The New Orleans Pelicans didn't waste any time locking Herb Jones into the equation for the foreseeable future.
The Pelicans and Herb Jones have agreed to a 4-year, $54 million extension, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will pay out $12 million in the 2023-'24 season and will set up an interesting decision with regard to the luxury tax, something the Pelicans have never paid.
The deal marks a significant raise for the 2nd round pick in the 2021 draft, a class that also produced rising wing Trey Murphy III. Jones' rookie deal was for 3 years at $5.3 million, but the Pelicans declined the third-year option in order to work out a long-term deal.
Jones' defensive work has vastly overshadowed his offensive performance, which is still a bit of a work in progress. Jones started all 66 games in which he appeared in his second NBA season, but wasn't able to improve his offensive output or efficiency. Jones scoring ticked up to 9.8 points per game and shot 33.5% from three-point range, a slight decrease from his rookie campaign. He also averaged 4.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals and nearly a block per game.
The deal marked the lone notable move on the opening day of free agency, which saw a host of big-money deals handed out across the NBA landscape. The only departing player was Josh Richardson, who appeared in 23 games for New Orleans after being acquired at the trade deadline last season. He signed a 2-year deal to return to the Miami Heat, the same team that drafted him in 2015.
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