Free agent wing Jamal Cain has agreed to a two-way deal with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojanrowski of ESPN reports (Twitter link). He spent the first two seasons of his career with the Heat.
Cain, 25, appeared in 44 games with the Heat from 2022-24, averaging 4.4 points and 2.0 rebounds. He’s impressed in limited stints with Miami, averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 boards in a three-game win streak in 2022/23 as well as recording 18 points and six rebounds in a win over the Warriors in ’23/24.
The 6’6″ guard/forward played the first four seasons of his collegiate career for Marquette before transferring to Oakland. After going undrafted in 2022, he joined the Heat and earned a two-way contract.
While he played sparingly for the Heat in the regular season, he saw much more playing time in Summer League, preseason and the G League in Miami’s system. He averaged 10.9 points across nine games in two seasons with Miami in preseason games and then averaged 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 steals on 54.0/37.2/81.5 shooting splits in two years with the Skyforce.
Cain angled for a standard contract last offseason but didn’t ultimately receive one before re-upping with Miami on a two-way deal. Facing a roster crunch with their young two-way players, Cain didn’t ultimately receive a promotion from his two-way deal over the two seasons he spent with the Heat. After the Heat filled out all three of their two-way spots early in free agency and filled out their regular roster, it was clear Cain wouldn’t be returning.
Now, the Pelicans land a productive wing who spent two years in Miami’s successful development program. As our two-way contract tracker for 2024/25 shows, the Pelicans only have one such spot filled — with Malcolm Hill occupying a spot. For what it’s worth, No. 47 overall pick Antonio Reeves hasn’t signed his rookie contract with the Pelicans, so it’s possible he will fill one of those two open spots alongside Cain.
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