Late Friday night, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that the Memphis Grizzlies and Jordan Hawkins had mutually agreed to part ways via waivers, an unexpectedly quick ending to a Memphis tenure that lasted less than a month after the Grizzlies acquired Hawkins from New Orleans on September 8.
The 24-year-old was the No. 14 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, five selections before the Warriors took Brandin Podziemski at No. 19.
Here is where things get interesting from a Warriors perspective: I’ve been told that Golden State had interest in Hawkins during the 2023 Draft process, specifically that Warriors scouts liked him as a prospect.
Let me emphasize what that does (and does not) mean. I have not been told that the Warriors are currently pursuing Hawkins, nor am I reporting that a conversation has taken place between Golden State and his representatives. What I know is that there was interest in Hawkins as a prospect three years ago and now, a former Lottery pick who is only 24 is unexpectedly becoming available at precisely the point of the calendar when teams are making their final roster decisions.
That is enough for me to start connecting some dots.
Perhaps the most fascinating dot is the contract, at least to a cap sheet nerd like myself. Hawkins was due a fully guaranteed $7.02 million this season, the fourth year of his rookie-scale deal. Assuming he clears waivers, Memphis remains responsible for that guaranteed money, subject to the NBA’s normal set-off rules if Hawkins signs another contract elsewhere.
In other words, the Warriors’ theoretical opportunity here isn’t to absorb a $7 million contract. The bargain-hunting scenario begins after Hawkins clears waivers and is free to choose another destination on a much cheaper contract.
That matters because this is exactly the type of asymmetric roster bet NBA front offices are constantly looking for: a player who had a $7 million market slot yesterday potentially becoming available for a minimum contract or, because Hawkins has only three years of NBA service, even a two-way deal.
Obviously, the Warriors wouldn’t be the only team thinking this way and there will be plenty of organizations that could use another young shooter, but roster and apron constraints narrow the field considerably. Denver, for example, is navigating its own expensive roster while carrying another intriguing shooting guard, Lonnie Walker IV, on a zero-guarantee training-camp deal.
That is where the question becomes more interesting than simply asking whether Golden State once liked Jordan Hawkins.
