Hold onto your hats. Jordan Hawkins and Cam Spencer are teammates.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN’s Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported that the New Orleans Pelicans traded Jordan Hawkins to the Memphis Grizzlies. The deal also included former Georgetown guard Micah Peavy and a future second-round pick swap to Memphis for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson. Hawkins is entering the final year of his four-year, $20 million rookie deal, which includes a team option for this season. He is owed just north of $7 million.
Hawkins was a lottery pick, selected by the Pelicans with the 14th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, however the former Husky sharpshooter was never able to carve out a role in New Orleans. At the beginning of his rookie season in 2023-2024, Hawkins saw a decent amount of playing time while a few Pelican starters and key rotational players were injured. In 16 November games, Hawkins averaged 14.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 36.7 percent from three. This stretch included a 31-point performance in just his seventh career game against the Denver Nuggets behind a career-high seven three-pointers, as well as a pair of 25-point games against the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz.
But once CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III returned from injury, Hawkins saw a dramatic dip in playing time. In those 16 November games, Hawkins averaged 30.1 minutes per game, but in his final 47 regular season games, he only played 13.1 minutes per contest. Overall, Hawk averaged 7.8 points and shot 36.6 percent from three in what still is a career-high 67 games in his rookie season. He also earned a spot in the Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Hawkins showed some promise on the court during his second season but was also hampered by a recurring back injury. He missed 23 games during the 2024-2025 season (22 due to back soreness, one because of an illness). Hawk’s role fluctuated throughout the season while he dealt with his injury as well as other players in and out of the lineup due to health reasons. The former Husky star averaged 10.8 points per game but saw his three-point percentage fall to 33.1 percent. In 56 games, he never once played below 10 minutes in a single contest.
This past season was arguably the most frustrating of Hawkins’ career, as New Orleans underwent a coaching change after firing Head Coach Willie Green following a 2-10 start. The team promoted James Borrego to interim head coach but it was still an abysmal season for New Orleans who finished 26-56.
Hawk played in the fewest games of his career (51) while also averaging career lows in both minutes per game (13.6) and points per game (5.1). He still shot 34.1 percent from three (the official league average was 36.0 percent). After not having any DNP’s via “Coach’s Decisions” during the 2024-2025 season, Hawkins racked up 23 such games during the 2025-2026 campaign. Hawk was able to play a healthy amount of minutes in the final five games of the regular season this past April, and he averaged 15.8 points, 2.4 assists on 50.0 percent shooting from three. Two of those games included a season-high 25 points against the Jazz and 20 points against the Celtics in Boston.
Overall in three seasons with the Pelicans, Hawk averaged 8.0 points on 34.8 percent from three in 174 games.
Hawkins’ arrival certainly excites UConn fans, as he will now be teammates with Cam Spencer. Both knockdown shooters were catalysts for UConn’s back-to-back national title runs in 2023 and 2024. Hawkins converted 109 three-pointers during the 2022-23 season, while Spencer knocked down 146 in 2023-24. Combined, the two shot 255-606 (42.1 percent) from behind the arc in the two championship seasons.
The Grizzlies, who finished 25-57 last season, have already made significant roster changes throughout the calendar year, including trading away franchise players Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr while acquiring Jerami Grant, D’angelo Russell, and Isaiah Stewart. The team also drafted former Duke Star Cameron Boozer with the third overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft.
Spencer emerged as a valuable asset for Memphis last season, averaging 11.1 points and 5.6 assists per game in 72 games, including 20 starts. He was also one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, connecting on 47.3% of his attempts from the field, 44.9% from three (third best in the NBA) and 94% from the free-throw line (best in the NBA).
A fresh start was much needed for Hawkins as he now goes to Memphis with a chance to hit the reset button on his career. However, with just this upcoming season left on his deal, he will have to quickly establish himself with his new team. Having a fellow Husky on the squad is a good way to get acclimated.
Hawkins and Spencer are not the only duo of Huskies on the same NBA team as Tristen Newton and Alex Karaban are both in the Sacramento Kings organization.
Five teams in the WNBA feature at least two Huskies on the same team. The Minnesota Lynx (Naphessa Collier and Dorka Juhasz), Golden State Valkyries (Gabby Williams, Tiffany Hayes, Kiah Stokes, Kaityln Chen), Dallas Wings (Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd, Christyn Williams), Connecticut Sun (Aaliyah Edwards, Olivia Nelson-Ododa) and the Seattle Storm (Katie Lou Samuelson, Stefanie Dolson)
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