Former Razorback Michael Qualls’ planned summer league opportunity won’t become a reality this week.
The 6-foot-5 guard is not on the New Orleans Pelicans’ summer league roster despite agreeing to a deal last week to play for the team in the July 8-18 Las Vegas session, according to Pelicans.com writer Jim Eichenhofer. Qualls did not return calls about his summer-league plans.
Rosters routinely change leading up to summer league games, with players who are actually signed with the respective teams being exceptions. Qualls, a Louisiana native, would have had a chance to impress and potentially earn an invite to training camp with a strong showing in Vegas.
Instead, it appears he will continue to search for a shot to get into the league. He went undrafted in 2015 after tearing an ACL in a pre-draft workout with the Phoenix Suns. The Oklahoma City Thunder signed Qualls during the summer, then allocated him to their D-League team, the Oklahoma City Blue, after waiving him in October.
Qualls averaged 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds as a junior for the Razorbacks and was projected to be picked in the second round prior to sustaining the knee injury.
Fellow former Arkansas standout Bobby Portis, a teammate of Qualls', is expected to play for the Chicago Bulls' summer league team in Vegas. Portis was a first-round of the Bulls in 2015 and played regularly as a rookie.