Grizzlies To Waive Jordan Hawkins

Assuming he clears waivers as expected, Memphis will be on the hook for Hawkins’ full $7,021,895 salary this season. The Grizzlies have plenty of cap flexibility to take on that dead money — they’ll still be $38.64MM below the luxury tax line even after accounting for Hawkins’ cap hit, per Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com. 

Hawkins declared for the 2023 draft after a sophomore season with UConn in which he averaged 16.2 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 38.8% from three-point range on high volume. The 6’5″ shooting guard helped the Huskies win a national championship that spring and was selected 14th overall by the Pelicans a few months later.

While he was considered one of the better shooters in the 2023 class, Hawkins has yet to make a significant impact at the NBA level. The 24-year-old averaged 9.2 PPG and 2.5 RPG on .376/.348/.826 shooting in 123 regular season appearances over his first two seasons (20.2 MPG), then saw his playing time drop under a new front office regime in 2025/26, averaging 5.1 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .366/.348/.852 shooting in 51 games (13.6 MPG).

The Pelicans traded Hawkins and Micah Peavy to the Grizzlies last month in a cost-cutting move (New Orleans included a second-round pick and a second-round swap in the deal).

Previous reporting suggested several teams would have interest in Hawkins if he hit the open market, though it’s unclear what type of contract offers he might receive with relatively few standard roster spots available around the league.

Memphis is one of several teams around the NBA facing a roster crunch this fall. Even after they officially waive Hawkins, the Grizzlies will still have 16 players on guaranteed standard contracts and Jaylen Wells — who likely isn’t going anywhere — on a partially guaranteed deal that becomes fully guaranteed if he makes the opening night roster.

Peavy, who will earn $2.15MM this season, is dealing with an ankle injury which sidelined him during training camp. He’s considered likely to be traded or released this fall, with Kris Murray viewed as another candidate to be waived.