With the New Orleans Pelicans' time in Australia coming to a close, Joe Dumars has made several roster adjustments as the team continues its training camp. The front office has decided to cut ties with both Jalen McDaniels and Garrison Brooks. The two men were brought in on camp deals, and after not really seeing much of either of them during their time in New Orleans, they have been let go.
The Pelicans parting ways with these two shouldn’t come as a shock, especially with the play of Christian Shumate. The 23-year-old is much younger than both men and outperformed them during both the team's games against NBL competition.
Brooks and McDaniels will now head down to the G League and likely be part of the Pelicans' affiliate team, the Birmingham Squadron. With the decision to part ways with Brooks and McDaniels, the Pelicans were left with two openings for their camp roster, and it didn’t take long for Dumars to find his replacements.
The Pelicans have signed both D.J. Carton and Trhae Mitchell to Exhibit 10 contracts, according to Spotrac’s Keith Smith.
Both Carton and Mitchell are also expected to be sign-and-waive victims, as the Pelicans' front office continues to build out their G League roster for the 2025-26 season under new head coach Joe Barrer.
The outlook might be the same, but both Carton and Mitchell bring unique skillsets
Starting with Carton, he's someone I’ve had the privilege of watching in person during his time with the Toronto Raptors and their G League affiliate last season. Carton is an extremely high-IQ guard who had a solid college career, both at Ohio State and Marquette. He has good bounce, which often allows him to catch defenders off guard.
In the summer league for the Portland Trail Blazers, he averaged 11.0 points and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three. His ability to run and control an offense leads me to believe he could be the Squadron's lead guard this season.
Mitchell is someone who might be familiar to Pelicans fans, as he spent last season on the team's camp roster and played 50 games for their G League affiliate.
The 6’6” wing is a solid all-around player who has floated between the G League and CEBL. His calling card is his three-point shot, as last season, Mitchell shot 41.7 percent from three on over 4 attempts per game with the Squadron.