Pelicans Plan to Dump Jordan Hawkins to Overpay Bennedict Mathurin
Keith Smith reported New Orleans will use the NTMLE on Mathurin.
The are reportedly ready to dump a perfectly fine young shooter just to afford the privilege of overpaying a guy who does not fit their roster.
According to Keith Smith, New Orleans plans to use some of its Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception to sign restricted free agent . But because the new collective bargaining agreement's first-apron hard cap is terrifying front offices everywhere, they have to shed salary first. Jake Fischer reports the sacrificial lamb is Jordan Hawkins and his $7 million contract.
This is the kind of front-office maneuvering that sounds like it was drawn up on a napkin at 2 a.m. The finished 26-56 last season, and their only notable offseason move so far has been watching Kevon Looney walk out the door. Now, they are desperately trying to clear cap space for a guy who shoots 31.5 percent from three.
Mathurin is putting up 17.6 points per game for the Los Angeles , which looks great until you realize he is shooting 43 percent from the floor and plays defense like he is double-parked outside the arena. New Orleans already has plenty of guys who need the ball and not nearly enough floor spacing. Trading away Hawkins to bring in a volume scorer with a spotty injury history is certainly a choice.
For anyone looking at the ' win totals or futures markets this year, this is the exact type of chaotic roster building that makes you sweat. You do not usually improve a 26-win team by swapping out cheap rookie-scale deals for inefficient restricted free agents.
The funniest part of this entire master plan is that Mathurin is restricted. Even if New Orleans successfully dumps Hawkins to a team with cap space, the can just match the offer sheet anyway. We will see if the can find a taker for Hawkins in the coming days, or if this whole scheme falls apart before it even starts.