Report: Pelicans, Ajinca agree to reported 4-year, $20M deal
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The New Orleans Pelicans and free-agent center Alexis Ajinca have agreed to terms on a four-year contract worth a reported $20 million, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Ajinca himself confirmed the new deal - and the length - on Twitter.
I'm very excited to say that I will be a Pelican for 4 more years! I'm so happy to be back home.. Let's win a championship! #TakeFlight
— Alexis Ajinça (@AjincaAlexis42) July 1, 2015
The terms are arguably a bit heavy for a player with Ajinca's limited abilities, but the Frenchman emerged as a solid reserve big man over his last two years in New Orleans.
The 27-year-old averaged 6.5 points and 4.6 rebounds on a True Shooting Percentage of 59.5 this past season, logging more than 14 minutes per game while appearing in a career-high 68 contests.
He's also emerged as one of the game's better offensive rebounders, collecting nearly 12 percent of Pelicans misses while on the court over the last two years.
As the Pelicans strive to surround Anthony Davis - who they just locked up - with as much talent as possible, they'll simply have to hope that an average annual value of $5 million for Ajinca becomes palatable as the salary cap soars with additional television revenue in the coming years.