Pelicans Signing Elfrid Payton, Izaiah Brockington

September 19, 2024

The Pelicans are beefing up their training camp roster with a pair of signings, including veteran point guard Elfrid Payton, per Andrew Lopez of ESPN.

New Orleans is also signing guard Izaiah Brockington, Lopez reported. Both players agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts and are represented by the TANDEM agency.

Payton, 30, is 6-foot-3 and was selected by the 76ers with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, then was immediately traded to the Magic. He spent the first three-and-a-a-half seasons in Orlando, before being traded to the Suns. He also played for the Pelicans and Knicks, before rejoining the Suns in 2021-22, his last NBA season.

Along with all that, Payton spent some time in Puerto Rico and with the Indiana Mad Ants of the G League last season.

“Payton, an Ehret graduate and Gretna native, last played in the NBA in 2022,” Lopez wrote. “The 30-year-old played one season with the Pelicans in 2018-19.”

Brokington, 25, is 6-foot-4 and went undrafted in 2022. He first suffered a torn ACL in a pre-draft workout with the New Orleans. But he recovered to give a strong showing in the G League, appearing 49 games with the Birmingham Squadron last season and averaging 12.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.

“Brockington played in one game with the Pelicans last season after spending the year with the Birmingham Squadron,” Lopez wrote. “He also played for Pels this year at summer league.”

All three of New Orleans’ two-way spots are already filled, so Payton and Brockington could be headed back to the G League.

An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal. It doesn’t count toward a team’s cap unless the player makes the final roster. It also can be converted to a two-way deal before the season begins or mean guaranteed money if a player is waived and then stays on the G League club for at least 60 days.