Herb Jones gets four-year, $54M deal from Pelicans

Herb Jones is sticking around New Orleans on a new longterm contract.

Jones and the Pelicans agreed to a four-year, $54 million deal that was first reported by ESPN’s Senior NBA Writer Adrian Wojnarowski.

ESPN Reporting with @_andrew_lopez: Free agent F Herb Jones has agreed on a new four-year, $54M deal to stay with the Pelicans, his agents Mark Bartelstein and Kieran Piller of @PrioritySports tell ESPN. Pels declined his option on a minimum salary to secure him long-term. pic.twitter.com/Yy35PsuVUR

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2023

The new contract comes one day after the Pelicans declined to the third-year option on Jones’ rookie contract, which was worth $1.8 million. Declining the option year was necessary in order to work out the longterm contract to keep Jones in New Orleans.

Jones has started 135 games in two NBA seasons. He is widely regarded as the best defender on one of the top defensive teams in the league. Last season, New Orleans finished No. 6 in the NBA in defense.