Stroll into the Smoothie King Center home locker room these days and you may see a fairly unusual sight: New Orleans rookie wing Bryce Dejean-Jones sitting in front of his stall, writing slowly on a notepad with his left hand. The Iowa State product has been sidelined since Feb. 23 with a broken right wrist, ending his 2015-16 season just as it was showing considerable promise, and preventing him short-term from being able to do the simplest tasks with his shooting hand.
The good news is, after signing a multi-year contract with the Pelicans, Dejean-Jones is expected to be ready for July summer league and will be a player to watch in Las Vegas. He excelled there last summer and would’ve made New Orleans’ October opening-night roster if not for rampant injuries that forced the Pelicans to use precious roster spots on point guards.
Dejean-Jones was initially re-signed to a 10-day contract in January by New Orleans. In a surprise start Jan. 28 vs. Sacramento (14 points, three three-pointers, two steals) - his first in the NBA - he was outstanding, then remained in the first unit until his season-ending injury. The shooting guard showed a range of abilities, making him an intriguing prospect in the future.
“He surprised a lot of us,” said Pelicans assistant coach Phil Weber, who has worked closely with the first-year pro. “We felt he was pretty good, but he jumped up and had some good games for us.
“He had such a good summer league and we liked him. Us bringing him back, we feel he can do things both offensively and defensively. We’re going to focus on all aspects of his game. We need players that are two-way players, and Bryce is a two-way player right now. He’s young and his maturity will grow. We’re excited to have a young player in the system that potentially could become a solid rotation guy.”
In his month-plus of NBA playing time, Dejean-Jones found the league perhaps more conducive to his style of play. Instead of seeing clogged lanes like in the NCAA, he was able to find more space to operate and use his athleticism to defend and finish fast breaks.
“It’s more wide-open, faster-paced than college,” he said. “But you’re playing against great players every night. It’s the highest level. It’s a lot more exciting game.
“A lot of teams in college play a 2-3 zone, or 1-3-1. They just sit in the paint and make teams shoot jumpers the whole game. You get more opportunities here to drive to the basket. In college, the defense is already there waiting for you when you drive. Here in the NBA, it’s more guys jumping with you to try to block your shot.”
Pelicans coaches were impressed by Dejean-Jones’ ability to step onto the floor as an undrafted rookie and immediately play confidently (averaged 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, shot 37.5 percent on three-pointers). He has the tools and skill to be an impact player at the defensive end, a needed trait on a New Orleans team ranking in the bottom tier of efficiency.
“He wasn’t affected by the moment,” Weber said. “He made some big shots and helped us win some games. He’s a basketball player – he has an innate knack for getting his hands on the ball, coming up with strips, one or two a game. The potential is there. We were very pleased with what he did in the minutes he got.”
In a case of terrible luck that has typified the Pelicans’ season, it was a defensive-effort play that caused Dejean-Jones’ broken wrist, as he soared to try to block a shot vs. Philadelphia. Although the injury has sidetracked his progress, he’s looking forward to his offseason work once he’s cleared for basketball activity.
“I’ll be working on my whole game, all parts,” he said. “When I got to play I tried to do whatever I could to help the team win on both ends of the court. What happened was an unfortunate situation, because I was looking forward to keeping improving and working toward next season.”