What are Pelicans going to do with two-way contracts?

After two tumultuous offseasons in a row, the New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the quietest teams in the NBA in this one.

That is a good sign, as the Pelicans have found their coach and already had most of their roster signed after making the big trade for CJ McCollum and Larry Nance Jr. at the trade deadline.

Unless there are additional moves this offseason, the Pelicans’ full-time roster is complete, and they hope getting Zion Williamson back, along with a full season of McCollum and Nance Jr. to go along with top-10 pick Dyson Daniels will be enough to propel them deeper into the playoffs next season.

But they still have two-way contracts to fill and there are questions about who is going to get them.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ two-way contracts

One of the two-way deals has reportedly gone to Dereon Seabron, who was a player many were excited about going into Summer League.

Seabron had some moments in Summer League, and wasn’t overly impressive, but it’s still likely he’ll get one of those two-way deals. But that hasn’t been finalized yet, and the Pelicans may want to let this linger into training camp before making their final decision.

The other contract was likely to go to EJ Liddell, but that has gone out the window after the rookie had a disaster of a Summer League and will have to miss the entire season with an injury.

Liddell had a real chance of earning minutes next season off the bench at some point, so this was actually a big loss for him as well as the team. He still remains un-signed, and the Pelicans might decide to put him on a G-League deal rather than lose their two-way for a guy who likely won’t play at all next season.

I thought there were three players who really stood out in Summer League and could end up getting that last two-way contract, assuming that Seabron gets the other one.

Deividas Sirvydis has since been snatched up by the Indiana Pacers, so he is off the table for the Pelicans.

John Petty Jr. played some time for the Pelicans’ G-League affiliate last season and could get another look, as they love players from the South and have had some recent success with players from Alabama.

John Butler could be the Pelicans’ next undrafted gem after impressing in the final game of the Summer League. The 7-foot-1 sharpshooter has some flaws but could shoot his way into a two-way deal.

Tyrique Jones is another possibility, as he showed defensive potential and the type of high motor Willie Green likes.

The Pelicans technically still have two contacts to fill and it will be interesting to see who eventually earns them.