The New Orleans Pelicans are bringing back point guard Matt Ryan on a one-year deal, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Ryan, 27, was released on Friday. He is now the 15th and final player under contract on the Pelicans roster. The contract is reportedly a one-year contract that has been restructured.
New Orleans converted Ryan’s deal to a standard contract through the end of the 2023-24 regular season. This actually made him eligible to play. However, his three-year deal was non-guaranteed for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
The Pelicans have re-signed shooting guard Matt Ryan to a restructured one-year deal, sources said.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 26, 2024
Ryan’s 2024-25 salary would have been guaranteed had he remained under contract at the start of the regular season. The Pelicans currently have 13 players on guaranteed salary.
While the details of Ryan’s new contract are unknown, it could be another minimum wage contract. This type of contract won’t be confirmed until the league-wide Jan. 10.
According to Spotrac, it will also have a cap hit of $2,087,519 instead of $2,196,970.
New Orleans Pelicans wing Matt Ryan averaged a career-high 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds last season.
In 28 games (one start) with the Pelicans last season, Ryan averaged a career-high 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 13.9 minutes per contest while shooting a career-best 43.4% from the field, 45.1% from the range three-point range, and 92.9 % from the free throw line.
In New Orleans’ 125-116 win over the Detroit Pistons on November 2, 2023, he recorded a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 (70%) shooting from the floor and 6-of-8 (75% ) from beyond the arc in his first career start.
The New York native missed several weeks last season with a strained calf and right elbow injury. On December 12, the Pelicans announced that he would undergo surgery to “remove loose bodies” with an expected return of six to eight weeks.
20 PTS 🔥 7/10 FG 🔥 6/8 3PT #GleagueAlum Matt Ryan scored a CAREER-HIGH in his first NBA start @PelicansNBA to victory! pic.twitter.com/BRHL7pKqT8
– NBA G League (@nbagleague) November 3, 2023
“It was bad, to be honest,” Ryan said after being forced out. “This is only my third year playing pro. I have been waiting for that opportunity.
“[I hope] to get a good stretch of games, play important minutes and have a good role. I had that and I was playing well, but to be hit with the injury bug, no player wants to go through that.”
The Pelicans claimed Ryan off waivers last October, inking a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves just before the start of training camp. He also had brief stints with the Boston Celtics (2021-22 season) and Los Angeles Lakers (2022-23 season) early in his career.
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