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NEW ORLEANS -- Lance Stephenson has made the New Orleans Pelicans 15-man roster for the 2016-17 NBA season.The Pelicans waived small forward Alonzo Gee on Monday, ahead of the NBAs 5 p.m. ET deadline to trim rosters to their regular-season limit, clearing the way for Stephenson.It was a tough decision, Pelicans general manager Dell Demps said. What it came down to was team need. We just felt with Lances ability to play-make, especially with us without Tyreke [Evans] and Jrue [Holiday] to start the season, we felt like we had more of a need for a playmaker, which is why we elected to keep Lance.Gee, who signed a guaranteed one-year deal with New Orleans this summer after opting out of the final year of his contract ahead of free agency, is owed approximately $1.4 million.Asked if the money owed to Gee affected the teams thinking, Demps said, We were doing what was best for the team. Obviously that comes into play, but this was a team decision, a basketball decision.Stephenson split last season between the Clippers and Grizzlies after a subpar 2014-15 season in Charlotte led the Hornets to deal him to Los Angeles in the summer of 2015.?Before training camp, he signed a one-year contract with the Pelicans for a veterans minimum $1.4 million with $100,000 guaranteed, league sources told ESPNs Marc Stein.I love the game, so I just want to play ball, Stephenson said. For me to earn the spot, [I had] to go hard. I dont have to hide nothin. I go hard. I try to prove that every practice, and I try proving it in the games. I just had to earn a spot. And it shows how confident I am in myself. I just try to come in every day and work hard.The 26-year-old enjoyed a breakout season in Indiana in 2013-14, averaging 13.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game ?in helping the 56-win Pacers advance to the Eastern Conference finals. But he left the Pacers in the summer of 2014 to sign a three-year, $27 million deal with Charlotte, only to last one season with the Hornets after it quickly became clear that he wasnt a fit there.Stephenson said Monday that he is motivated to show that he has matured and to clear up misconceptions some may have of him from his six-year tenure in the NBA.Its like being a rookie again, he said. Everybody got this image on me thats a straight lie. So I got to show the teams in person.Coming in my rookie year, you think youre the guy, because you grew up and you were that guy since you were young. Coming into the NBA, everybody is similar to you. Of course I had a big head when I came into the NBA. Now that Im older and I learned the game a little bit more, I know how you control that and know how to show that Im working hard more than coming in and thinking Im that guy.Stephenson averaged 6.8 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game in the preseason for New Orleans.I think that he has the ability to play multiple positions, coach Alvin Gentry said. Hes a good ball handler. Hes a good facilitator. If you have those three skills, you can step in and help a bunch of teams.Kyle Van Noy Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. Nate Ebner Jersey . 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As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener.NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Andre Johnson has been working out every day since March, making sure he would be ready when an NFL team called for the services of the man with the most catches and yards of anyone still playing.He waited a long time before the call finally came.The 13-year veteran jumped on a plane Friday night and flew to Tennessee, making the Titans his third stop in three years in the four-team AFC South. He spent an hour with coaches before going to a hotel and was on the field Saturday for the morning walk-through and the afternoon practice -- the first of training camp.Its a new kind of whirlwind for the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver.Ive never been in a position where I got a phone call and was told to get on a flight at six oclock and come out and practice the next day, Johnson said. It was a little different, but it was fun to be out here.Tennessee is the team Johnson spent the first 12 seasons of his career shredding with reception after reception, touchdown after touchdown for the Houston Texans. He even fought then-Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan during a game in 2010.That might have made this speedy transition a bit surreal if not for Johnsons one-year stop with another division foe, the Indianapolis Colts, last season.I think it felt more weird last year than it did this year, Johnson said.Johnson found himself waiting for a call after what was a down year for the wide receiver in 2015. He caught only 41 passes for 503 yards with four touchdowns, his worst production in any season where he played all 16 games. He caught only 33 passes in 2011 when injuries limited him to seven games. The receiver said he has no issues with the Colts, who cycled through quarterbacks because of injuries to Andrew Luck.It didnt help that Johnson turned 35 earlier this month. Johnson said he wasnt surprised with how the NFL trends toward younger players despite his career numbers of 1,053 catches for 14,100 yards.I dont have anything to prove, said Johnson, who worked oout for Tennessee earlier this week.dddddddddddd I think my career speaks for itself.The Titans are glad to have Johnson in camp, a move that helped fill out the roster. As bad as Johnsons season was last year, he still had more receptions than any Tennessee receiver. Last year, Harry Douglas and Kendall Wright led the receivers with 36 catches apiece, while Dorial Green-Beckham led the group with 549 yards receiving.Tennessee needs better options for quarterback Marcus Mariota after going 3-13 last season, and the Titans are giving Johnson a chance to compete for a starting job. They also are asking him to mentor a couple big receivers in the 6-foot-5 Green-Beckham and 6-4 Justin Hunter. Wright, who got to know Johnson back in Houston, welcomed the veteran.I think he has a lot in him, Wright said. I mean as you see out here today, hes still Andre Johnson and making plays. I think he can really help us a lot.Johnson made two very nice receptions that had fans cheering. With Rishard Matthews and Tajae Sharpe working with the first-team, Johnson worked with the second-team.Well Ive seen that before, Titans coach Mike Mularkey said of Johnsons leaping catches. Unfortunately, I wasnt on the same sideline, so I thought he looked good in these colors, I know that for sure. But it was really nice to see those plays made. Thats what we need to be successful, make some plays -- big plays. You know, thats what hes been doing his whole career.The Titans are asking Johnson to learn one position, though he did practice at all three spots Saturday. Johnson isnt setting any goals for himself right now beyond his simple focus.Making plays, enjoying the moment, Johnson said. Just trying to get better as a player.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker[url=http://wwle focus.Making plays, enjoying the moment, JoWholesale Basketball Jerseys[/url] Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '