Pelicans May Finally Be Inching Towards Their First Offseason Trade

The New Orleans Pelicans have been frustratingly silent all offseason. Despite being at the center of a ton of trade buzz, the Pelicans have yet to make a move this summer. Instead, they still have their entire roster from a season ago under contract, other than Kevon Looney.

However, this could change sooner rather than later. Per NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Pelicans are engaged in trade discussions involving Jordan Hawkins. There are reportedly "various trade frameworks", including a scenario that would send Hawkins to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Even though there is no agreement in place as of now, these discussions have reportedly been active.

Jordan Hawkins May Be Heading for the Exit in New Orleans

On its own, moving on from Hawkins does very little for the Pelicans. Heading into his fourth season in the league, Hawkins hasn't established himself as an NBA-caliber player. Given that he is due $7 million in the 2026-27 season, he doesn't have much trade value. If anything, the Pelicans may have to attach additional assets to move on from the 24-year-old shooting guard.

What this could mean for the Pelicans, however, is that more moves may be coming. As things stand now, the Pelicans don't have a reason to move on from Hawkins for financial reasons. They are below the luxury tax line and still have an open roster spot. Giving up assets to move on from Hawkins for financial flexibility would only make sense if they were planning on doing something else with that additional cap space.

The Pelicans don't have a ton of second-round picks that they can trade. They have five second-round picks until the 2033 NBA Draft and would presumably have to send a couple of them to Memphis or another team to convince them to take on Hawkins.

Or, they could use the Hawkins plus draft capital package to acquire another player who can help them this season. They have a clear need at center, so perhaps this could be a way for them to add more depth to their big man rotation.

The problem with a potential deal with the Grizzlies is that they already have 20 players under contract. They have to reduce that to 15 before the start of the season, so would they really want to take Hawkins on only for a couple of second-round picks?

So, they presumably want to part ways with one or two of their own players in this trade. This means that this trade may end up involving more players and teams than just Hawkins and the Pelicans.

While it's certainly a good sign that the Pelicans front office is finally engaged in active trade discussions, we won't be holding our breath until we see what Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver pull off.

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