Pelicans Reportedly Waiving Taj Gibson Hours After Grizzlies Trade

New Orleans will waive Taj Gibson, Will Guillory of The Athletic reported Tuesday. The Memphis Grizzlies had traded him there hours earlier, alongside AJ Johnson, for Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future second-round pick, and a future second-round pick swap.

Gibson's salary protection went from $0 to $200,000 in the deal, ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks wrote.

That put $3.4 million in outgoing salary between him and Johnson, which allowed Memphis to take back Hawkins at $7.0 million.

Peavy came in on the $4.3 million trade exception Memphis created in the Ja Morant deal, Spotrac's Keith Smith wrote.

Nothing on Gibson's 2026-27 salary had been guaranteed before Tuesday.

He signed a two-year, $4.8 million contract with Memphis on Feb. 26, the same day the Grizzlies reached a buyout agreement with Kyle Anderson. The $960,753 guaranteed on the overall contract covered last season.

His base salary for 2026-27 is $3.8 million. Tuesday's trade guaranteed $200,000 of it.

ESPN noted at the time of the signing that Gibson would become the 35th player in league history to appear in a game after turning 40.

He debuted March 13 against Detroit and played 12 minutes.

Gibson appeared in 10 games for Memphis and averaged 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.7 minutes. The season before, with Charlotte, he played 37 games and averaged 2.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.1 minutes.

Chicago took Gibson 26th overall in 2009. He turned 41 in June.

Gibson has played 17 NBA seasons and has 8,431 career points and 5,754 rebounds. He has played for the Bulls, Oklahoma City, Minnesota, New York, Washington, Detroit, Charlotte, and Memphis.

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported July 31 that the Grizzlies had 19 players signed to standard contracts, four above the regular-season limit of 15.

Tuesday's trade sent two players out and brought two back.

Memphis had already completed a buyout with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope earlier in the summer. D'Angelo Russell is still on the roster on a $6.0 million expiring deal.

The Aug. 29 deadline to waive a player and stretch his 2026-27 cap hit across multiple seasons has also passed.

Hawkins went 14th overall in 2023 and averaged 5.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 51 games last season. He shot 36.6% from the floor and 34.8% from 3-point range.

He reaches restricted free agency in the summer of 2027.

Washington drafted Peavy 40th overall in 2025 and traded him to New Orleans in July of that year.

He played 61 games as a rookie and started four. Peavy averaged 4.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 15.0 minutes.

Peavy is signed through at least 2028 on a four-year, $8.7 million contract.

Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo has Cameron Boozer, the third overall pick in June's draft, and Cedric Coward on the roster.

Memphis traded Ja Morant to Portland on June 29 and finished 25-57 last season.

Rosters must be down to 15 standard contracts before the regular season.