While I was away celebrating my college graduation, the New Orleans Pelicans obviously had to make a roster move, signing Julian Reese to a two-way deal, according to HoopsHype's Mike Scotto. The 23-year-old was a rookie with the Washington Wizards last season, playing in 13 games down the final stretch of the 2025-26 campaign.
My immediate reaction to this move was that I wasn't surprised, since Reese spent all four of his college seasons at Maryland and is from the Baltimore area, which fits Pelicans' general manager Troy Weaver's style. My secondary reaction, after laughing at Weaver for having a type, was that this is a home run pickup by the front office. Reese is a young, talented frontcourt piece that provides an elite skill set as a rebounder, which has been a weakness for this team.
In his 13 games with the Wizards last season, Reese averaged 11.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 stocks (steals plus blocks), and shot 52.9% from the field.
He also comes in and gets to reunite with his college teammate Derik Queen, who spent one season together occupying the Terps' frontcourt. Reese is also the younger brother of WNBA star and former LSU forward Angel Reese.
The DMV connection may pay off
While I can continue to sit here and laugh at Troy Weaver’s obsession with players that have a DMV area connection, this move looks like a great one. Obviously, because of the Pelicans' depth, I don’t expect Reese to be a day-one impact player for this team or a real rotational piece. I assume his early-season focus will be spending time in the G League to keep growing and developing his all-around game. However, if an injury happens in the frontcourt, he’s a really strong next man up option for Jamahl Mosley to have.
Most of the time I’d complain about a signing like Reese, as he is another non-floor spacer and isn’t the biggest frontcourt player at only 6-foot-9. However, his rebounding, much like his sister’s, is truly elite. He crashes the boards so hard, plays with a tremendous motor, and New Orleans needs that type of energy on the glass.
During the team's media day on September 28, Reese even mentioned how he’s embracing being a rebounder as his role. “I feel like this league, some guys just find their niche, and mine happens to be rebounding. So, if I do that at a high level, I feel like I'll be able to stick,” said Reese.
If he can play that role whenever he does get playing time for the Pelicans this season, he most certainly should stick with this team. New Orleans allowed the sixth-most rebounds per game last season, so it makes sense why they saw value in targeting Reese on a two-way deal.
I’m not sure how much of a role Reese will have with the Pelicans this upcoming season, but I also said the same thing about Bryce McGowens, who was on a two-way deal last year, and we saw how that went. The NBA is a league all about being in the right place at the right time, and there may be no better place for Reese to bring value than New Orleans—he just has to wait for his time.
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