Pelicans sign Fredette with hardship exception

The New Orleans Pelicans have signed guard Jimmer Fredette under the hardship exception granted by the NBA, the team announced Tuesday.

The exception allows a team with four or more players who are sick or injured for three or more consecutive games to add a 16th player to its roster. The contract is non-guaranteed, according to ESPN's Ian Begley.

The Pelicans - who are without Tyreke Evans, Norris Cole, Omer Asik, and Kendrick Perkins due to an assortment of ailments - qualify for the exception, as per the NBA/NBPA collective bargaining agreement.

Fredette, 26, was a member of the Pelicans during the 2014-15 campaign. In 50 games, he averaged 3.6 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

Known as a sharpshooter - due in large part to his collegiate success at BYU - the 10th pick in 2011 cashed in only 18.8 percent of his 3-point attempts last year (after hitting 47.6 percent the season prior).

Fredette bounced around the league after the Sacramento Kings - the team that drafted the 6-foot-2 guard - bought him out in February 2014. Shortly after parting ways with the Kings, he signed with the Chicago Bulls.

His stay in the Windy City was short-lived - playing in only eight games - and he signed with the Pelicans after the 2013-14 season.

After signing with the San Antonio Spurs in July, Fredette was waived by the 2014 champs.

Fredette was the second pick in the 2015-16 NBA D-League draft on Oct. 31, taken by the New York Knicks' affiliate based in Westchester.

When one of the Pelicans' sick or injured players becomes eligible to play, the team must release its 16th player. But said player doesn't have to be the one acquired via the exception; any player can be cut in order to satisfy the 15-player limit.