NBA Sharpshooter Matt Ryan Waived By Western Conference Contender

NBA sharpshooter Matt Ryan will look for a new team as the 2024-25 season approaches. The New Orleans Pelicans, a Western Conference contender, have waived Ryan.

NBA insider for The Athletic, Shams Charania, shared the news via Twitter/X.

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Sources: The New Orleans Pelicans are waiving wing shooter Matt Ryan. Ryan averaged 5.4 points and shot 45.1 percent from 3-point range in 13 minutes a night over 28 games for Pelicans last season. pic.twitter.com/gbc2bZCRkK

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 23, 2024

The Pelicans had a team option on his contract for the 2025-26 season. By waiving Ryan, New Orleans will leave their 15th spot open. They recently signed small forward/ shooting guard Javonte Green to a contract.

Ryan spent the 2023-24 season with the Pelicans, where he averaged 5.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.6 assists while shooting 43.4 percent from the field and 45.1 percent from three. The 26-year-old played 28 games for the Pelicans after he was claimed off waivers and subsequently signed to a two-way contract.

After the season, the Pelicans signed Ryan to a standard contract in April 2024.

Ryan’s basketball journey has been quite the ride. He started his college career at Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

After Ryan’s sophomore season at Vanderbilt, he transferred to Chattanooga, where he averaged 15.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 30.6 minutes per game in 33 games.

Ryan went undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft, and after the COVID-19 pandemic limited his prospects, he did not land a spot in the G League’s bubble in 2020-21.

Ultimately, he resorted to working for DoorDash and UberEats while coaching a grassroots basketball team. Ryan also worked at a cemetery in Yonkers, New York. He got his first shot with the Cavaliers during the 2021 NBA Summer League. In Feb. 2022, he signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics and averaged 20.4 points in 14 games for the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics G League affiliate in the 2021-22 G League season.

After his stint with the Celtics, the Lakers took a flyer on him. Ryan played in 12 games, where he averaged 3.9 points per game, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in 10.8 minutes per game while shooting 30.6 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three. The highlight of his season came early in the season when he hit a corner three to tie the game at the regulation buzzer against the Pelicans, which gave the Lakers the win in overtime, 120-117.

After his brief stint with the Lakers, he signed a two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves for the rest of the 2022-23 season before he signed with the Pelicans at the start of the 2023-24 season.

It’s unclear who and where Ryan will land in the upcoming season.