Former New Orleans Pelicans forward Josh Oduro signed a one-year deal with Melbourne United of the NBL.
The New Orleans Pelicans have been able to stash a forward in the NBA G League for the last couple of years. They won't be able to anymore, as he just signed a contract in a different professional league.
Josh Oduro signed a one-year deal with Melbourne United of the NBL in Australia, the team announced. His basketball career will officially continue away from the Pelicans organization.
Oduro, 26, is a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who mostly shines in the post. He was a skilled scorer in college and has continued that in the NBA G League. He signed with New Orleans after going undrafted in 2024.
Across 60 games for the Birmingham Squadron, he averaged 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists over 11 games. He is an improving three-point shooter, but that never really came around as a part of his game over these two years. He shot 55.1/19.6/70.9 splits for his career.
He makes up for what he lacks in perimeter shooting with efficiency at the rim and activity on defense. He averaged over a steal and a block each game for his G League career.
While he didn't make it in the NBA, he is a talented basketball player who does a lot of the right things and will be able to stick around overseas for a long time. His game might be even better over there.
The Pelicans used a two-way spot for him over the second half of last season after promoting Bryce McGowens and he played for them in this past Summer League. While they probably would have been happy bringing him back to the G League, he chose a different opportunity.
