Former KU guard Devonté Graham acquired by Pelicans. He nets lucrative 4-year deal

Former Kansas Jayhawks point guard Devonté Graham, who spent his first three years in the NBA with the Charlotte Hornets, has been acquired by the New Orleans Pelicans in a sign-and-trade deal, ESPN reported on Monday night.

New Orleans sent its 2022 lottery-protected first-round draft pick to Charlotte for the 26-year-old Graham, who will earn $47 million over four years, as reported to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski by Graham’s agents, Austin Brown and Ty Sullivan.

Graham — he averaged 14.8 points and 5.4 assists per game last season after averaging 18.2 points and 7.5 assists per contest in 2019-20 — started 44 of 55 games a year ago. He started 53 of 63 games in 2019-20.

Graham’s role changed a bit last season after the Hornets drafted guard LaMelo Ball with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

The Hornets on Sunday extended a qualifying offer (worth $4.7 million) to Graham, which made him a restricted free agent. As a restricted free agent, the Hornets could have kept Graham by matching the Pelicans’ offer. Instead the teams agreed to the trade.

Graham, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, who played four years at Kansas (2015-18), was selected by Charlotte in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft. ESPN reported that Graham, who hit 37.5% of his threes last season, “could step into a starting role in New Orleans to replace Lonzo Ball, who agreed to a deal with the Chicago Bulls.”

Graham joins a backcourt that includes Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kira Lewis. The Pelicans start Brandon Ingram at small forward, Zion Williamson at power forward and Jonas Valanciunas at center.