The New Orleans Pelicans lost 101-105 to Eastern Conference teams, the Raptors, whose record was 14-26 and their winning percentage was just 35 percent, ranking 13th in the West. But compared to the beginning of the season, despite the lack of Zion Williamson's All-Star interior, the Pelicans' overall record is slowly getting better.
With the Pelicans' record this season, it is probably impossible to fight for a playoff ticket, although they are only 1.5 wins away from the 10th Kings in the West, but this team still has many problems, even if it can enter the playoff qualifiers, it is highly likely to be eliminated. However, the Pelicans still seem to want to fight, after all, Zion has not been reimbursed this season, his comeback time has been delayed, but it does not mean that Zion will not play this season, if coupled with the efforts of players such as the outstanding All-Star forward Ingram, the Pelicans may still create a miracle.
In order to change the fate of their western fish belly, the Pelicans are also doing some small reinforcements. According to NBA reporter Shams, the Pelicans now sign a two-way contract with Rockets veteran small forward Gary Clark. Prior to that, Clark signed an unsecured contract with the Pelicans, and when he first joined the Pelicans, Gary Clark first recovered in the development league before returning to the Pelicans first team.
Clark has played in nine games for the Pelicans, averaging 3.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game, shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range. In today's Pelicans' loss to the Raptors, Clark played 16 minutes, 2-of-3 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and contributed 5 points and 3 rebounds, which is already quite good for a role player.
Moving from an unsecured contract to a two-way contract is, for Gary Clark, the equivalent of a contract upgrade. Clark played for the Rockets in the 2018-2019 season, when he worked with star players such as Harden and Paul, and even after Carmelo Anthony was abandoned by the Rockets, Clark and House became the two major rotations on the Rockets' No. 3 position, successfully "replacing" Anthony until the end of that season.
Clark was then cut by the Rockets, and he later played for the 76ers, Magic and other teams for a while before becoming a free agent. This season, the Pelicans were sidelined due to a large number of players affected by injuries and health and safety agreements, and in the case of last resort, the Pelicans also gave Clark a contract to test the lineup, but Clark did not expect clark to successfully stand on the Pelicans in half a month with his own strong strength, and signed a two-way contract, basically locking the rotation position. Another news shows that the Pelicans had to cut guard Jared Harper in order to sign Clark on a two-way contract, which shows the importance this team attaches to Clark.
Clark returned to the NBA and was given the opportunity to enter the rotation and also got a two-way contract that looked good, all based on his strength. In the Rockets, Clark was the 3D wing that D Antoni liked to use, with three points to defend, not yet the ball, and had the experience of working with superstars, such players are very good at finding a home in the league. It is also hoped that Clark can turn the two-way contract into an NBA standard contract and stay with the Pelicans until the end of the season.