Former Indiana Pacers and Mad Ants guard Elfrid Payton joining New Orleans Pelicans, per report

Payton signed a camp deal with the Pacers last year

Feb 1, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) blocks a shot by Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Former Indiana Pacers and Mad Ants guard Elfrid Payton is signing a training camp contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, per a tweet from ESPN reporter Andrew Lopez.

Payton, 30, originally joined the Pacers organization when he signed on with their G League affiliate, the then-Fort Wayne Mad Ants, in 2022-23. Payton was acquired via the available player pool and hoped to get back into the NBA.

"Just kind of finding a way to further my career, trying to get back into the NBA. Kind of went back and forth between overseas and the G League," Payton told Pacers On SI of his G League path. "After talking to a lot of people and gathering more information, I decided [on the] G League."

While a few teams had NBA interest in Payton over the years, he never got a call up while with the Mad Ants. He signed an Exhibit 10 contrat with the Pacers before last season, but he never played in training camp for the blue and gold. He was waived a few days later.

Now, he's headed to a new organization. He played for the Pelicans in 2018-19 and started in 42 games for the team at the time. Payton is a Louisiana native.

Payton played in 39 games for the Mad Ants and scored 10.8 points per game. He also averaged 8.2 assists per game and was a key leader for a squad that made the G League playoffs twice. The 2014 lottery pick had a brief stint with Team USA last season.

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