Category: New Orleans Pelicans Blog

New Orleans Pelicans forward Naji Marshall, who hyperextended his right knee in the second quarter of Saturday’s preseason game against the Atlanta Hawks, underwent an MRI and has been diagnosed with a bone bruise.

Marshall will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Last season, Marshall averaged 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 23.3 minutes per game.

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Jalen Crutcher.

And in a corresponding move, New Orleans has waived Liam Robbins.

Crutcher, 6-2, 175 pounds, has played in 57 games (39 starts) with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League club, during the previous two seasons. In 32.7 minutes per game, he averages 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting .430 from three-point range.

Crutcher spent his four years in college at the University of Dayton, where he averaged 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game across 118 games. In 2020 and 2021, he was named to the first team of the Atlantic 10 conference.

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward Kaiser Gates to a two-way contract.

Additionally, the Pelicans signed guard Malcolm Hill, center Trey Jemison, guard/forward Tevian Jones, guard/forward Landers Nolley II and center Liam Robbins.

Gates, 6-7, 225, appeared in 24 games (13 starts) with the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, in 2022-23, averaging 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 23.4 minutes per contest while shooting .554 from three-point range. The Xavier (OH) product holds G League averages of 12.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 122 games (66 starts) across four seasons with Long Island, the Maine Celtics and Windy City Bulls.

Hill, 6-6, 225, has appeared in 24 NBA games in the past two seasons with Atlanta and Chicago, averaging 3.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. Last season, Hill played nine games with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, in which he averaged 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Hill holds G League averages of 16.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists with Birmingham and the Windy City Bulls.

Jemison, 7-0, 260, played five collegiate seasons at UAB (2020-23) and Clemson (2018-19) in which he averaged 5.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 152 games (102 starts). In his 2022-23 campaign, Jemison averaged 9.0 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks en route to Third Team All-CUSA and CUSA All-Defensive honors. Jemison led the CUSA in total rebounds (329) and rebounds per game (8.4), and ranked second in the conference with 67 blocks.

Jones, 6-7, 220, appeared in 126 games (87 starts) over five collegiate seasons at Southern Utah (2020-23) and Illinois (2018-20), averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 23.8 minutes per game. Jones played on the Pelicans’ 2023 Summer League team, averaging 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.4 steals in 14.1 minutes per game while shooting .389 from behind the arc.

Nolley II, 6-7, 220, played in 125 NCAA games (108 starts) across four seasons at Cincinnati (2022-23), Memphis (2020-22), and Virginia Tech (2019-20) in which he averaged 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 29.3 minutes per contest. Nolley II was named First Team All-AAC in 2022-23, averaging 16.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting .417 from behind the three-point line.

Robbins, 7-0, 250, appeared in 129 games (84 starts) during his five-year collegiate campaign at Vanderbilt (2021-23), Minnesota (2020-21), and Drake (2018-20), averaging 10.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 21.0 minutes per contest. Robbins is coming off of a 2022-23 campaign in which he averaged 15.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 3.2 blocks in 23.0 minutes per game en route to First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Defensive Team, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors and was named a finalist for the Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year.

The New Orleans Pelicans today announced promotions and additions within the team’s coaching staff and basketball operations department.

The Pelicans have added Associate Head Coach James Borrego and Assistant Coach Aaron Miles to Head Coach Willie Green’s staff. Additionally, the team has hired Dominic Samangy as Basketball Analytics Coordinator and Ed Flynn as Head Video Coordinator. Joining Flynn in the video room are Assistant Video Coordinators Garrius Adams and Jake McGee, and Video/Player Development Assistant Keith Omoerah.

In the front office, New Orleans has named Adam Barnes as General Manager of Basketball Operations for the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, and Alex Kaufman has been promoted to Manager of Player Evaluation and Basketball Operations.

Additionally, the Pelicans have hired Amy Atmore as Director of Rehabilitation. Aaron Nelson has assumed the role of Special Advisor to the Medical and Performance Team.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced the following medical updates on guard Jose Alvarado and forward Larry Nance Jr.

Jose Alvarado sustained a right ankle sprain during an offseason workout and is expected to return to basketball activities in approximately 2-3 weeks.

Larry Nance Jr. received a biologic injection to stimulate the healing process in his left ankle. He is expected to make a full recovery before the start of the regular season and is anticipated to return to basketball activities in approximately 2-3 weeks.

The New Orleans Pelicans announced today the team’s television and radio broadcast schedule for the 2023-24 season.

Bally Sports will broadcast 78 of the 80 scheduled regular season games on Bally Sports New Orleans and via streaming on the Bally Sports app. The two regular season games not being televised by Bally Sports are scheduled to air exclusively on TNT: Dec. 19 vs. Memphis and Apr. 11 at Sacramento. Broadcast information for the two remaining regular season games, which are determined by the results of the NBA In-Season Tournament, will be announced at a later date.

Bally Sports will tip off the Pelicans regular season on Wednesday, Oct. 25 with the opener against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. The local television broadcast schedule for the 2023-24 season features 39 home and 39 away contests.

Play-by-play announcer Joel Meyers and color analyst Antonio Daniels return to the Pelicans television booth for their twelfth and fifth seasons, respectively. Meyers, a two-time Emmy award-winning play-by-play announcer, brings more than 30 years of broadcast experience to the organization. Daniels, who played 14 seasons in the NBA including 61 games with the New Orleans Hornets in 2008-09, joined the broadcast team in 2019 after serving as a studio analyst for FOX Sports Oklahoma and FOX Sports Southwest during the previous four seasons. Jennifer Hale begins her twelfth season as sideline reporter. Hale, an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist, is also in her 13th season as a sideline reporter for the NFL on FOX.

Bally Sports will provide extensive team coverage including Pelicans Live pregame and postgame shows, as well as Pelicans Insider, a bi-weekly program featuring player and coach profiles, game highlights and behind-the-scenes content.

In addition to producing 78 regular season games, Bally Sports will carry the Pelicans preseason opener at the Smoothie King Center against the Orlando Magic on October 10. The other three preseason contests (Oct. 12 vs. Houston, Oct. 14 at Atlanta, and Oct. 17 at Orlando) will be streamed live on Pelicans.com and via the Pelicans Mobile App.

The New Orleans Pelicans yesterday signed forward E.J. Liddell to a multi-year contract.

Liddell, 6-6, 240, who was selected by New Orleans with the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft out of The Ohio State University, missed all of last season due to a torn ACL in his right knee.

During his junior season (2021-22) at Ohio State, Liddell averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 blocks per game en route to consensus third-team All-American, first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive honors. Liddell led the Buckeyes in scoring, rebounding, blocks, free throws made and attempted and was second in assists.