The New Orleans Pelicans have signed one of the G League's best players.
The Pelicans signed guard Trey Alexander to a two-way contract, the team announced Saturday.Â
They also signed center Hunter Dickinson to a two-way contract.
Two-way contracts allow players to split time between the G League affiliate and the NBA team. Â
The 6-foot-4 Alexander was named G League Rookie of the Year last season after averaging 26.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals for the Grand Rapids Gold. The Gold is the G League affiliate for the Denver Nuggets.
Alexander played limited minutes in 24 games this season for the Nuggets. He shot 42.2% on 3-pointers in the G League, but he struggled from beyond the arc for the Nuggets. He made just 3 of 17 3-point attempts for Denver.
Dickinson is an undrafted rookie who played his final two seasons of college ball at Kansas. Prior to that, the 7-foot-2 center played at Michigan.
Dickinson averaged 17.4 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks this past season at Kansas and was a third-team AP All-American. He scored in double figures in 32 of 34 games and posted a double-double in 16 games. He scored a season-high 33 points with 10 rebounds in a victory over Arizona. His best rebounding game was a 15-board effort against UNC-Wilmington.
Dickinson is the second center Pelicans executive director of basketball operations Joe Dumars has added since taking over in April. The Pelicans signed Kevon Looney in free agency last week. Looney, who spent his previous 10 NBA seasons with the Golden State Warriors, agreed to a two-year deal worth $16 million. Looney gives the Pelicans a veteran presence at center.
The signing of Alexander comes just two days after the Pelicans waived guard Antonio Reeves in a somewhat surprising move. Reeves, a second-round draft pick out of Kentucky a year ago, averaged 15.4 points over the last 10 games of the season and shot 39.5% on 3-pointers for the year.
The signings of Alexander and Dickinson are the latest in what has been a busy offseason for the Pelicans.
They acquired Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey from the Washington Wizards in exchange for CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk. Before that, the Pelicans obtained the rights to guard Mojave King in a trade with the Indiana Pacers.
The Pelicans also added three players in the NBA draft. They selected guard Jeremiah Fears (Oklahoma) and forward Derik Queen (Maryland) in the first round, and guard Micah Peavy (Georgetown) in the second round.
Alexander and Dickinson will get to suit up for the Pelicans this week in Las Vegas when Summer League play begins. The Pels’ first game is Thursday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
