Award voting.

The Pelicans have signed 2016 second round draft pick Cheick Diallo and re-signed guard/forward Alonzo Gee.

Many second round draft picks never get signed to NBA contracts. It’s always worth noting the one that do.

Diallo, 6-9, 220, was the 33rd overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft out of the University of Kansas. His rights were acquired from the Los Angeles Clippers in a draft night transaction where New Orleans sent the 39th (David Michineau, 6-3, 175, France) and 40th (Diamond Stone, 6-11, 255, Maryland) overall selections to the Clippers. In his lone season at Kansas, Diallo, averaged 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.

“We targeted Cheick early in the draft process and believe he will become a good NBA player,” said Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Dell Demps. “Cheick is a self-driven, relentless worker that is determined to succeed. He showed us flashes in Summer League and we feel like he will develop into a player that will impact winning.”

Diallo appeared in five games for the Pelicans during the 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 10.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Gee, 6-6, 225, who was originally signed by New Orleans on July 16, 2015, appeared in 73 games (38 starts) for the Pelicans during the 2015-16 season, averaging 4.5 points while shooting .518 from the field, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 22.4 minutes per game.

“Alonzo is someone that comes to work every day and gives you all that he has every time he steps on the floor,” stated Demps. “He’s a tough, competitive basketball player that can defend multiple positions. We’re really happy to welcome him back to the Pelicans.”

Undrafted in 2009, the University of Alabama product has appeared in 404 career regular season games with Washington, San Antonio, Cleveland, Denver, Portland and New Orleans, holding averages of 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.9 steals in 22.2 minutes per contest.

The Pelicans have signed unrestricted free agent forward Terrence Jones, and re-signed guard Tim Frazier.

Jones, 6-9, 252, has spent his entire professional career with the Houston Rockets after being selected 18th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft out of the University of Kentucky. In 178 career regular season games (106 starts) with the Rockets, Jones has averaged 10.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 24.1 minutes per contest. Jones has appeared in 25 playoff games (11 starts) in which he averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 23.0 minutes per contest.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Terrence Jones to the Pelicans’ family,” said Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Dell Demps. “Terrence is a versatile player that possesses a diverse skill set that can help us win games. He will be a great addition to our program.”

Frazier, 6-1, 170, was originally signed by New Orleans on March 16, 2016 after receiving a GATORADE Call-Up from the NBA Development League’s Maine Red Claws. In 16 games (one start) last season with New Orleans, Frazier averaged 13.1 points, 7.5 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 29.3 minutes per game.

“We were really impressed with how well Tim performed last season,” added Demps. “He stepped into our rotation late in the season and immediately made a positive impact. Tim is a player our coaches want to coach, and our players want to play with him. We are happy to have him back.”

Undrafted in 2014 out of Penn State, Frazier has appeared in 62 career regular season games with Philadelphia, Portland and New Orleans, averaging 5.1 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds.

The Pelicans have signed 2016 first round draft pick Buddy Hield.

All players selected in the first round of the draft are guaranteed to receive a contract, assuming they wish to begin their NBA career right away. This signing was expected.

Hield, 6-4, 214, comes off his senior season at the University of Oklahoma, where he claimed the Naismith Award, Oscar Robertson Trophy, John R. Wooden Award, Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, as well as Consensus First Team All-America, Big 12 Player of the Year and First Team All-Big 12 honors. Hield helped lead the Sooners to the 2016 Final Four on his 25.0 points per game, ranked second in the nation, and his top ranked 3.97 three-point field goals per game, while registering twelve 30-point performances during the course of his senior campaign. Over his four-year career, Hield averaged a career 17.4 points, finishing as the Big 12’s all-time leading scorer (2,661).

“We could not be more excited to add a player and person like Buddy Hield to the New Orleans Pelicans,” said Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Dell Demps. “He embodies all the traits we care about in our organization. His work ethic, energy and confidence have been on full display since he stepped foot in New Orleans. We look forward to helping him grow as a player as he will help us become a better team.”

Hield appeared in five games for New Orleans during the 2016 Samsung NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, averaging 16.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest.