close
close

Former Ohio State forward EJ Liddell traded to Atlanta Hawks – Buckeye Sports Bulletin

Theo

Former Ohio State forward EJ Liddell was traded Friday from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Atlanta Hawks in a major deal that sent star point guard Dejounte Murray to New Orleans. The trade also allowed New Orleans to send two first-round picks as well as forward Larry Nance Jr. and point guard Dyson Daniels to Atlanta in exchange for Murray.

Liddell, selected by the Pelicans with the 41st overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft, has had a difficult start to his career, slowed significantly by injuries. Just two days after making his rookie debut for New Orleans in a 2022 NBA Summer League game, Liddell suffered a torn ACL on July 11, 2022, forcing him to undergo reconstructive surgery later that month and miss his entire rookie season.

Liddell fully recovered from his injury during this season, and finally returned to the court as a full participant last summer for the Pelicans’ Summer League team. His successful recovery allowed him to land a three-year, $6.2 million contract with the franchise on July 4, 2023.

“I’m blessed, man,” Liddell said a day after signing his contract. “How far I’ve come. Like last month, I couldn’t play five-on-five, but now I can. It’ll be almost a year now since the last time I played, so I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited.”

Despite his new contract and his status as the Pelicans’ best Summer League player, Liddell didn’t see much of a presence on the court in his first healthy NBA season. He only played eight games for the franchise, spending most of his time with the Pelicans’ G-League affiliate Birmingham Squadron, totaling just four points, five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist in 23 games. minutes of play in the NBA.

Liddell appeared in 26 games for the squad and made 18 starts, averaging 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 blocks per game.

Liddell, who was a two-time All-Big Ten player for Ohio State while averaging 14.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists for the program from 2019-22, will now look to rejuvenate his NBA career and carve out a backup role on the Hawks’ roster for the 2024-25 regular season. Atlanta is loaded with young talent at forward for next year, however, with starters Saddiq Bay, De’Andre Hunter and Jalen Johnson all expected to return.

Click for PDFimage_printClick to print

Related Posts