{"id":122276,"date":"2025-02-06T10:03:17","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=122276"},"modified":"2025-02-06T10:04:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:04:30","slug":"pelicans-set-to-make-brandon-boston-jr-contract-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/02\/06\/pelicans-set-to-make-brandon-boston-jr-contract-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans Set to Make Promising Wing Contract Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> are being predicted to offer promising wing, Brandon Boston Jr<\/a> a standard comtract. This is according to HoopsHype’s<\/em> Michael Scotto. The Pels have had a brutal 2024-25 season. Entering the year with championship hopes after acquiring All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray,<\/a> they quickly saw their dreams crumble due to injuries. Trey Murphy III<\/a> strained his hamstring on the first day of training camp. Murray fractured his left hand in his debut. From there, the injuries kept coming, and so did the losses.<\/p>\n

Pelicans Set to Make Brandon Boston Jr. Contract Decision<\/h2>\n

Now, at 12-39<\/a>, the Pelicans are far from contention. They just traded Brandon Ingram<\/a> to the Toronto Raptors for Bruce Brown<\/a>, Kelly Olynyk<\/a>, a first-round pick, and a second-round pick. Reports suggest that everyone except Murphy, Herb Jones<\/a>, Jordan Hawkins<\/a>, and Yves Missi<\/a> is available in trade talks. With less than half the season left, the Pelicans need reasons for fans to stay engaged.<\/p>\n

One unexpected bright spot has emerged:\u00a0 Boston Jr.<\/a> The young wing has taken advantage of his opportunities and played well enough to force the team into a contract decision.<\/p>\n

The Pelicans Clear Space for Boston<\/h3>\n

Boston Jr. initially joined<\/a> the Pelicans off waivers on a 10-day contract as a temporary replacement amid the injury crisis. He quickly impressed and earned a two-way deal<\/a>. Now, New Orleans is set to convert his contract to a standard NBA deal.<\/p>\n

However, the Pelicans had a problem. While they had an open roster spot, signing Boston to a standard contract would have pushed them into the luxury tax. The franchise has never paid the tax and wasn\u2019t about to start in a lottery-bound season.<\/p>\n

To clear room, they traded<\/a> Daniel Theis<\/a> and a 2031 second-round pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> for cash considerations. Shedding Theis\u2019 contract allowed the Pelicans to sign Boston without crossing the tax threshold.<\/p>\n

Brandon Boston Jr\u2019s Impact and Growth on the Pelicans<\/h3>\n

Boston has made the most of his opportunities. In 23.9 minutes per game, he is averaging 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals on 43.7% shooting from the field, 34.1% from three, and 80.2% from the free-throw line. All are career highs.<\/p>\n

He previously spent three seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers<\/a>, appearing in 105 games but never carving out a consistent role. In New Orleans, he has thrived.<\/p>\n

A look at the Pelicans\u2019 best five-man lineups shows his impact. Among lineups that have played at least three games and logged at least 15 minutes together, he appears in two of the team\u2019s top five by net rating. That includes the highest-rated lineup, which has a net rating of 24.2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

New Orleans has struggled with injuries all season, making lineup consistency difficult. Despite the constant changes, Boston has remained productive when on the floor.<\/p>\n

A Second Chance for a Former Star Prospect<\/h3>\n

Boston\u2019s journey has been anything but smooth. A highly regarded high school prospect, he entered his freshman year at Kentucky with top-10<\/a> draft pick expectations. But his lone college season was a disaster. His stock plummeted, and he fell to the 51st pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.<\/p>\n

Now in his fourth NBA season, he is making the most of his second chance. He stands 6’7″ with a 6’11” wingspan, providing length and versatility on the wing. His shooting and ball-handling skills, combined with his size, give him intriguing upside.<\/p>\n

Since this is his fourth pro season, Boston is no longer eligible for a two-way contract next year. His play has forced the Pelicans into making a decision. By shedding Theis\u2019 contract, they have cleared the way to sign him for the long term.<\/p>\n

For a team stuck in a disappointing season, Boston\u2019s emergence offers hope. The Pelicans are betting that his development will be part of their future.<\/p>\n

The New Orleans Pelicans are being predicted to offer promising wing, Brandon Boston Jr a standard comtract. This is according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. The Pels have had a brutal 2024-25 season. Entering the year with championship hopes after acquiring All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray, they quickly saw their dreams crumble due to injuries. Trey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":122303,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,33,3],"tags":[4064,308,1494,1262,4112,4756,49708,4975,1382,662,4382,49284],"class_list":["post-122276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-pelicans","category-news","tag-brandon-boston-jr","tag-brandon-ingram","tag-daniel-theis","tag-dejounte-murray","tag-herb-jones","tag-jordan-hawkins","tag-luxury-tax","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nba-trade","tag-nba-trade-deadline","tag-trey-murphy-iii","tag-yves-missi"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122276"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122307,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122276\/revisions\/122307"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}