Inside The Huskies

Keion Brooks Gets His NBA Shot, Added to New Orleans Roster

The former UW forward went undrafted after spending two seasons in Montlake.
Dan Raley|
Former Husky Keion Brooks Jr. has been elevated from the G League to play for the NBA's New Orleans franchise.
Former Husky Keion Brooks Jr. has been elevated from the G League to play for the NBA's New Orleans franchise. | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Keion Brooks Jr., patiently waiting his turn in the G League for a better opportunity to present itself, has signed a two-way contract with the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans, a team badly in need of some healthy reinforcements.

The former University of Washington standout gets his chance to play at basketball's highest level after averaging 18 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists over 20 games for the G League's Birmingham Squadron.

A 6-foot-7 forward originally from Indiana, Brooks will join a Pelicans roster that counts another former Husky in starting shooting guard Dejounte Murray.

Brooks went undrafted this past summer after playing two seasons at the UW following three at Kentucky.

New Orleans has been greatly hampered by a rash of injuries that have involved nearly every major figure on the roster, including Zion Williamson, who returned just this week from a hamstring issue. Murray, for that matter, missed several games with a hand injury early in the season.

As a result, the Pelicans own a dismal 7-31 season record -- second worst in the NBA to the Washington Wizards' 6-29 showing -- entering Friday night's game in Philadelphia.

Brooks' two-way contract will pay him a daily rate that depends on whether he's with New Orleans or sent back down to the G League and Birmingham. He can do this for 50 games before the NBA franchise either has to sign him to a conventional contract or let go of his rights.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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