Patric Young Signs To Play In Turkey

11:30am: The deal is official, the team announced (Twitter link; hat tip to Carchia).

8:27am: Former Pelicans big man Patric Young has agreed to sign with Galatasaray of Turkey, reports Ismail Senol of NTV Spor (Twitter links; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). It’s not clear what Young will make on the deal, but it’s a quick turnaround for the first-year pro, who just cleared waivers Tuesday after New Orleans waived him Sunday.

Young didn’t appear in a regular season game for the Pelicans, who signed him in July, shortly after he turned in an impressive summer league despite going undrafted out of the University of Florida the month before. The 22-year-old averaged 7.4 points and 8.0 rebounds in 25.2 minutes per game for the summer Pelicans coming off a season at Florida in which he was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

New Orleans guaranteed the Jim Tanner client‘s rookie minimum salary for $55K, though he had already earned more than $100K by virtue of remaining on the roster through the first month of the season, putting him on a de facto non-guaranteed contract. The Pelicans reportedly worked out free agent Dante Cunningham, but it was nonetheless curious to see them release Young without bringing in someone to fill his roster spot. Young’s quick deal with Galatasaray seems a hint that he might have asked the Pelicans to waive him now so that he could capitalize on interest from the Turkish team, though that’s just my speculation.

View Comments (0)