Grizzlies, Pelicans Reportedly Swap Former 1st-Round NBA Draft Picks in Trade Ahead of 2026 Season

Needing to clear money to complete their signing of Bennedict Mathurin, the New Orleans Pelicans are trading Jordan Hawkins and Micah Peavy to the Memphis Grizzlies in a four-player deal.

Per ESPN's Shams Charania , Hawkins and Peavy will go to Memphis with AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson coming back to New Orleans.

The Grizzlies will also receive a future second-round pick and a second-round pick swap in the trade.

ESPN's Bobby Marks added the deal saves $5.7 million for the Pelicans, who recently agreed to a two-year, $16 million contract with Mathurin.

Per Spotrac's Keith Smith , the Pelicans are now roughly $7.9 million under the tax after the trade before factoring in Mathurin's contract that will hard cap them at the first apron.

In addition to the financial maneuvering of the trade, it's also something of a challenge deal involving two recent first-round draft picks who have not panned out thus far.

Johnson, the No. 23 pick in the 2024 draft, is already on his fourth different team. He started his NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, then was traded to the Washington Wizards midway through his rookie year in the Khris Middleton deal.

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

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

Hawkins was originally drafted with the No. 14 pick by the Pelicans in 2023. He has appeared in 174 games over the past three seasons, averaging a career-high 10.8 points during the 2024-25 campaign.

Peavy, the 40th overall pick in the 2025 draft, played 61 games for the Wizards as a rookie. Gibson, who turned 41 on June 24, is the second-oldest active NBA player after LeBron James.