New Orleans Pelicans land Devonte' Graham in sign-and-trade with Charlotte Hornets

According to Graham's agents Ty Sullivan and Austin Brown, the New Orleans Pelicans have signed a deal with ESPN to acquire Devonte' Graham, a Charlotte Hornets restricted free agent.This deal is worth $47 Million over four years.Sources claim that New Orleans will send Charlotte its protected first-round lottery pick in 2022,Graham was the odd man out at Charlotte's point guard game, where Terry Rozier and LaMelo ball dominated. He now has a fresh start in New Orleans.Graham, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in 2018-19 with the Hornets, scoring 18.2 points per game and providing 7.5 assists in 63 games. He was fifth in the NBA's Most Improved player voting, an award that Brandon Ingram won.Graham was used by the Hornets in a variety different roles, sometimes starting with Rozier or Ball, and other times coming off of the bench late in season. However, his production dropped to 14.8 points per game and 5.4 assists.Graham has never shot above 40% from the field in any of his seasons, but he is a consistent 3-point shooter in the past two seasons with 37.3% in 2019-20 compared to 37.55 in last season. His 218 points from deep two seasons ago was fifth in the NBA.Second Spectrum reports that Graham shot 42.6% last season on catch-and shoot 3-pointers. This was ninth among 62 NBA players who shot at most four catch-and–shoot 3 points per game.Graham's catch-and-shoot 3s went up from 210 to 296 in two years, with Graham shifting more as LaMelo Bal controlled the show.Graham could be asked to take over in New Orleans for Lonzo Ball, after he signed a deal with Chicago Bulls.