Pelicans re-sign veteran point guard

Payton’s second 10-day contract with New Orleans was set to expire overnight on Friday. Instead of waiting for that to happen, it seems like the Pelicans decided to terminate the deal a day early to bring him back on a new contract, which will enable Payton to play in Sunday’s season finale vs. Oklahoma City.

A nine-year veteran, Payton had been playing in the G League for the past two seasons until the Pelicans gave him NBA another opportunity in the fall. He was released after a couple of weeks, later signing a pair of 10-day hardship contracts with Charlotte in February.

New Orleans initially brought Payton back in March on a 10-day, with his second 10-day deal officially being signed on April 2. Both signings were completed via the hardship exception. Teams are not permitted to sign players to three 10-day contracts, hence Payton’s latest agreement with New Orleans.

Payton, who is from Louisiana and played called ball at ULALA, has really struggled to score in 2024/25, averaging 3.5 points and shooting just 33.9% from the field in his 22 games this season with the Hornets and Pelicans. He has missed all five of his three-point attempts and converted four of his seven free throw tries (57.1%).

However, the 31-year-old has been productive in other areas, including four straight games with 10-plus assists. Overall, he’s averaging 6.8 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 21.1 minutes per contest.

The Pelicans had an opening on their standard roster, so they didn’t have to waive anyone to add Payton.