Pelicans And Grizzlies Swap Former 1st-Round Picks In Trade

The New Orleans Pelicans have traded Jordan Hawkins and Micah Peavy to the Memphis Grizzlies in a four-player deal.

Hawkins and Peavy will go to Memphis with AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson going to New Orleans, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. The Grizzlies will also receive a future second-round pick and a second-round pick swap in the trade.

The Pelicans made this trade to clear money to complete their signing of Bennedict Mathurin. The deal saves $5.7 million for the Pelicans, who agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with Mathurin, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Spotrac’s Keith Smith stated that the Pelicans are around $7.9 million under the tax after the trade, before factoring in Mathurin’s contract, which will hard cap them at the first apron.

Hawkins and Johnson were both first-round draft picks in 2023 and 2024, and neither has panned out thus far.

Hawkins was drafted 14th overall by the Pelicans in 2023. He has played in 174 games over the past three seasons, averaging a career-high 10.8 points in 2024-25.

Johnson was selected with the 23rd pick in the 2024 draft; he is now on his fourth different team. Starting his career with the Milwaukee Bucks before he was traded in the Khris Middleton deal to the Washington Wizards midway through his rookie season. 

Washington sent Johnson to the Dallas Mavericks last season before the trade deadline in February; he was later traded to Memphis in July as part of a six-team deal involving 11 players.

Johnson has averaged 4.9 points in 77 games with three different teams over the past two years.

Peavy was drafted 40th in the 2025 draft and played in 61 games in his rookie season with the Wizards. Gibson is now the second-oldest active player after LeBron James,  after he turned 41 on June 24.