NBA sharpshooter Matt Ryan will be looking for a new team heading into the 2024-25 season. The New Orleans Pelicans, a Western Conference contender, have waived Ryan.
NBA Shams Charania, an insider for The Athletic, shared the news via Twitter/X.
Sources: The New Orleans Pelicans are parting ways with forward Matt Ryan. Ryan averaged 5.4 points and shot 45.1 percent from three-point range in 13 minutes per game in 28 games for the Pelicans last season. pic.twitter.com/gbc2bZCRkK
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 23, 2024
The Pelicans had a team option on his contract for the 2025-26 season. By waiving Ryan, New Orleans will leave its 15th roster spot open. They recently signed wing/guard Javonte Green.
Ryan spent the 2023-24 season with the Pelicans, where he averaged 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from three-point range. The 26-year-old played in 28 games for the Pelicans after being claimed off waivers and subsequently signing a two-way contract.
Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images
After the season, the Pelicans signed Ryan to a standard contract in April 2024.
Ryan’s basketball journey has been quite the journey. He began his college career at Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.
After Ryan’s sophomore season at Vanderbilt, he transferred to Chattanooga, where he averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.6 minutes per game in 33 games.
Ryan was not drafted in 2020 NBA After being selected in the draft and the COVID-19 pandemic limiting his prospects, he did not earn a spot in the G League bubble in 2020-21.
He eventually had to work for DoorDash and UberEats while coaching a local basketball team. Ryan also worked at a cemetery in Yonkers, New York. He got his first chance with the Cavaliers during the 2021 season. NBA Summer League. In February 2022, he signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics and averaged 20.4 points in 14 games for the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ G League affiliate during the 2021–22 G League season.
After his stint with the Celtics, the Lakers took off. Ryan played in 12 games, averaging 3.9 points per game, 1.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 10.8 minutes per game, while shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range. The highlight of his season came early in the season when he hit a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at the buzzer against the Pelicans, giving the Lakers a 120–117 overtime victory.
After his brief stint with the Lakers, he signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the remainder of the 2022-23 season before signing with the Pelicans at the start of the 2023-24 season.
It’s not yet known who and where Ryan will land in the upcoming season.
