Tragedy struck the NBA and New Orleans Pelicans when 23-year-old Bryce Dejean-Jones died from a gunshot wound while visiting his girlfriend in Dallas back on May 28.
Dejean-Jones debuted for the Pelicans in January of this year. He played 14 games last season.
To honor his life, the Pelicans summer league team wore a patch on its uniforms this week that read “BDJ.” On Friday, Dejean-Jones' mother, Franchesca, was in Las Vegas to watch them play their final game.
From John Reid of NOLA.com:
“He had a three-year deal with us and it was really an unfortunate tragic thing that happened, but we felt like he was going to contribute and he had started to play great,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said on NBA-TV. “He had 17 points and six assists against the Lakers and everybody wants to play great against them when you are a L.A. kid, so it's unfortunate. I thought he was on his way climbing the ladder and being an consistent NBA player.”
Dejean-Jones may very well have had a bright future in this league. After getting two 10-day contracts, he signed a three-year deal.
Tragic is the only way to describe the situation surrounding Dejean-Jones. It means a lot that the Pelicans franchise is already doing a good job honoring him during summer league.
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