The New Orleans Pelicans are finalizing a multiyear cope with Brazilian guard Didi Louzada, league sources advised ESPN on Sunday.
The Pelicans acquired Louzada with the No. 35 decide within the 2019 NBA draft in the identical draft-night deal that netted New Orleans heart Jaxson Hayes and guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Louzada has since been stashed with the Sydney Kings in Australia’s NBL as a part of the league’s Subsequent Stars program.
New Orleans has till April 27 to signal one other participant to its roster after letting Isaiah Thomas’ 10-day contract expire on Monday. Due to testing insurance policies, Louzada’s contract might be finalized nearer to that date.
Since Louzada is a draft decide of the Pelicans, his tax hit for this yr would rely as zero years of service, which is essential for a crew making an attempt to remain underneath the luxurious tax this season.
Louzada performed his ultimate recreation for the Kings on Saturday in a win over the Cairns Taipans, which moved the Kings into fourth place on the NBL ladder with 12 regular-season video games to play. He arrived in the USA on Sunday morning, sources stated.
Louzada performed two seasons with the Kings, averaging eight.7 factors, Three.2 rebounds and 1.eight assists per recreation over the course of his 2021 NBL marketing campaign, capturing 38.9 % from the sphere and 26.four % from the Three-point line. In one in all Louzada’s latest video games, he scored 28 factors in opposition to the South East Melbourne Phoenix, capturing 6-of-7 from downtown.
Over his two years in Sydney, Louzada added almost 40 kilos to his body and was extensively considered one of many NBL’s most dependable perimeter defenders.
The choice to carry Louzada over comes at a time when the Pelicans’ wing depth has been hit by accidents. Alexander-Walker (excessive ankle sprain) and Josh Hart (torn UCL in his proper thumb) each ought to be out no less than a couple of extra weeks recovering from their accidents. New Orleans added James Nunnally on a 10-day contract to assist with the depth there as effectively and launched 2020 NBL Most Improved Participant Will Magnay so as to take action.
Louzada’s transfer from the NBL to the NBA continues a development for the Kings, a crew run by former Memphis Grizzlies govt Chris Pongrass. Jae’Sean Tate was with the Sydney-based crew throughout the 2019-20 NBL season earlier than signing a multiyear cope with the Houston Rockets, becoming a member of his former Kings head coach, Will Weaver, who signed onto Stephen Silas’ teaching workers within the offseason.