The New Orleans Pelicans have signed forward Julian Reese to a two-way deal.
The New Orleans Pelicans have signed former Washington Wizards forward Julian Reese to a two-way deal, per insider Michael Scotto.
Reese is the younger brother of WNBA superstar Angel Reese. Like his sister, Reese is most known for his rebounding. That makes his value for the Pelicans clear, as that is one thing they have desperately needed to add this offseason but haven’t really been able to.
The 23-year-old saw action in 13 NBA games as a rookie last season and posted 11.8 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals plus blocks on 30.9 minutes per night.
He was just in a two-way last year, though. So most of his time came in the G League. Over 27 games there put up 9.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals plus blocks on 19.1 minutes per game.
Reese went undrafted out of Maryland last year and may not be the most dynamic player, but he fills a need. He's also not the only former Terrapin on the team right now, as he was a college teammate of fellow New Orleans big Derik Queen.
Troy Weaver is from D.C., so it's never surprising when the Pelicans add a player from the DMV area. There are plenty of representatives on the team right now, which does make for some instant chemistry.
Reese signing a two-way is interesting, as there was only one two-way spot left on the team. New Orleans has a handful of players signed to training camp deals like Kobe Bufkin and Christian Koloko, who were expecting to battle for that final spot. Now it looks like there will be some competition for an eventual spot on the initial Laketown Squadron roster.
