Jordan Hawkins may not be staying in Memphis by default, but he’s going to get a real look.
After the Grizzlies picked him up in Tuesday’s trade from New Orleans, the former first-rounder is expected to get “a chance to stick around” and battle for one of the team’s 15 standard roster spots, NBA insider Jake Fischer said on Bleacher Report. If Memphis decides to move on, Fischer added that there should be plenty of interest around the league in the 24-year-old wing. The only question is what kind of offer would be waiting - a standard roster spot or a two-way deal.
That’s the reality for Memphis this fall. The Grizzlies are carrying 19 players on standard contracts and only have 15 openings, so somebody has to go. Fischer said D’Angelo Russell, Kris Murray, Walter Clayton Jr., and Micah Peavy are the names most in danger, while forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper is viewed as safe.
Fischer also touched on a few other situations around the league, starting with Gabe Vincent. The Cavaliers had contact with the free agent guard earlier in the offseason, but he’s no longer a possibility for Cleveland now that the team is sitting right up against its first-apron hard cap.
Vincent was also on the Kings’ radar before Sacramento signed Ben Simmons, although Fischer said the veteran guard wasn’t eager to land there. “I was told that Gabe Vincent wasn’t exactly itching to go to Sacramento, but that there was some mutual interest there,” Fischer said.
Simmons’ new one-year minimum deal with the Kings still hasn’t been fully detailed, but Fischer described it in passing as a “non-guaranteed” contract.
Another Sacramento name Fischer addressed was Domantas Sabonis. The Hornets remain a possible landing spot for the Kings center, but any deal may be hard to pull off until Sabonis gets back on the floor and starts looking more like himself after an injury-hit 2025/26 season. Fischer said the Kings want to get positive value back in a Sabonis trade, while teams on the other side are uneasy about the $94MM he’s owed over the next two years after he managed just 19 games last season because of knee issues.
Fischer also pointed to a group of young players who could join Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson in landing rookie scale extensions by the October 19 deadline. The names he highlighted were Hornets forward Brandon Miller, Pistons guard Ausar Thompson, Jazz guard Keyonte George, and Thunder guard Cason Wallace.
In Other News...
Kings Face A Franchise Defining Sabonis Question As Trade Buzz Grows
The Kings offseason conversation has started to circle back to the same central question: what does Sacramento do with Domantas Sabonis if the trade market keeps taking shape around him? NBA insider Jake Fischer reported that both the Raptors and Hornets have been in discussions with the Kings about Sabonis, which has only added fuel to a situation that already carries real franchise-level weight for a team trying to balance present success with long-term flexibility.
Charlottes reported interest is especially notable because any serious pursuit would likely involve a sizable return package, including multiple players and future draft picks. For Sacramento, that is the kind of framework that forces a hard evaluation of where the roster stands, how much star power it can afford to move, and whether exploring the market on Sabonis is simply due diligence or the start of something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Have A Quiet Chance To Beat The Market On Memphis Cuts
The Kings still have a little room to maneuver as training camp and roster trimming season settle in, with 14 full-time players and two of their three two-way spots already occupied. That leaves Sacramento in position to add one more player to either roster, and NBA insider Jake Fischer recently pointed to a cluster of Memphis Grizzlies names that could become available if the next round of cuts arrives as expected.
The list includes Micah Peavy, DeAngelo Russell, Walter Clayton Jr. and Kris Murray, a mix of young players and more established talent whose backgrounds suggest different kinds of appeal for Sacramento. Some bring college pedigree, others have only flashed in limited NBA run, but all fit the kind of low-cost, low-risk opportunity teams keep an eye on when the market starts to open up. For the Kings, the question is not just who gets waived, but which of those names might actually make sense if they do become available. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Roster Turnover Keeps Getting More Awkward This Offseason
The Kings offseason has already taken on the feel of a roster reset, with departures arriving through almost every avenue imaginable. After the 2025-26 season, Sacramento moved on from players via contract expirations, waivers and a trade, and the list of exits has only grown since then. Devin Carter was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks, while DeMar DeRozan headed to the Denver Nuggets, leaving the Kings with more change to absorb than most teams face in a single summer.
The ripple effect has reached the rest of Sacramentos recent cast as well, with former Kings such as Patrick Baldwin Jr., Doug McDermott, Drew Eubanks, Killian Hayes and Isaiah Stevens all trying to land on new teams. Russell Westbrook is no longer part of that search after retiring, which adds another layer to an offseason that has already been defined by churn. For a Kings team still trying to settle its next direction, the awkward part is that the turnover keeps coming, and the full shape of the roster is still not fully settled. [Read more 🡒]