A look at the New Orleans Pelicans 2020-21 training camp roster

With 20 players signed to various types of contracts (NBA rules do not allow for rosters to exceed that number during an offseason), the New Orleans Pelicans roster appears set in advance of the team’s first training camp practice this coming Sunday — provided no sudden COVID-19 outbreak happens to strike the franchise.

14 regular season contracts

• Brandon Ingram
• Steven Adams
• Zion Williamson
• Lonzo Ball
• Eric Bledsoe
• JJ Redick
• Josh Hart
• Nicolo Melli
• Jaxson Hayes
• Nickeil Alexander-Walker
• Sindarius Thornwell
• Wenyen Gabriel
• Willy Hernangomez (partial guarantee)

Two-way contracts

• Naji Marshall
• Will Magnay

Training camp contracts (likely Exhibit 10)

• Jarrod Uthoff
• Rawle Alkins
• Ike Anigbogu
• Tony Carr

David Griffin had advised media earlier in the week that 18 players were expected to be in training camp, but there’s value in securing Uthoff, Alkins, Anigbogu and Carr to non-guaranteed contracts. While neither player is likely to emerge on New Orleans’ regular season 15-man roster or on a two-way contract, there’s a good chance that all four of these players wind up with the Pelicans’ G League affiliate, the Erie Bayhawks, via Exhibit 10 contracts for the 2020-21 season.

The current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement provides incentives for both players and franchises in the form of these Exhibit 10 contracts.

An Exhibit 10 bonus can pay the player from $5,000 to $50,000 if the player is waived by his NBA team, signs with the G-League, is assigned to the NBA team’s G-League affiliate, and stays there at least 60 days.

In layman’s terms, the Pelicans get additional bodies for training camp and can take a closer look at Uthoff, Alkins, Anigbogu and Carr. For services rendered, these players will earn anywhere in the range of $5-50K (sums which do not get added to the Pelicans’ salary cap sheet) on top of a G League salary, provided all the aforementioned conditions are met.

Considering that G Leaguers make $35K for an entire season, landing these bonuses in Exhibit 10 contracts is an awfully attractive option for NBA hopefuls that do not elect the overseas route.

Alkins, 6-5, 225, went undrafted in the 2018 NBA Draft but signed a two-way contract with the Bulls. In 10 games for Chicago during the 2018-19 season, he posted averages of 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 12.0 minutes per contest. Last year, he appeared in two games for FC Porto Ferpinta, averaging 16 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 20.0 minutes per contest. He was a five-star recruit out of high school and was ranked as the 17th best player of his class. He spent two years at Arizona before arriving in the NBA.

Here are looks at the remaining training camp contract players, per the Pelicans PR department.

Anigbogu, 6-9, 252, most recently played for the Erie BayHawks, appearing in six games last season, averaging 9.5 points and 4.8 rebounds. Selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 47^th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the UCLA product appeared in 14 games for the Pacers between 2017-19, and 41 games for their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Carr, 6-5, 200, was originally selected with the 51^st overall pick by New Orleans in the 2018 NBA Draft. The Penn State product began his professional career overseas, suiting up for Auxilium Torino and Pallacanestro Cantù in Italy, and Parma Basket of Russia, before returning to the United States to finish the 2019-20 season with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League, appearing in 13 games, and averaging 10.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists.

Uthoff, 6-9, 220, most recently appeared in three games with the Washington Wizards during the NBA restart in Orlando, averaging 5.0 points while shooting .600 from deep. Undrafted in 2016 out of the University of Iowa, Uthoff has appeared in 16 career NBA games with Dallas, Memphis and Washington, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds, and has also appeared in 121 G League games with Raptors 905, Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Texas Legends and the Memphis Hustle, earning First-Team All-G League honors with the Hustle in 2020 after averaging 19.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 34 contests.

For more Pelicans talk, subscribe to The Bird Calls podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow this author on Twitter at @OlehKosel.