Former Alabama standout Herb Jones lands lucrative deal with Pelicans

New Orleans had declined his minimum option in order to sign the 24-year-old to a long-term contract.

Christopher Walsh | Jun 30, 2023

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One day after the New Orleans Pelicans declined the third-year option for a minimum salary, the team locked down former Alabama basketball standout Herb Jones with a longterm deal.

Per ESPN, Jones has agreed on a new four-year, $54 million deal to stay with the team. Senior NBA writer Adrian Wojnarowski credited his agents, Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller of @PrioritySports as his source for the report.

The option year was worth just $1.8 million, and would have been the last of his initial deal for approximately $5.4 million after being selected in the second round of the NBA Draft.

Declining the option made Jones a restricted free agent with "Early Bird" rights, with the team having the right of first refusal of any offer he received. However, it was a necessary move that had to be made in order to make the longterm deal.

Per NBA rules, Jones will essentially get the maximum the team could offer given the circumstances. The "Early Bird" rights is one of the 11 types of salary cap exceptions available to NBA teams. Teams could start negotiating contracts with players on 5 p.m. CT, officially kicking off the start of free agency.

Jones, who was a second-round pick in 2021, has started 135 games over the last two seasons and averaged 9.7 points. The 24-year-old narrowly missed making an all-defensive team his rookie season, and his shooting saw a significant improvement after the All-Star Game last season.

Published Jun 30, 2023

CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.