The New Orleans Pelicans have made their call on second-round pick Jaron Pierre Jr., signing him to a two-way contract on Wednesday, according to Marc Stein of the Stein Line.
That leaves New Orleans with an open spot on its opening-night roster, and the possibility of more movement later if the team can work out a trade. Pierre had been in the mix, but the Pelicans appeared to be leaning another way after reports surfaced that they were pursuing Ziaire Williams.
Pierre brings scoring pop, even if there’s still plenty of polish needed before his game is ready for a bigger NBA role. In the G League, he averaged 11.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.5 assists while shooting poorly overall. His top outing came when he scored 16 points despite going 5-of-17 from the field.
That kind of production fits the profile he showed in college. Pierre is an explosive finisher at the rim who can also step into a deep jumper at almost any time. That gives him a real path to value in the NBA, even on a Pelicans team that has made it clear it wants to sort out the defensive end first.
His strongest college season came when he averaged 21.6 points and shot 42.4% from the field. He also connected on 38.2% of his threes while taking 7.6 attempts per game that year, which is an encouraging sign for what he could grow into in New Orleans. Defense will be part of the work ahead, but he should at least bring the effort needed on that end.
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