2018 NBA free agency grades: Pelicans will add Elfrid Payton

New Orleans signs Louisiana native Elfrid Payton to a one-year deal, which has the potential to become a long-term homecoming.

The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to sign point guard Elfrid Payton to a one-year deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Payton, a Louisiana-native, played three seasons at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

In his fifth NBA season, Payton shot a career-high 52.0 percent in 44 games with the Orlando Magic. Despite this, the Magic traded him to the Phoenix Suns in February of 2018.

Payton is a decent all-around player. In 19 starts with Phoenix, he averaged 11.8 points, 6.2 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He’s a solid ball-handler with good vision and passing ability. He’s also an active rebounder, averaging 4.2 rebounds per game throughout his career.

A major problem in his game, however, is his lack of consistent shooting. He’s never shot more than 1.8 3-point attempts per game in a season. He can’t stretch the floor and defenses don’t respect him on the perimeter as a career 29.8 percent 3-point shooter.

It's $2.7M, per sources https://t.co/rPFepO5P8M
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 2, 2018

Getting the No. 10 overall pick from the 2014 NBA Draft for a mere $2.7 million is a still nice pickup for New Orleans. The Pelicans don’t have any of their first round picks from the past five years on their roster, with trades for DeMarcus Cousins and Nikola Mirotic being the main reasons why.

Payton will be likely be backing up free agent point guard Rajon Rondo. Rondo was an integral part in the team sweeping the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs last season.