Pelicans Bringing Back Matt Ryan On One-Year Deal

August 26, 2024

The New Orleans Pelicans intend to re-sign small forward Matt Ryan to a one-year contract, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.

New Orleans, which waived Ryan last week, is bringing him back on a re-structured deal after he cleared waivers.

Ryan, 27, is 6-foot-6 and appeared in 28 games with the Pelicans last season, averaging 5.4 points and 1.4 rebounds, shooting 43.4% from the field and 45.1% on 3-pointers.

He has appeared in a total of 63 games overall with the Pelicans, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves since 2021 and is a career 41.1% shooter on threes.

Interestingly, New Orleans already has a glut of wing types, from Brandon Ingram to Trey Murphy III to Herbert Jones and Jordan Hawkins. The Pelicans also added Dejounte Murray in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks to pair him in the starting backcourt with CJ McCollum.

Still, Ryan has proven to be a fairly lethal shooter in every stop, and in a league that’s become increasingly perimeter-oriented, it never hurts to have someone with his skill set.

Either way, more moves could and should be on the way for New Orleans.

“Since (the Murray) trade was announced, it has felt like another move would be coming down the pipeline,” wrote Kenneth Teape of SI.com. “As currently constructed, the Pelicans have a major logjam on the wing and are lacking depth in the frontcourt.”