Now that point guards Tyreke Evans, Norris Coles, and Jrue Holiday are unavailable, the New Orleans Pelicans are still on the lookout for replacements. Shortly after waiving Nate Robinson, the team has officially announced that it signed 23-year-old guard Toney Douglas.
Over his six-year career, Douglas has played for six teams. He participated in 309 NBA games for the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and most recently, for New Orleans Pelicans. He has delivered an average of 7.6 points and 2.2 assists in 18.9 minutes for each game.
Back in August, Douglas signed with the Indiana Pacers but he was later waived on October 26 after playing in only five preseason games. Now, four days after being released, he re-signed with the Pelicans. The move comes one day after the team waived veteran point guard Nate Robinson, who went sans score during the Pelicans' first two games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors.
Meanwhile, the Pelicans may have further depth at center as Omer Asik could return in the lineup soon. Head coach Alvin Gentry expects to have Asik along with fellow center Luke Babbitt for the team's upcoming matchup against the Warriors. If both Asik and Babbitt participate in the said game, they would give the Pelicans a season-high 12 players available in its roster.
Asik missed New Orlean's previous game at Oracle Arena due to a calf strain. He has been sidelined since October 8. Without Asik, the team had struggled to effectively keep up in rebounds. During their Wednesday's 112-94 loss to the Trail Blazers, the Pelicans were out-rebounded 51-39.
Last season, the NBA ranked Asik fifth in rebounding percentage at 21.4. Coach Gentry further said that Asik has been ranked in the top 10 of the NBA in per-minute rebounding for numerous seasons.
Although the two centers recently made progress on their individual injuries, the Pelicans have listed them as "Questionable" in the game versus Golden State. ''Obviously coming into the game where it's going to be the first time they've played for a while. We're not going to be stupid about it and try to play them 30 minutes," Gentry mentioned.
Aside from Asik (calf) and Babbitt (hamstring), New Orleans already ruled out guards Tyreke Evans (knee), Norris Cole (ankle), and guard-forward Quincy Pondexter (knee).
