The New Orleans Pelicans had a fairly busy offseason, adding Solomon Hill, E’Twaun Moore and Terrence Jones (among others) in free agency while also taking Buddy Hield with the No. 6 overall pick in the Draft. The Pelicans may not be done making moves, though, as they worked out former Indiana Pacers standout Lance Stephenson recently. Brett Dawson of The Advocate has more:
A league source said the Pelicans held a workout Monday for Stephenson, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound 25-year-old who played 43 games for the Los Angeles Clippers and 26 for the Memphis Grizzles last season.
The Pelicans already have 15 players under guaranteed contracts — the most allowed by the NBA in-season — making player additions unlikely. Still, the club is taking at least an exploratory look at other players. New Orleans also showed interest in point guard Ty Lawson before he agreed to a contract with the Kings on Sunday, Yahoo Sports reported.
Stephenson started his career with the Pacers and had a strong year for Indiana in 2013-14, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists on a 56-26 team that reached the Eastern Conference finals.
After that season, Stephenson signed a reported three-year, $27 million contract with the Charlotte Hornets. His numbers fell off in Charlotte, where he averaged 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 61 games.
The Hornets traded Stephenson in the summer of 2015 to the Clippers, but he struggled in Los Angeles, averaging 4.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 15.8 minutes per game. In February, he was traded to Memphis.
In 26 games with the Grizzlies, Stephenson averaged 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.6 minutes per game. He scored a career-high 33 points against the Pelicans in a 121-114 overtime win March 11 in Memphis. The Grizzlies failed to pick up the option on the final year of Stephenson’s contract, leaving him a free agent.
