Pelicans make sneaky signing...

The pelicans make a sneaky good signing as they pick up one of their summer league standouts and put them on a two-way contract We're going to talk about that also give you an update on trent and wop for his contract situation And also say farewell to hunter dickinson inside this edition of pelicans digest. What's good with it? My people this mel so the mic back once again inside pelicans digest Thank you so much for tapping in with us and the pelicans have been busy today, man Lots of moves being made by the pels including one. Uh, uh that a lot of people are pretty pretty jazzed about Uh picking up one of their summer league standouts in malik dia We're gonna talk about that inside this episode But first gotta let you know that you can follow us right now on x at pelicans digest And also hit that subscribe button if you haven't done it yet This is where you get the best analysis opinions and more about the new orleans pelicans right here on pelicans digest And uh yesterday we told you about the pelicans picking up trending wofford Uh who they signed to a contract and we really didn't have all the details on it It was being reported at first that uh, it was a training camp deal Uh, but uh now we're learning from chamois duo and others that he has acquired the 15th roster spot on the pelicans according to uh reports that are coming out today chamois duo, uh Broke the news today saying that per sources the trending wofford deal is a non-guaranteed minimum There is a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar guarantee Which moves up to half a million dollars if he is not weighed before the first day of the season The contract will be fully protected if not weighed by december 30th That means he is the 15th roster spot and when he was pressed further about uh that question Uh as far as What does that do for some of the other guys that may have been promised a roster spot or a chance to get on the roster? Like kobe buffkin and christian koloko. Uh, he says that a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar guarantee is light So buffkin and koloko who have been promised a chance to make the roster can still have a good camp and replace him It can also mean that the pelicans are in a position for a two-for-one trade that opens another roster spot. So uh with him saying not to me I was low-key confused about this because Usually those non-guaranteed contracts that had those same stipulations even uh buffkins and uh koloko's deal Had that same stipulation that uh, they can make the roster and be weighed by december. Uh, if If things don't work out So it still will be a battle in training camp regardless Even though uh wofford will be holding the 15 roster spot as of now. He can still lose it according to chamois uh, so We're gonna keep an eye out on that again This seems like this is going to be a very interesting training camp for the pelicans And there's a couple of guys that's still going to be fighting and for a roster spot Even though it says that wofford is the 15 roster spot There's still a chance for him to lose it So he's gonna probably have to show out in camp and show we he can do or buffkin and koloko I think the pressure is going to be more on them now Uh to show improve as opposed to wofford who is again a five-year veteran of the nba has played on multiple teams already So there you have that we have an update on that And so do whatever make sure what you will but we're gonna keep an eye on that as we always do Uh also today the pelicans though, uh have signed malik dia who was a standout in the summer league one of the one of the top players I I had concerns about uh his defense Uh, but his he has good offensive skills and he's now going to be a two-way player the pelicans Uh today according to dylan sanders, uh have side. Oh, pardon me. Not uh, not dylan sanders Let me get that graphic wrong That one, uh is claims from shams earlier today that the pelicans are signing for malik dia to a two-way nba deal Uh undrafted out of old miss dia average 10 points and five rebounds for the pelicans in summer league in july And again, he was one of the the better big men as far as in the forward position Uh for the pelicans in summer league and you know, like I said, I still have my concerns about him Uh, but I I am glad that he's getting this opportunity at the end of the day uh because Again, he stood out as one of the big the bigger players in summer league this year along with bufkin and I I still think marquise Noel needs to get a shot, but you know Dia stood out especially when you consider. Uh The the need for I guess more bigs and at pelicans, uh frontcourt uh, but according to dylan sanders, uh One trend that the pelicans were personally surprised with As far as with dia was his ability to hit a jumper and he was impressive with those shots Uh his shot selection not so much But the shots that he did put up that were in a good range and were good looks he hit those He had been around 34 to 35 percent from three point for most of his career But that plummeted to 27 percent on 2.3 attempts per game last year for the old miss rebels The fact that he looked natural and went up in efficiency, uh in efficiency was a great sign and uh Dylan sanders went on to write on his article at roundtable that in order for dia to make the team He will need to continue to work on his defense again. That's the issue that I had with dia Uh was his defensive presence? Uh, he is stronger than he is quick Which could be a great thing as joe dumar stated that this team needs to be tougher this year dia needs to prove Uh that he can get stops and then perhaps the team will call him up to the full-time roster So with that being said As of right now, you have an entire 15-man roster that are on standard contracts with the pelicans and and once dia got signed You thought that the roster was complete because you had uh, Had major quota as far as three-way contracts, but that changed about two hours after dia was let go I mean was signed when the pelicans announced that they have waived uh dickinson hunter dickinson Uh, who was also signed to two-way contract earlier, uh at the start of camp Uh, but now he is gone according to mike a scotto who wrote about this Uh, like I said two hours after dia got signed, uh that the pelicans have waived two-way center hunter dickinson The former michigan and kansas star averaged 17 points of 59% shooting from the field and 39% from three-point range With 10 rebounds and two assists in the g league last season Of course, he had a couple of games. We had triple doubles had 36 rebounds in one game Uh, it has some insane numbers. Uh, but once again We saw this in summer league and it seemed like we seen it in real-time action late in the games last season He just can't keep up with nba speed Is he seems slower? He doesn't seem like he can jump And and so it was kind of baffling to see that they signed dickinson back to a two-way contract I also understood it because their options were low as far as big men go But now that you picked up dia who you know Is about 6 10 6 11 somewhere in that range uh Who has a better shooting profile than then an ability to score at other levels of the court? Then dickinson dickinson had been working on it three and hitting his threes here and there uh, but again his I guess his His lack of movement and his lack of ability to adjust to the nba speed and pace of the game I think did him in in the long run So as of right now you have one two-way roster spot left and so right now the question is What is going to be the battle in camp now? Is it going to be a battle for the two-way spot? Or will one of these guys show and prove to a level where wafford or one of these other guys could get taken or Are the pelicans setting up for a trade? There's a lot of talk about that once again, you know, you know everybody's been itching for this team to do something in terms of a trade and A lot of people are starting to trend towards the fact that they believe wafford and somebody else Uh could get packaged up in a deal in a two-for-one deal to go get somebody maybe love maybe a benedict Matherin or or mpj Uh something like that, which I don't think is going to happen I don't think they're going to package these guys up unless there's a deal like like we said before that actually benefits the pelicans in this situation again, I am As bad as I want them to do something to do something with this roster instead of running it back the way it is um it just It's just nobody seems to want to make a deal with the pelicans that's going to benefit the pals in order for to make it shake so You know lots of moves being made this afternoon and a lot of a lot of changes coming to the roster But again, I still think this is going to be one of the most fascinating Uh training camps in a while for the pelican Uh, because now you got buffkin you got coloco you got wafford Uh, you got dia you got jan pierre jr Who's also on the two-way contract and you're gonna have one two-way contract that's gonna be up for grabs at the end of training camp Who do you think is going to get that spot? I would love to know who do you think is going to get that spot? It could be out of dia. I mean d is locked in. Um but Yeah, it's it's just gonna be fascinating man. It's gonna be a fascinating thing to see with this training camp We'd love to know your thoughts though Are you pleased with the dia signing? A lot of people see you already posted up in the in the post section of the uh channel already a lot of people seem to Be happy with that signing. Um I'm pleased with it. I'm pleased with it But we'd love to know your thoughts on this sign Clap back with your thoughts in the comments and don't forget that you can hit us up on x right now At pelicans digest you can follow us on that right now and we'll keep you updated around the clock with the latest news rumors Reports anything that's going on with the new orleans pelicans I'll be here to help decipher it for you right here on pelicans digest It's mel talking about those pals looking forward to being in the city next week man Coming down there for the kanye west concert in the superdome next friday. Super excited about that and uh, man Getting my tickets ready for the season tickets and uh the season and we're ready to rock man I hope you are too. It's mel talking about those pills. I'll holler at you