Memphis and New Orleans reportedly agreed to a four-player trade that is largely about the Pelicans saving some money to sign their one big free-agent move.
The Pelicans will send Jordan Hawkins and Micah Peavy, plus a future second-round pick and a second-round swap, to the Grizzlies for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson, a trade first reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.
This is about saving money for the Pelicans, who will now be almost $9.5 million below the first apron of the luxury tax. They needed that because they agreed to sign Bennedict Mathurin to a two-year, $16 million contract, but that will hard cap them at the first apron.
The Pelicans are expected to waive Gibson, however, Johnson will be brought into training camp with a chance to take the 15th roster spot if he impresses, reports Will Guillory of The Athletic.
Memphis picks up a second-round pick and a second-round pick swap for giving up their cap space in this deal.
Whether Hawkins or Peavy make the final roster in Memphis is up for debate. With them, the Grizzlies have 19 players under standard contracts heading into training camp and need to waive or trade at least four players by the start of the season to get down to 15.
Hawkins, the No. 14 pick in the 2023 draft, averaged 5.1 points per game last season and shot 34.8% from 3 last season. After a promising rookie season, Hawkins has not progressed and last season averaged just 13.6 minutes per game on a struggling Pelicans team. Peavy, a second-round pick in 2025, averaged 4.3 points in 15 minutes a night as a rookie, but has to become more efficient than the 38.5% shooting overall and and 25.9% from 3-point range last season. That said, Peavy’s defense earned him minutes and will interest the Grizzlies.
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