Hornets Sign Donald Sloan to 10-Day Contract

Published: January 7, 2013

From the team:

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed guard Donald Sloan to a 10-day contract. .

Sloan most recently played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA Development League, where he appeared in two contests and averaged 22.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 36.5 minutes per game. The Texas A&M product appeared in 20 regular games earlier this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers before being waived on December 25. Sloan averaged 4.1 points, 1.9 assists and 1.4 rebounds in just under 13 minutes per game. Sloan was originally signed by Cleveland on March 16, 2012.

Sloan appeared in 33 games during the 2011-12 season, including three appearances for the Hornets. During his stint in New Orleans, Sloan averaged 4.0 points, 2.7 assists and 1.0 rebounds in 13.7 minutes per game. He also made appearances with the Hawks and the Cavaliers last season.

The 6’3” guard played nine games (all starts) for the Erie Bayhawks of the NBA D-League last season, averaging 20.6 points, 6.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 35.2 minutes of play. Born in Shreveport, LA, Sloan has appeared in 59 games (43 starts) in the D-League, with career averages of 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists.

Sloan, who grew up in the Dallas area, was a first-team Big 12 Conference selection his senior season at Texas A&M, averaging 17.8 points.

Sloan’s stats, per Basketball Reference, show a guard that has improved his play, but is by no means a diamond in the rough. His TS% of 0.455, his rate in Cleveland this season and his best to date, is in the lower quarter of the NBA. He has shown the ability to assist without unduly turning the ball over (AST%/TO% around 2 in time with Cleveland and with the Hawks).

82games shows him to be a decent jump shooter, relatively speaking, and shows that he has assisted for 3 point shots more than other shots. These are perhaps the skills that made him attractive.

He’s been used as a combo guard, and this will likely continue.

This signing brings the Hornets Roster to 14, with Miller inactive in the D-League. Sloan’s deal keeps him with the team through the team’s visit to Boston on January 16th.

Sloan can be signed by the Hornets to another 10-day contract at any point following this one. After that, they must sign him for the rest of the season if they want to retain his services.

Also, the Hornets can have only one 10-day contract per inactive player, thus Miller in the D-League is essential for this process to happen without another Hornet missing time.

On January 10, all non-guaranteed deals for the season become guaranteed through the end of this season. The Hornets players with non-guaranteed deals at this point are Roberts and Thomas. The Sloan signing could indicate the potential to potential release of Roberts, as has been mentioned by Michael McNamara.