The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that the team has signed forwards John Butler and Zylan Cheatham. In a related move, the Pelicans have waived two-way guard Izaiah Brockington. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Butler, 7-2, 174, played one collegiate season at Florida State, where he averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 31 games. During his rookie campaign, Butler led the Seminoles with 33 three-point shots made as he became the first true freshman in school history to lead Florida State in three-point shots made and three-point field goal shooting percentage (.393). In the 2022 NBA 2K Summer League, Butler appeared in four games (two starts) for the Pelicans, averaging 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks while shooting 12-of-16 (.750) from the floor and 6-of-9 (.667) from three-point range.
Cheatham, 6-5, 220, most recently played professionally for the Utah Jazz, appearing in one game. During the 2021-22 NBA season, Cheatham played in four games for New Orleans, averaging 3.0 points, 0.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per contest while shooting .667 from the floor. During the 2022 NBA 2K Summer League, Cheatham played five games with the Milwaukee Bucks posting averages of 6.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.8 steals.
Brockington, 6-4, 196, most recently played collegiately for Iowa State University, earning All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2022 after averaging 16.9 points and 6.8 rebounds, to go along with 1.6 assists and 1.3 steals. Over his four-year collegiate career, Brockington appeared in 125 games for St. Bonaventure, Penn State and Iowa State, averaging 10.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists. New Orleans’ roster now stands at 20 players, including one two-way player.