Former Boston Celtics guard Jaden Springer has found a new NBA home. The 23-year-old guard agreed to join the New Orleans Pelicans, filling the team’s final roster spot for the 2025-26 season.
Springer spent the end of the 2024-25 season, as well as the NBA Summer League, with the Utah Jazz, who waived him last week before his non-guaranteed contract became guaranteed.
In 17 appearances for the Jazz, Springer averaged just 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in about 13.2 minutes per game. His shooting splits weren’t all that efficient at just 41.1% from the field and 20.7% from beyond the arc.
Despite being one of the more experienced players in Vegas this summer, Springer struggled to stand out, likely serving as the final straw for him in Utah.
The former Tennessee standout landed with the Jazz after the Celtics traded him to the Houston Rockets, where he was waived before even playing a game.
Meanwhile, the Cs saved themselves roughly $15 million in luxury tax dollars by dumping the young guard for a second-round pick at the trade deadline.
The tax relief was ultimately more valuable to them than Springer, who saw very little opportunity during his time with the Cs. Boston’s guard rotation was simply too deep for him to earn minutes, and even so, his jumpshot just wasn’t reliable enough for him to hold a role. There just wasn’t a world where Springer would’ve been playing over Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard.
Though the minutes weren’t there, no one will be able to take away the ring that Springer earned as a member of the 2023-24 NBA Championship team.
Is there a chance that Springer sees more opportunity in New Orleans?
Maybe.
The Pelicans do have plenty of guards, including first-round pick Jeremiah Fears, Jordan Poole, Jose Alverado, and Dejounte Murray, who is recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered against the Celtics on January 31.
With Murray likely sidelined for the early months of the upcoming season, there could be more opportunity for Springer to earn playing time.
Again, he’s going to have show improvement as a jumpshooter in order to do so, despite being an exciting defender. Through four NBA seasons, Springer has made just 23.8% of his three-point attempts on an extremely low volume. It’s difficult to find minutes in the NBA with that efficiency, unless you’re seven feet tall.
There are just so many talented guards in the league today. Someone like Springer can’t afford to have a glaring weakness, like shooting, if they want to be a regular rotation player.
With that being said, New Orleans must have something in mind for him, considering that they signed him so quickly after he was waived. These first few months of the season, while Murray is out, will likely be do-or-die territory for Springer.