Some of the depth players the New Orleans Pelicans could get back from the Memphis Grizzlies in a Jordan Hawkins trade.
Right now, the New Orleans Pelicans' offseason looks to be stuck waiting on a successful trade of guard Jordan Hawkins and his $7 million contract that is weighing heavily on the books.
Michael Scotto's Friday report made it clear that the Pelicans want Bennedict Mathurin, and need to move off of at least some of Hawkins' money to be able to afford him. According to Scotto, the Memphis Grizzlies seem to be the most open to taking in Hakwins.
Rather than just draft capital or cash considerations, the Grizzles could also look to send New Orleans one of their end-of-bench guys to clear up their minutes as well. Here are some names that make sense:
AJ Johnson
Johnson had far from a normal basketball career, picking up a lot of hype at a young age. Part of his high school career took place at Kanye West’s Donda Academy. Similar to fellow young NBA guard Rob Dillingham.
After high school, Johnson left for Australia instead of the NCAA route. He got drafted late in the first in 2024 and has not been able to find his footing.
He was always going to be a work-in-progress, but has already been on three teams which makes it harder to develop. Still, he’s just 21 years old and has the exciting tools that got him drafted.
Johnson is a great athlete, very fast, and has an elite wingspan. Far more to get excited about with an end-of-bench guard.
Kris Murray
Murray was a late first round pick in 2023. His brother, Keegan, was the fourth pick the season before. Both had the makeup of prototypical NBA wings, but neither have lived up to their best-case scenario at the next level.
Through three seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Murray has averaged 5.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per night. He’s always been a rotational forward and has a career average of 19.8 minutes per night.
He protects the rim and mans the offensive boards well for his position. New Orleans would love to add a player like that. Even if he isn’t the most dynamic, it would be a better use of the money than Hawkins’ minutes right now.
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
While Prosper is a depth guy and makes near-minimum money, Memphis might actually want to keep hold of him after a little bit of a breakout last season. If the Pelicans were able to bring him in, though, it would be a big win. He averaged 3.5 points per game over his first two years with the Dallas Mavericks, but jumped up to 10.0 with a larger role last year.
The 24-year-old is a bit undersized for what they need in a big, but he is an efficient scorer with active defensive hands. He struggles with rim protection and rebounding, which is tough, but he did shoot 40.5% from three last year.
