Matkovic agreed to a three-year, $4.9 million contract with the Pelicans on Sunday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Selected by the Pelicans with the No. 52 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Matkovic spent most of the last two seasons in Europe before joining New Orleans' G League affiliate, the Birmingham Squadron, this past February. He appeared in 10 games for Birmingham, averaging 17.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. After recording eight points and eight rebounds for the Pelicans in his first outing in the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday, Matkovic has now been formally added to the club's 15-man roster after signing a contract, which includes a team option for 2026-27. Matkovic could find his way into the rotation for a new-look Pelicans squad that wasn't able to retain two key frontcourt players in Jonas Valanciunas and Naji Marshall in free agency.