Jarrett Jack Reportedly Signs 10-Day Contract with Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans and free-agent point guard Jarrett Jack reached an agreement Friday on a 10-day contract.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical first reported the terms of the signing. Justin Verrier of ESPN also confirmed the deal is in place.
The Pelicans' need for guard depth became apparent after their blockbuster trade to acquire DeMarcus Cousins, which sent Buddy Hield, Tyreke Evans and Langston Galloway to the Sacramento Kings.
Jack most recently played two seasons with the Brooklyn Nets starting in 2014. He averaged 12.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 42.5 percent from the field across 112 games, including 59 starts, for the organization.
The 33-year-old Georgia Tech product signed with the Atlanta Hawks during the offseason. Continued recovery from a knee injury prevented him from taking part in training camp or the preseason, however, leading the team to waive him before the regular season.
He told Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution back in August that being away from the game for awhile after suffering a torn ACL was tough from a mental perspective.
"It's difficult," Jack said. "Basketball is my first love, my second love, my third love. Not having that with me for the first time was definitely a struggle. Usually that is my outlet for a lot of things. Not having it at your disposal is kind of difficult to cope with but you have to understand this thing is temporary and get back to what I know in no time."
The Pelicans only had three natural guards on the roster prior to the signing—Jrue Holiday, E'Twaun Moore and Tim Frazier. They combined to score just 14 points in the team's first post-trade game Thursday night, a 129-99 loss to the Houston Rockets.
So, assuming Jack is all the way back to full strength, he should have the opportunity to earn ample playing time during the 10-day deal with New Orleans. He previously played with the organization from 2010-12 under the previous Hornets moniker.
The Pelicans, who are currently 2.5 games out of the final Western Conference playoff spot, return to action Saturday night for a key clash with the Dallas Mavericks.
