Former Razorback Michael Qualls will have a shot at his breakthrough moment into the NBA this summer.
Qualls, a Louisiana native, agreed to a deal to play for the New Orleans Pelicans’ summer league team, which will play July 8-18 in Las Vegas in the largest of the NBA’s three summer leagues.
Shreveport native and 6-5 SG Michael Qualls (played for Arkansas in college) will play for New Orleans in summer league #PelicanState
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) June 28, 2016
Qualls declared for the 2015 NBA Draft after averaging 15.9 points and 5.3 rebounds as a junior. His size, tremendous athleticism and development as a shooter made him a potential “3-and-D” prospect in the NBA, which led to a second-round projection by most draft pundits. But he went undrafted after tearing his ACL during 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.