Hornets Sign Donald Sloan

MONDAY, 10:08am: The Hornets have signed Sloan to a 10-day contract, according to Jimmy Smith of the New Orleans Times-Picayune (via Twitter).

SUNDAY, 8:25am: Former Cavs point guard Donald Sloan is on his way back to the NBA after a brief D-League stint, as Sportando's Emiliano Carchia tweets, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com fills in the blank with the news that the Hornets are the team set to sign him (Twitter link). If the Hornets wait until Monday to make the signing official, it could be a 10-day contract for Sloan, who got a pair of 10-day deals from New Orleans last season. Otherwise, the 6'3" Texas A&M product is likely in line for a minimum-salary contract for the rest of the season.

The Cavs released Sloan on Christmas when they claimed Shaun Livingston off waivers, and Sloan made his debut Friday with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League. He posted back-to-back 22-point games with the Skyforce this weekend, and also put up 10 rebounds and seven assists in last night's contest. The 24-year-old averaged 4.1 points and 1.9 assists in 12.9 minutes per game for the Cavs this year, but lost the job of Kyrie Irving's primary backup to Jeremy Pargo. His numbers were down from last year, when he split the season between the Hawks, Hornets and Cavs, notching 5.5 PPG and 3.2 APG in 20.3 MPG.

The Hornets, at the minimum 13 players after waiving Dominic McGuire on Friday, have been going with two point guards in Greivis Vasquez and backup Brian Roberts. It's unclear whether the addition of Sloan is meant to provide more depth or signals the end in New Orleans for Roberts and his non-guaranteed contract. The Hornets would have to place Roberts on waivers today or Monday to avoid guaranteeing his minimum-salary deal for the rest of the season.

The addition of Sloan, another point guard, runs counter to the indication given this weekend by coach Monty Williams, who said the team wanted to have flexibility to add another small forward. Nonetheless, New Orleans would still have an additional roster spot available even they don't release anyone when Sloan comes aboard.

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