After locking up Anthony Davis with a monster deal that will pay him a reported $145 million over five years, the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t stop there. They reached an agreement with starting center Omer Asik. The new deal will pay Asik about $58 million for five years; however, only the four years of the deal are guaranteed.
The Pels have also agreed to a four-year, $20 million deal with unrestricted free agent center Alexis Ajinca. The 7-foot-2 backup center averaged a career-high 6.5 points in just 15 minutes per game last season. Ajinca took to Twitter to say, “I’m very excited to say that I will be a Pelican for 4 more years!”
The Pelicans are making a big push to re-sign most of their own free agents this offseason.
The Pelicans have released their 14-man summer league roster. The roster includes former Tulane guard Jay Hook, Larry Drew II, and Seth Curry, younger brother of NBA MVP Stephen Curry. The team will hold a four day mini-camp where players will have to earn a spot on the team. The team will then travel to Las Vegas for summer league play that begins July 10th.
Yahoo Sports reports that Harvey native Greg Monroe has signed a maximum contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. The big man averaged nearly 16 points a game last season for the Detroit Pistons. The deal will pay Monroe $50 million over the next three seasons, with the third season being a player option. Monroe played his high school ball at Helen Cox High School before playing two years at Georgetown.
Former Louisiana Tech standout Paul Millsap and the Atlanta Hawks have apparently agreed to a new contract that will double his annual pay. An anonymous source says this is a two-year deal, with a player option for a third year making the contract worth $58.9 million. Millsap was selected to the NBA All-Star team in each of his two seasons with the Hawks. The deal can’t be finalized until July 9th.
Tuerlings Catholic alum Taylor Dugas has been called up to join the 25-man roster of the New York Yankees. The former All-American at Alabama has spent four seasons in the minor leagues, most with Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder, after being picked in the eighth round by the Bronx Bombers in 2012. Dugas replaces outfielder Carlos Beltran who left Tuesday’s game with a ribcage injury.