Trendon Watford is headed back to Louisiana.
The former LSU forward has agreed to a one-year, $2.9 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Watford, now 25, found a late offseason landing spot after weighing multiple options, and New Orleans may offer him more runway than some of the other places on the board.
The Pelicans have been quiet otherwise, adding just two other free agents this offseason: guard Kobe Bufkin and center Hunter Dickinson. That comes after New Orleans went 26-56 last season.
Watford spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, appearing in 53 games and making seven starts. He averaged 16.3 minutes per game and posted 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field. The scoring average was the lowest of his career, but his overall body of work still reflected the versatile, two-way value that has kept him in the league.
Across six NBA seasons, Watford has averaged 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and two assists per game. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Portland Trailblazers in 2021, then spent two seasons in Portland before moving to the Brooklyn Nets in 2023. In Brooklyn, he became a steady contributor again over two seasons, and his best scoring year came in 2024-2025, when he averaged 10.2 points per game on eight shots a night.
At LSU, Watford arrived as a major get for Will Wade’s 2019 class out of Mountain Brook High in the Birmingham area. The three-time Class 7A Alabama high school state champion played in 31 games as a true freshman in 2019-20, starting all but one. He averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds and helped the Tigers go 21-10 and finish second in the Southeastern Conference before the postseason was shut down by COVID.
As a sophomore in 2020-21, Watford took another step. He finished as LSU’s second-leading scorer behind freshman guard Cam Thomas, putting up 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
That season helped push LSU into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 8 seed, where the Tigers beat St. Bonaventure 76-61 in the first round before falling to Michigan.
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The number has also kept popping up in modern LSU lore in ways that connect different eras and different sports. JaMarr Chase set the school record for receiving touchdowns in a season with 20 in 2019, and Paul Skenes wore No. 20 during his award-winning 2023 baseball season, giving the digit a fresh layer of significance for current LSU fans. Even now, with football season nearing, the number remains a reminder of how often LSUs biggest names leave a mark that lingers. [Read more 🡒]