New Orleans Pelicans Blog – Page 33 – NBA Blog

Omer Asik out 3 weeks with calf injury

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Omer Asik is expected to miss the next three weeks with a right calf strain. The injury occurred during yesterday’s practice.

Asik, 7-0, 255, appeared in 76 games for the Pelicans in 2014-15, averaging 7.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Drafted 36th overall by Portland in the 2008 NBA Draft, Asik has appeared in 354 career regular season games with Chicago, Houston and New Orleans, holding averages of 5.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. A native of Bursa, Turkey, Asik was originally acquired by New Orleans in a trade with the Houston Rockets on July 24, 2014. Asik re-signed to a multi-year contract with the Pelicans on July 9, 2015.

Pelicans center Alexis Ajinca out 4-6 weeks

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that center Alexis Ajinca is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a right hamstring strain. The injury occurred during the second quarter of the Pelicans’ preseason opener against the Indiana Pacers on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Ajinca, 7-2, 220, appeared in 68 games for New Orleans during the 2014-15 season, averaging a career-best 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In 195 NBA games for New Orleans, Toronto, Dallas and Charlotte, Ajinca holds career averages of 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds. After originally signing with New Orleans on Dec. 20, 2013, the French native signed a multi-year contract with New Orleans on July 9, 2015.

Pelicans sign Jeff Adrien, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Corey Webster

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has signed free agents Jeff Adrien, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Corey Webster.

Jeff Adrien, 6-7, 245, appeared in 17 games last season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he averaged 3.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game before signing with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association. In China, Adrien appeared in 11 games, averaging 13.6 points on .551 shooting from the field, 11.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. Prior to his stint in Minnesota, Adrien was a member of the Houston Rockets’ preseason roster.

Undrafted in 2009 out of the University of Connecticut, Adrien has appeared in 153 career games for Golden State, Houston, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Minnesota, holding averages of 4.6 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game. Adrien has also appeared in the NBA Development League, suiting up for Erie and Rio Grande Valley, and his international experience also includes stints in Spain, Italy and Russia in addition to China.

Chris Douglas-Roberts, 6-7, 210, appeared in 12 games for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2014-15 season, averaging 1.6 points and 1.0 rebounds in 8.6 minutes per game.

Drafted 40th overall by New Jersey in the 2008 NBA Draft out of the University of Memphis, Douglas-Roberts has appeared in 222 career games (61 starts) with New Jersey, Milwaukee, Dallas, Charlotte and the Los Angeles Clippers, holding averages of 7.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

Corey Webster, 6-2, 190, is a native of Aukland, New Zealand, who most recently played for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League. In 32 games for the Breakers last season, Webster averaged 15.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Webster is a member of the New Zealand Men’s National team, and led his team in scoring in the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championships.

New Orleans’ roster now stands at 18.

Pelicans re-sign Norris Cole

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has re-signed restricted free agent guard Norris Cole.

Cole, 6-2, 175, was acquired on Feb. 19, 2015, from Miami in a three-way trade involving Phoenix. In 28 regular season games with the Pelicans last season, Cole averaged 9.9 points and 3.2 assists per contest. Cole appeared in 75 total games during the 2014-15 season between New Orleans and Miami, averaging 7.6 points and 3.4 assists per game. Cole appeared in all four of New Orleans’ playoff games against Golden State in the first round of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, averaging 8.8 points and 1.8 assists.

Originally selected 28th overall out of Cleveland State in the 2011 NBA Draft by Chicago, Cole has appeared in 302 career regular season games, with averages of 6.6 points and 2.6 assists per game. Additionally, Cole has appeared in 64 career playoff games, holding averages of 4.5 points and 1.5 assists, winning championships with Miami in 2012 and 2013.

Pelicans sign Sean Kilpatrick

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has signed free agent guard Sean Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick, 6-4, 210, appeared in four games during the 2014-15 season for the Minnesota Timberwolves, averaging 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists. Kilpatrick spent the majority of the 2014-15 season in the NBA Development League, appearing in 44 games for the Santa Cruz Warriors and Delaware 87ers, while averaging 13.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

Undrafted in 2014, Kilpatrick played four seasons at the University of Cincinnati, earning All-American Second Team and First Team All-ACC honors during his senior year.

Pelicans sign Bryce Dejean-Jones

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has signed free agent rookie guard Bryce Dejean-Jones.

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, “his signing officially brings the Pelicans to 13 guaranteed contracts while New Orleans’ pursuit of point guard Norris Cole is still ongoing.”

Dejean-Jones, 6-6, 209, was a member of the Pelicans summer league team in Las Vegas after going unselected in the 2015 NBA Draft. In six games, Dejean-Jones averaged 12.8 points on .619 shooting from the field, including .500 from three point range, to go along with 1.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 assists in 21.7 minutes per game.

During his senior season at Iowa State University, Dejean-Jones averaged 10.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals, helping the Cyclones win the 2015 Big 12 Tournament.

Pelicans waive Toney Douglas

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team has waived point guard Toney Douglas.

Douglas, 6-2, 185, appeared in 12 games for New Orleans during the 2014-15 season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.0 assists in 14.8 minutes per game. Originally signed by the Pelicans on February 4, Douglas was waived on February 19 before subsequently re-signing with the team for the remainder of the season on March 24.

Drafted 29th overall out of Florida State in 2009 by the Los Angeles Lakers, Douglas has appeared in 309 career NBA games with New York, Houston, Sacramento, Golden State, Miami and New Orleans, averaging 7.6 points and 2.2 assists in 18.9 minutes per game.

Pelicans hope to keep Norris Cole

Norris Cole is a good backup guard. And he has a cool haircut. Here’s the New Orleans Times Picayune reporting on the Pelicans, who hope to keep Cole on their squad. Last season in 28 games for New Orleans, Cole averaged 9.9 points and 3.2 assists in 24.4 minutes per outing:

The Pelicans declined last week to withdraw their qualifying offer of $3 million to Cole. The chances for New Orleans to retain Cole improves as he remains unsigned. Most of the teams in the NBA have already made their most important deals in free agency.

At this point, the Pelicans’ qualifying could end up as the most money Cole may be offered on the open market in free agency. Although the Philadelphis 76ers have been one of the teams that have expressed interest, according to sources, the Pelicans can also match any offer Cole receives.

”Of course, I would love to see Norris back,” Pelicans forward Quincy Pondexter said earlier this week. ”I know that he’s trying to figure what’s best for himself and family. Norris is such a huge part of our team, a huge part of our success last year. I don’t think we make the run without him and so to have him back and have Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson healthy, I think it’s going to be a great year for our team.”

Pelicans re-sign Luke Babbitt

The New Orleans Pelicans have re-signed free agent forward Luke Babbitt.

In 2014-15, Babbitt, 6-9, 225, appeared in 63 games (19 starts) for New Orleans, averaging 4.1 points, while shooting .513 from three-point range, and 1.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per contest. Babbitt originally signed with the Pelicans as an unrestricted free agent on February 4, 2014. In 90 career games with the Pelicans, Babbitt has averaged 4.7 points while shooting .452 from three-point range, and 2.2 rebounds.

Originally drafted by Minnesota with the 16th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft out of Nevada, Babbitt has played in 216 career NBA games with Portland and New Orleans, holding averages of 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds.

The Seth Curry summer league show continues

Here’s the New Orleans Times Picayune reporting on one of the biggest stars of 2015 summer league. It’ll be interesting to see if after this, Seth Curry lands himself a regular season contract.

It didn’t appear early New Orleans Pelicans guard Seth Curry was on his way to having another sensational game on Saturday night like he had been enjoying in the NBA Summer League.

Curry started the game going 1-of-10 from the field and was held to just three points in the first half.

Still, Curry scored 21 of his game-high 24 points in the second half to help the Pelicans surge to a 100-91 victory against the Golden State Warriors to advance to Sunday’s semifinals game against the Phoenix Suns at 7 p.m. The Suns advanced to the semifinals after beating the Chicago Bulls, 91-84, in Saturday’s quarterfinal game.

At 5-0, the Pelicans are the only remaining team in the 24-team NBA Summer League that remains unbeaten.Curry broke from his shooting slump in the third quarter when he scored 11 points.