 DEVONTE GRAHAM TRADED TO NEW ORLEANS PELICANS 8-3-21 DEVONTE GRAHAM SIGNS $47 MILLION CONTRACT WITH NEW ORLEANS OF THE NBA Three days after Charlotte drafted UConn guard James Bouknight, crowding the Hornets’ backcourt even further than it already was, team GM Mitch Kupchak announced the Hornets had made a qualifying offer to free agent guard Devonte’ Graham. One day after that, Graham was traded to New Orleans as part of a sign-and-trade deal that will send Graham to the Pelicans and a lottery-protected 2022 first-round pick to Charlotte. ESPN’s Adrian Wojarnowski was the first to report Monday's trade. As part of the deal, Graham, 26, agreed to a new four-year, $47 million contract. The Pelicans were in need of backcourt help after 2020-21 starter Lonzo Ball agreed to a massive contract with Chicago earlier in the day. In New Orleans, Graham will join a young core that features star forwards Zion Williamson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2019, and Brandon Ingram, the No. 2 pick in 2016. The Pelicans finished 31-41 last season, just missing out on a spot in the postseason play-in tournament. Regardless of where he's playing, Graham's approach to the game has not changed from his days at Kansas. “At the end of the day, everybody has a role and you just have to go out, maximize it and bring what you bring to the table,” he said during exit interviews following the season, according to Charlotte's team website. “Whatever role it is that I have to play, I can play that role. People who know me know that I’m not a big ego guy, that I have to be starting or this and that. I feel like I’m going to be on the court playing meaningful minutes regardless and helping the team. I don’t let my ego or pride get in the way. It’s all about winning.” Graham just wrapped up his third season with Charlotte, averaging 14.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 30.2 minutes per game while appearing in 55 games. Graham ranked 14th in the NBA last season in total 3-pointers made, knocking down 179 shots from 3-point range, making him just the second player in franchise history with 175+ 3-point field goals in consecutive seasons. The former Kansas All-American also finished 15th among all NBA players in real plus-minus (3.88), an ESPN-generated metric that estimates “on-court impact on team performance, measured in net point differential per 100 offensive and defensive possession, [while taking] into account teammates, opponents and additional factors.” Selected with the 34th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft, Charlotte acquired Graham via a draft night trade with the Atlanta Hawks on July 21, 2018. Graham has played in 164 career games — with 100 starts — and holds career averages of 13.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. In just three seasons with the Hornets, Graham has made 431 3-pointers, which already ranks sixth all-time in franchise history. Graham's former KU teammate, Svi Mykhailiuk, also received a qualifying offer from the Oklahoma City Thunder, making him a restricted free agent, as well. A former second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mykhailiuk started the 2020-21 season in Detroit before being traded to OKC. With the Thunder, Mykhailiuk averaged 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game in 30 appearances. KU/KSU FIGHT 1-21-2020 Devonte Graham high point man for the Charlotte Hornets 35 POINTS, 29 Points, 24 points 10-2019 Josh Jackson of the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzles and Devonte Graham CHARLOTTE HORNETS Devonte Graham high point man for the Charlotte Hornets 35 POINTS, 29 Points, 24 points 10-2019 Devonte Graham 2017-2018 Season Highlights ᴴᴰ | Kansas | 17.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, 4.0 RPG Kansas take down Duke to advance to the Final Four (2017) Kansas vs Kentucky - Full Game Highlights KANSAS JAYHAWKS: 2018 BIG 12 TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS 7-4-19 facebook article If you follow the NBA at all, whether for the superstars and sensational storylines or the former Jayhawks scattered throughout the league, you surely know by now that some pretty big things went down on Sunday evening. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn. Kemba Walker to Boston. Al Horford to Philadelphia. D’Angelo Russell to Golden State. Jimmy Butler to Miami. And a dozen or so more free agent commitments that figure to reshape the immediate future of the NBA as we know it. While all of those names and moves made headlines because of their star power and potential impact on the 2020 NBA title, one of them had an impact on a former Jayhawk that should be pretty significant by the time the 2019-20 season rolls around. Walker’s departure from Charlotte opens the door for former KU All-American Devonte’ Graham to step into a much bigger role with the Hornets during his second season in the league. Graham, you probably recall, spent most of his rookie season bouncing back and forth between Charlotte and the Hornets’ G League affiliate, playing solid but spotty minutes with the big club while absolutely crushing the competition at the G League level every time he went down. That experience surely helped Graham (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) develop his pro game and also likely boosted his confidence. It’s one thing to drop 30-point-game after 30-point-game in college. It’s something completely different to do that — and more — against professionals. Graham’s path to big time minutes is not completely clear, however. In response to losing Walker to free agency, the Hornets signed former Boston point guard Terry Rozier to a 3-year, $58 million deal, presumably with the idea of handing Rozier the keys to the Charlotte offense for the 2019-20 season. Interesting move to be sure. And one that Graham could both benefit from and be hindered by in the months ahead. Rozier, you might not know, is a fourth-year NBA vet out of Louisville (2015 Draft, No. 16 overall pick) who, like Graham thus far, spent the early days of his professional career bouncing back and forth between the NBA and the G League with Boston. Last season, as the primary backup to Irving with the Celtics, Rozier (6-1, 190) averaged 9 points, 2.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game while making just over $3 million for the 2018-19 season. Those numbers are noteworthy because they’re not all that different from what Graham gave the Hornets if you factor in the money. Graham, who last season made $988,000 during the first of a three-year, $4 million contract with Charlotte, averaged 4.7 points, 2.6 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 14.3 minutes per game over 46 games. So here’s where the Hornets sit. Instead of handing the job to Graham after what amounts to less than half a season in the NBA, they went out and paid major money to a guy with more experience. Right move? Wrong move? It’s hard to know. And it’s hard to blame them for doing something other than just giving the job to Graham. There’s no doubt that the former Jayhawk has what it takes to play at that level. But to do it as the primary point guard for 82 games with half a season of experience is a big jump for any rookie to make. At $1.4 million this year, Graham certainly seems like the better value option for the Hornets. But they had to sign someone to handle the job with him. Maybe they overpaid for Rozier. Maybe Rozier’s a star in the making. Maybe Graham will win the job — eventually — and make Rozier’s monster contract even more of a head-scratcher than it already is. Maybe. But that’s too many maybes for an NBA team that’s trying to compete and build itself into a contender. So don’t look at the Rozier signing as a slight to Graham. Look at Walker’s decision to move on as the break Graham needed. His minutes should go up this season. And he should have a real chance to crack the rotation on a regular basis. What he does from there is up to him. But if Rozier’s career path — and its similarities to Graham’s — are any indication of what’s possible, Graham should be completely content with the position he’s in and hungrier than ever. In two or three more years, that type of contract could be his. GO BACK | ||