The New Orleans Pelicans have used their final two-way contract spot by bringing in forward Joshua Oduro. The 25-year-old has spent the season with the team's G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. This move became possible after the Pelicans converted Bryce McGowens' deal from a two-way to a standard one. It also locks the Pelicans roster at the league max 18 players, with 15 players on standard deals and three two-way players.
Oduro spent four seasons with George Mason from 2019-23 before transferring to Providence for his final year of eligibility. He then went undrafted in 2024, joined the Pelicans summer league team that offseason, and was signed by the Squadron shortly after. Despite spending this summer league with the Hornets, he found his way to Birmingham this offseason.
This season for the Squadron, he's appeared in 25 regular-season games and is averaging 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 2.8 stocks (steals+blocks). Oduro has been a strong post scorer and solid rim protector throughout his entire collegiate and G League career, and could be the Pelicans' next great reclamation project.
Joshua Oduro could be the Pelicans' next development success story
During the offseason, when the Pelicans signed Bryce McGowens to a two-way deal, I had a feeling it would work out immensely for them. McGowens always had talent and winning attributes—he just needed to find a team willing to fully invest in him and give him a chance to show how great he could be. I feel the same way about Oduro.
Things are obviously a little different, as Oduro has yet to check into an NBA game and was undrafted, and McGowens had logged 118 NBA games before getting to New Orleans. However, after reviewing the film from his final year at Providence and his play in the G League over the past two years, he probably should've been a second-round pick in 2024 and played in the NBA already.
Oduro's postscoring is elite, and I know for a Pelicans fan, adding another primarily inside-scorer may be concerning. But at the end of the day, New Orleans needs guys who can put the ball in the basket.
On top of the elite footwork, touch, and positional awareness he offers in the post, he can also put the ball on the floor and attack the rim that way, too. On the defensive end, he has a ton of upside. He thrives as a weakside and secondary rim protector, think, to a lesser degree, of what Aaron Gordon does for the Denver Nuggets next to Nikola Jokic. Funny enough, the similarities he shares with Gordon as a rim protector, in theory, could make him a good fit alongside Derik Queen, as DQ has some of the same defensive shortcomings as Jokic.
His maturity and experience are evident as he plays with more patience and control than the average 25-year-old career G League player. This makes him a good fit for the Pelicans' style of play under interim head coach James Borrego, as he likes to see the team play fast and get out and run on the open floor.
Although for many, a late-season two-way player addition may seem insignificant, it appears that the Pelicans may have just found another diamond in the rough in Joshua Oduro.