Pelicans Sign Jimmer Fredette

JULY 24TH, 5:44pm: Fredette’s signing with New Orleans is official, per a team release.

JULY 18TH, 8:06am: Fredette will make the minimum salary, according to Reid’s full story.

JULY 17TH, 11:33pm: The Pelicans have reached agreement with Jimmer Fredette on a one-year deal, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). New Orleans targeted shooting help after losing Anthony Morrow to the Thunder this past weekend, and moved quickly to add the sharpshooting Fredette, Stein adds (via Twitter). John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was the first to confirm Stein’s report (via Twitter). The financial terms of the deal are not yet known.

The 25-year-old was bought out by the Kings in Feburary approximately two-and-a-half years after Sacramento made him the 10th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Fredette, an Octagon Sports client, signed in early March with a Bulls team desperate for offense, though he only averaged seven minutes of burn in eight games once arriving in Chicago. There hasn’t been much buzz around the BYU product leading up to this news, however Panathinaikos of Greece reportedly expressed some interest a month ago.

Fredette will presumably compete for backcourt minutes with Austin Rivers, Russ Smith and John Salmons behind starters Jrue Holiday and the often-injured Eric Gordon. While he probably lacks the size and defensive ability to be an impact guard, Fredette has knocked down three pointers at a 40.1 percent clip for his career. He will likely assume that type of specialist role in New Orleans.

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