Jalen Crutcher

Pelicans Sign Jalen Crutcher To Exhibit 10 Deal

Free agent guard Jalen Crutcher has signed a contract with the Pelicans, according to RealGM’s official log of NBA transactions. It’s a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 deal, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.

Since going undrafted out of Dayton in 2021, Crutcher has spent three seasons in the G League, including two with the Greensboro Swarm and one with New Orleans’ affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron.

In 49 total games for the Squadron last season, Crutcher averaged 17.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds in 35.4 minutes per game and shot the ball well, with a 40.5% mark from beyond the three-point line and 86.3% from the free throw stripe. His strong play in Birmingham earned him a 10-day contract with the Pelicans in February — he appeared in just one game for the team, making his NBA debut on Feb. 27.

A player who signs an Exhibit 10 contract can have it converted to a two-way deal before the regular season or can qualify for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he’s waived and then spends at least 60 days with his team’s G League affiliate.

Given that the Pelicans don’t have a two-way opening and the Squadron already hold Crutcher’s NBAGL returning rights, the latter scenario appears more likely for the 25-year-old.

Pelicans Sign Jalen Crutcher To 10-Day Deal

The Pelicans are signing guard Jalen Crutcher to a 10-day contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The signing is official, according to the NBA transactions log.

New Orleans has an open spot on the roster for Crutcher. The Pelicans also promoted Jeremiah Robinson-Earl from his two-way deal during the All-Star break after their roster count dropped to 13.

Crutcher, 24, has averaged 17.7 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 36 starts for the Pelicans’ Birmingham Squadron NBA G League team. Crutcher spent most of the past two seasons with the Hornets’ G League team, the Greensboro Swarm. He signed with New Orleans in October during training camp but was waived before opening night.

Crutcher went undrafted in 2021 out of Dayton and has yet to make his NBA debut. He’ll provide temporary depth at the guard spot.

A week ago, New Orleans announced that Dyson Daniels would be out at least a month after undergoing left knee surgery.

Pelicans Waive Five Exhibit 10 Players

The Pelicans have waived five players, according to the NBA.com transactions log.

Guards Izaiah Brockington, Jalen Crutcher and Tevian Jones, forward Malcolm Hill and center Trey Jemison all have Exhibit 10 contracts, so they’ll probably end up with the team’s G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. They can earn bonuses worth up to $75K if they spend at least 60 days with the G League club.

Of the five, Jemison saw the most playing time during the preseason, appearing in four games and averaging 4.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per night. Crutcher and Hill both got into two games, while Brockington and Jones saw limited time in one game.

The moves leave New Orleans with 13 players who have fully guaranteed contracts, plus Jose Alvarado‘s non-guaranteed deal. The Pelicans only have two of their three two-way slots filled.

Pelicans Sign Jalen Crutcher, Waive Liam Robbins

The Pelicans have made a minor change to their preseason roster, signing free agent guard Jalen Crutcher, the team announced in a press release. New Orleans waived Liam Robbins to create a roster opening for Crutcher.

A former college standout at Dayton, Crutcher played four years for the Flyers prior to going undrafted in 2021. He has spent his first two professional seasons playing in the G League for the Greensboro Swarm — Charlotte’s affiliate — after signing Exhibit 10 deals with and then being waived by the Hornets.

A 6’2″ point guard, Crutcher appeared in 57 regular season games (39 starts, 32.7 MPG) with the Swarm from 2021-23, averaging 15.8 PPG, 5.8 APG and 3.0 RPG with an impressive .473/.430/.774 shooting slash line.

The Birmingham Squadron — the Pelicans’ NBAGL affiliate — acquired Crutcher’s returning player rights last month in a deal with the Swarm. That means the 24-year-old likely signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New Orleans, which would entitle him to a $75K bonus if he’s waived and spends at least 60 days with the Squadron.

Robbins, a 7’0″ big man who went undrafted in June out of Vanderbilt, inked an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pelicans at the end of last month. It looked like he might be promoted to a two-way contract, but last week he unfortunately sustained a stress fracture in his right fibula and was ruled out indefinitely.

And-Ones: Parker, Team Assets, 2024 FAs, Pelicans, Hornets

2014 lottery pick and veteran NBA forward Jabari Parker sat down for an extensive conversation with Julian Phillip of Mundo Deportivo about his new pro club, FC Barcelona. When asked if he felt that Barcelona could hold its own against teams in his former league, Parker was effusive in his praise.

“Definitely,” Parker said. “Because we have, essentially, three guys who aren’t just NBA players but main guys. Myself, Sato [Tomas Satoransky] and Willy [Hernangomez], and the experience is there because we’ve been playing professionally for a long time.”

A 6’8″ forward out of Duke, Parker hasn’t suited up for an NBA team since the 2021/22 season, which he split between the Kings and Celtics. As a deep-bench reserve, he averaged 5.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG and 0.8 APG in just 13 total games.

Parker told Phillip that he intends to focus on how he can help his new club in Spain rather than how he can use the opportunity as a springboard to get back to the NBA.

“I just want to be here,” Parker said. “My most important thing is not skipping steps. And I signed here with the intention of giving my all. I think being in the moment is very important for me.”

There’s more from around the basketball world:

  • The Thunder and Spurs, both of whom possess a variety of draft picks in addition to burgeoning young talent, occupy the top two slots in a fresh ranking of team assets, courtesy of HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan. Gozlan took stock of all 30 franchises’ rosters and future draft picks in making his list.
  • The fates of aging future Hall of Famers like Lakers small forward LeBron James and Sixers guard James Harden are among some of the top potential 2024 free agent storylines to watch, opines Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. James, who turns 39 in December, has a player option for 2024/25, while Harden is in the final season of his deal with Philadelphia. Harden, of course, is pushing to be dealt elsewhere this year.
  • The G League affiliates of the Pelicans and Hornets have completed a minor trade. The Pelicans’ affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, has shipped out shooting guard John Petty Jr. and next year’s first-round NBGL draft pick to the Hornets’ affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, for the returning player rights to point guard Jalen Crutcher, per a Swarm tweet.

Hornets Notes: Waived Players, Walker, Season

After being waived by the Hornets, shooting guard LiAngelo Ball (older brother to All-Star Charlotte point guard LaMelo Ball) point guard Jalen Crutcher, small forward Xavier Sneed, and shooting guard Ty-Shon Alexander have an uncertain future. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer takes stock of where each player could be headed.

Boone notes that the Hornets possess the G League returning rights for all four players, assuming they clear waivers. Should Ball, Crutcher, Sneed and Alexander elect to remain stateside and play in the G League, they will have to suit up for Charlotte’s NBAGL affiliate club, the Greensboro Swarm.

The 6’5″ Ball, 23, spent the 2021/22 season with the Swarm. In 28 games, he averaged 4.6 PPG and 1.1 RPG in 13.2 MPG. Most intriguingly, he connected on 35.7% of his 3.0 three-point attempts in those games.

There’s more out of Charlotte:

  • Now that the Pistons are expected to waive veteran point guard Kemba Walker, it’s certainly a possibility that the Hornets opt to use their final roster spot to sign Walker, who was named to three of his four All-Star teams while playing for Charlotte. Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscriber-exclusive link) wonders if he could help provide a veteran spark off the bench. The team has 13 players signed to guaranteed contracts. Point guard Dennis Smith Jr. currently occupies the team’s 14th spot on a non-guaranteed deal.
  • The Hornets had a fairly lackluster offseason, adding no new free agents and subtracting a lottery pick. The team also fired head coach James Borrego, hired Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson, lost Atkinson after less than a week, and pivoted, frantically bringing back former head coach Steve Clifford. After the Hornets finished with a 43-39 record and made a play-in tournament appearance last year, John Hollinger of The Athletic anticipates a regression in an improved Eastern Conference, predicting in his season preview that Charlotte will finish with a 34-48 record, good for the No. 12 seed in the East.

Hornets Waive LiAngelo Ball, Three Others

The Hornets have trimmed their roster down to 16 players in advance of the regular season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Crutcher, Xavier Sneed, and Ty-Shon Alexander.

The older brother of Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball, LiAngelo has played for Charlotte’s Summer League team and signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the organization before each of the last two seasons. He spent 2021/22 with the Greensboro Swarm, the Hornets’ G League affiliate. In 28 games for the Swarm, he averaged 4.6 PPG and 1.1 RPG on .395/.357/.667 shooting in 13.2 minutes per contest.

Crutcher and Sneed also played for Greensboro last season and will likely return to the Swarm in 2022/23 after joining the Hornets on Exhibit 10 contracts.

Alexander, who appeared in 15 games for the Suns in 2020/21 and spent last season in Italy, just signed with the Hornets earlier today, as the team announced in a separate press release. He appears ticketed for the Swarm too.

Charlotte now has 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts, Dennis Smith Jr. on a non-guaranteed deal, and Theo Maledon and Bryce McGowens on two-ways.

Hornets Sign Four Players To Exhibit 10 Deals

The Hornets have signed Jalen Crutcher, Anthony Duruji, Jaylen Sims and Isaiah Whaley, the team announced in a press release. They all received Exhibit 10 contracts, sources tell Rod Boone of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). Whaley was the only name that had been previously reported.

All four players will join Charlotte for the start of training camp on September 27. The Exhibit 10 deals are non-guaranteed and carry a minimum salary, but the players are eligible to receive $50K bonuses if they’re waived before the start of the regular season and join the team’s G League affiliate in Greensboro.

The Hornets now have 18 players on their offseason roster, leaving two openings ahead of camp. Charlotte has 13 players with guaranteed contracts and Bryce McGowens on a two-way deal.

Crutcher, a 23-year-old point guard, was in camp with the Hornets last fall. He spent the season as an affiliate player in the G League, averaging 16.2 points and 6.0 assists in 33 games with the Swarm.

Duruji, 24, split his college career between Louisiana Tech and Florida. The forward averaged 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds over the past two seasons with the Gators.

Sims averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in four seasons at UNC Wilmington. The 23-year-old guard is a native of Charlotte.

Whaley, 23, spent five years at Connecticut and was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year for the 2020/21 season. The power forward was part of the Hornets’ Summer League team, but didn’t appear in any games.

Hornets Waive Jalen Crutcher, Cameron McGriff

The Hornets have cut a pair of players from their preseason roster, announcing in a press release that Jalen Crutcher and Cameron McGriff have been placed on waivers.

Crutcher, a 6’1″ point guard, spent his last four years at Dayton, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .463/.372/.763 shooting in 24 games (38.1 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He suited up for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas after going undrafted.

McGriff went undrafted in 2020 after four seasons with Oklahoma State. The 6’7″ forward averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year, then played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, putting up 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. He joined the Hornets for this year’s Summer League.

Charlotte signed Crutcher and McGriff to non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contracts less than a week ago. While Crutcher saw some action in one of the team’s preseason games, neither player was a real candidate to make the regular season roster. Both Crutcher and McGriff will likely end up playing for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate.

Hornets Sign Jalen Crutcher, Cameron McGriff

After waiving two players earlier in the day, the Hornets have wasted no time filling those newly-opened roster spots. According to a press release from the team, Charlotte has signed guard Jalen Crutcher and forward Cameron McGriff.

Crutcher, a 6’1″ point guard, spent his last four years at Dayton, where he averaged 17.6 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.5 RPG on .463/.372/.763 shooting in 24 games (38.1 MPG) as a senior in 2020/21. He suited up for Milwaukee’s Summer League team in Las Vegas after going undrafted.

McGriff, meanwhile, went undrafted in 2020 after four seasons with Oklahoma State. He averaged 12.3 PPG and 6.6 RPG in his senior year, then played for Belgium’s Okapi Aalstar last season, putting up 13.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG. The Hornets’ agreement with McGriff, who was on the club’s Summer League roster, was reported in September.

Neither Crutcher nor McGriff is likely to make the Hornets’ regular season roster, as the team currently has 16 players on fully guaranteed contracts. However, they’re strong candidates to play for the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’s G League affiliate. Assuming they signed Exhibit 10 contracts, Crutcher and McGriff will be in line for bonuses worth up to $50K if they spent at least 60 days with the Swarm.

The Hornets now once again have a full 20-man preseason roster.