By RJ Saunders
According to reports by Adrian Wojnarowski, the New Orleans Pelicans and free-agent center Jahlil Okafor agreed to a contract on Wednesday.
Wojnarowski said that the signing and the contract are partially guaranteed for the coming season with a team option for 2019-20.
Oakafor, 22, has had a tough go in the NBA since being drafted third overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. In his rookie campaign, he was off to what seemed to be a solid NBA career averaging 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 1.2 assists across 53 appearances and made the NBA’s All-Rookie team in 2016.
However, his numbers and his role has dwindled year by year, due in large part to being a liability on the defensive end.
This will be the third team that he’ll be playing for since December when the 76ers shipped him to Brooklyn. In addition, in the 28 games that he split between both franchises, he didn’t put up great numbers, averaging 6.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game.
After losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins in free agency to the Golden State Warriors and signing forward Julius Randle from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Pelicans are looking for some much-needed depth at the forward/center position.
Okafor’s contract is not guaranteed, though. Okafor is going to have to prove himself every time he is out on the floor to prove that he can turn into a valuable asset for the New Orleans Pelicans this season.
