The New Orleans Pelicans signed former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Dante Cunningham to a one year minimum contract after his felony domestic violence charges from last April were dropped. Cunningham was charged last April with felony domestic assault after his girlfriend at the time accused him of choking her and slamming her head against a wall. She also accused him of sending her threatening messages, but the charge was dropped in August after an investigation uncovered inconsistencies in the woman’s story. Cunningham’s contract with the Timberwolves expired at the end of the 2014 season, making him a free-agent. Teams considered him to be “blacklisted” because of his pending domestic violence charges in the wake of the Ray Rice scandal.
Cunningham urged authorities to pursue charges against Miryah Herron for making false allegations, but Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman told The Associated Press in October he was reluctant to do so in part because of the message it could send to victims of domestic violence.
“To what extent all of this impacts his livelihood in the future, I hope it doesn’t,” Freeman told The AP at the time. “I hope he can go forward and play basketball.”
Cunningham’s agent, Joel Bell, has worked to try to help his client clear his name. But it’s taken some time.
The Pelicans could use the front court help behind Anthony Davis and Ryan Anderson, and Cunningham has the ability to play both the power forward and small forward positions. This could be the kind of low-cost, high reward signing that can push the Pelicans over the playoff hump.
Hearing Pelicans are getting Dante Cunningham on a one-year minimum deal. Good bargain potential
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 4, 2014
h/t Associated Press