The New Orleans Pelicans are bringing in veteran guard Elfrid Payton on a training camp deal, sources told ESPN on Thursday afternoon.
Payton, 30, is from the New Orleans area and played college basketball at the University of Louisiana, just a two-hour drive west.
He last played in the NBA in 2021-22 when he spent time with the Phoenix Suns. He spent time last season with the G-League’s Indiana Mad Ants.
He previously played with New Orleans during the 2018-19 season and had perhaps his best NBA season. He averaged 10.6 points and career highs in assists per game (7.6) and rebounds per game (5.2). During the late stage of that season, Payton recorded consecutive games with a triple-double.
Guard Izaiah Brockington also is set to join the Pelicans on a camp deal, sources said.
Brockington played one game with the Pelicans last season and spent time with the team’s G-League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron. He also spent the past two summers with New Orleans’ summer league team.
New Orleans is holding training camp in Nashville this season as renovations are still ongoing at the practice facility in Metairie, Lousiana.
Payton’s and Brockington’s deals were negotiated by agents Darrell Comer and Jim Tanner at Tandem Sports + Entertainment.
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