The New Orleans Pelicans and forward Herbert Jones have agreed to a three-year, $68 million contract extension, ESPN reports. With the new agreement, Jones’ contract now spans five years, is worth $97 million total and includes a player option for the 2029-30 season.
Jones, 26, appeared in only 20 games for the Pelicans last season before being sidelined indefinitely in January with a shoulder injury. He underwent surgery in February to repair the injury and was officially shut down for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign.
Jones averaged 10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game.
The fourth-year wing was coming off a career-best season in 2023-24 when he earned first-team All-Defense honors as the only non-center selected to the group. The 6-foot-7 Jones averaged 11.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game for the Pelicans that year while establishing himself as one of the league’s premier perimeter defenders.
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Jones has started in 231 of 240 games played since being selected by New Orleans in the second round of the 2021 NBA Draft. He earned second-team All-Rookie honors back in 2021-22 after emerging as a key defensive anchor and reliable starter in his debut season.
Jones was the SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 as a senior at Alabama, averaging 11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
