The Pelicans have the NBA signing rights for New Zealand s backcourt star. Will he join the team next season?

According to ESPN reporter Shams Charania, the Indiana Pacers and the New Orleans Pelicans reached a deal. The Pacers traded the No. 23rd first-round pick and Mojave King's signing rights in the NBA this year's NBA draft to the Pelicans, and exchanged their first-round pick in 26 years from the Pelicans. After the completion of this deal, the Pelicans now have the 7th pick in the first round and the 23rd pick in the first round in this year's NBA Draft.

Among them, it is worth noting that King, who is born in June 2002, is 23 years old, 196cm tall and weighs 88kg. He is the 47th pick in the second round of the 2023 NBA Draft. King once represented the Pacers in the NBA Summer League last summer. He played 5 games in the NBA Summer League, averaging 9.7 minutes per game, averaging 4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.2 steals, and 0.2 blocks, as well as 0.4 turnovers and 0.4 fouls, shooting percentage of 31.6%, three-point shooting percentage of 27.3%, and free throw shooting percentage of 83.3%. King's performance in the summer league was very bad. His scoring ability and shooting ability were not displayed. His offensive efficiency was a mess, and his performance on the defensive end also lacked highlights. Therefore, he has never been able to get a contract from an NBA team.

Last season, King played for the Pacers' NBA's development league subordinate team. He played for the team in total, with averaging 8.9 minutes per game, averaging 3.9 points, 0.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals and 0.2 blocks, and 0.3 turnovers and 0.7 fouls. He shot 38.1%, shot 27.3% from three-pointers and 33.3% from free throws. King's performance in the NBA Development League is also very disappointing. His various statistics are even worse than when he ignited the team in the 2022-23 season, which is also an important factor in why he is not even able to appear in the NBA Development League this season.

This season, King has played in the Australian NBL, Puerto Rico League and New Zealand NBL. In the Australian NBL field, he played 17 times for the New Zealand Swaggers, averaging 19.6 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers and 1.5 fouls. He shot 42.7% from the field, 32.9% from three-point shooting percentage and 91.7% from free throws. In the Puerto Rico League this season, King played 7 times for Cangrejeros de Santurce, averaging 25 minutes per game, averaging 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.3 blocks, and 0.6 turnovers and 1.9 fouls. He shot 42.6%, three-point shooting percentage 33.3%, and 90.9% free throw shooting percentage. In the New Zealand NBL field this season, King played 5 times for Whai, averaging 32.6 minutes per game, averaging 19 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1 steal, 0.6 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers and 3 fouls. His shooting percentage was 46.3%, a three-point shooting percentage of 25.9%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 73.7%.

Kim's performance in the relatively fierce Australian NBL and Puerto Rico League are very average, and he has not shown any special talents. His scoring ability is still relatively average, and his contribution to the defensive end is also relatively limited. As for the New Zealand NBL, the strength of this league is already very average, and it is normal for King to show his good scoring ability, not to mention that his offensive efficiency and outside shooting percentage in the New Zealand NBL are not ideal. Of course, King was also a player with great potential at the time, which should be an important factor in the Pacers' choice to select him in the draft even though he performed poorly in the NBA Development League. I don’t know if he can get the chance to enter the NBA after the signing rights are traded to the Pelicans.