The Pelicans signed in advance Julian Rees to the bilateral agreement, according to Art official transaction log on NBA.com.
As we noted today, when we summed up New Orleans’ offseason actionthe team had an open two-way slot nearby Jaron Pierre Jr and Malik Hetherefore, no corresponding roster movement is needed to make room for Reese. The Pelicans now have a full 21-man offseason roster, with 15 players on standard contracts, three on two-way deals and three on non-guaranteed Supplement 9 contracts.
A four-year college player at the University of Maryland, Reese went undrafted in 2025 after playing alongside current Pelicans big man Derrick Quinn as a senior. He spent most of the 2025/26 season in the G League with the Raptors 905 before signing a two-way contract with the Wizards in late February.
Brother of three-time WNBA All-Star Angel ReeseJulian played a big role for the tanking Wizards late last season, averaging 11.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.9 minutes per contest in 13 games (10 starts). The 23-year-old also played 41 times in the NBAGL for Toronto and Washington’s G-League affiliates, averaging 8.7 ppg, 7.4 ppg and 1.0 ppg at 18.3 mpg.
Reese was traded from Washington to Denver in a five-team August Peyton Watson in fact, it was refused by the Nuggets about a week later, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Reese’s two-way contract will entitle him to appear in 50 regular season games for the Pelicans. He will make $678,882 on the deal, assuming he remains under contract through the league’s guaranteed salary date in January.
