On Monday, the New Orleans Pelicans announced that they signed second-round pick and former Alabama Crimson Tide forward Herbert Jones to a contract.
Jones, who was the 35th overall pick, reportedly signed a three-year contract with the final season as a team option, according to Will Guillory of The Athletic. It was later reported by Andrew Lopez of ESPN that the contract will be worth roughly $5.4 million.
The contract is the second-largest ever signed by a second-round pick.
The 6-foot-8 standout was named the 2021 SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 11.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He became just the third player in conference history to win both honors in the same season.
Congrats to Herbert Jones on inking the the second-largest contract ever signed by 2nd round @NBADraft pick‼️
📰 https://t.co/jvp9z8UOLa#RollTide | #BuiltByBama https://t.co/Nn1VsSZSij
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) August 16, 2021
Jones signed amidst a solid showing in the Las Vegas Summer League.
He is averaging 7.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals on 42.4% shooting from the field heading into the Pelicans’ final game on Tuesday. Jones turned in his best game of the week on Sunday, registering 10 points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and one assist.
The Pelicans certainly valued the addition of Jones after handing him the second-largest contract for a second-round pick. He projects to give the team depth in the frontcourt as they have added several young players to the roster recently.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[lawrence-related id=37354,37328,37320]
[mm-video type=video id=01fc9gy6kez7nygwjpdq playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fc9gy6kez7nygwjpdq/01fc9gy6kez7nygwjpdq-f281abfc3a2bff6d4c53f6a5f8e47220.jpg]
[listicle id=36659]