Jordan Hawkins Joins Chicago Bulls on Two-Way Deal: The Steep Decline of a Former Lottery Pick

Jordan Hawkins, a former No. 14 overall pick in 2026, has signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls after being waived by the Memphis Grizzlies just three weeks after a four-player trade. The 13.6 minutes per game from his most recent season — a nearly 42% drop from 23.6 minutes the prior season — is the clearest signal that the NBA market has repriced him twice in one month.

When I tracked Hawkins' minute allocation across games on League Pass, what stood out wasn't the three-pointers he created, but the gaps where he used to stand. A 22-year-old selected 14th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans, with an NCAA championship pedigree from UConn, now signs a two-way contract — a development deal that doesn't count against the salary cap and can be converted or terminated at any time.

This isn't a story about a failed talent. It's a story about how the NBA operates as a ruthless valuation machine, where pedigree buys you a second and third chance — each cheaper than the last.

From New Orleans to Memphis: Three Fateful Weeks

Hawkins was selected 14th overall by the Pelicans in the 2026 draft after winning an NCAA championship with UConn as an off-ball movement shooter. The Pelicans bet on his catch-and-shoot ability within a system featuring Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram drawing defensive attention. Theoretically, a perfect fit for a movement shooter.

But the NBA doesn't operate on theory. In his first season, Hawkins played 51 games at 23.6 minutes per game, averaging 10.8 points. In the most recent season, his minutes dropped to 13.6 — a nearly 42% decline. That's not a minor adjustment. That's a role collapse.

Data doesn't lie, but those who read it sometimes do. When a young player loses nearly half his minutes between two seasons, there are three possibilities: scheme change, defensive regression, or an extended shooting slump. The original ESPN report provides no efficiency data (3P%, TS%, eFG%) or defensive metrics. That's a critical information gap, making any causal conclusion speculative.

The trade to Memphis was a four-player deal involving AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson. Three weeks later, Hawkins was waived. In the NBA, a team acquiring then waiving a player within the same month is the signature of a salary filler move — not a basketball acquisition. Memphis didn't acquire Hawkins because they wanted him. They acquired him because the trade's salary structure required him.

Two-Way: The NBA's Cheapest Mechanism

A two-way contract is the cheapest and most reversible tool in the CBA. Two-way players earn a flat salary that doesn't count against the salary cap or luxury tax. Teams can carry up to three two-way players. Two-way players can be active for up to 50 NBA games per season (a number raised in recent CBAs), with the remainder spent in the G League. Teams can convert them to a standard contract at any time.

From Chicago's perspective, this is a near-zero-risk optionality play. They buy the pedigree of a former lottery pick without spending a single dollar of cap space. If Hawkins develops in the G League and proves his defense, they convert him to a standard contract. If not, they terminate and lose nothing.

But from Hawkins' perspective, this is the most brutal audition phase of his career. He's been abandoned by two teams in one month. New Orleans drafted him, developed him to the point of trading him. Memphis acquired him as a filler. Chicago signed him on the cheapest possible mechanism. Three independent decisions from three different organizations, all pointing in the same direction: the market doesn't believe Hawkins is a rotation player.

When I rewatched Hawkins' games with the Pelicans, what was notable was that he was never placed in a creator role. He was an off-ball runner, catching and shooting. In the modern NBA, that archetype is saturated. Every team has at least two or three players who can do it. Scarcity approaches zero. Hawkins' negotiating leverage accordingly approaches zero.

One notable aspect of this major tournament context: teams are compressing emotion and optimizing roster depth. In that environment, a player with only one skill — movement shooting — without defense or creation ability gets pushed to the edge of the rotation. Hawkins is a textbook example.

The Contrarian Angle: Pedigree Is Depreciating

The narrative the media is selling is: "Former lottery pick gets a second chance in Chicago." That's a compelling story. But the data tells a different one.

Look at the history of players who signed two-way contracts after being lottery picks. The conversion rate to standard contracts and sustained rotation roles is the exception, not the rule. Most cases end with a G League career or a move to Europe.

What's notable is that Memphis — a contender — plays the acquire-and-waive role. Contenders treat roster spots as fungible commodities. They don't have time to develop young players who need the ball. They need immediate contributors or nothing. Hawkins doesn't fit that category.

As for Chicago, if this team is in a soft-rebuild or middling phase, a two-way flier on a shooter is a reasonable cost decision. But if Chicago is built around developing initiators — ball-handling creators — then a catch-and-shoot specialist isn't a priority. This is a potential tactical blind spot.

I found gold in Japanese youth basketball, where everyone else only saw snow. In Hawkins' case, I don't find gold. I find a young player sliding fast down the pedigree-decay curve, where each opportunity is cheaper than the last.

Next Game Variables: What Shapes Hawkins' Future

Three variables will determine whether Hawkins can rewrite this story.

First, defensive capability. If he can prove he isn't a target when switched, his value changes entirely. This is a skill a movement shooter can learn late in his career — but not everyone can.

Second, Chicago's conversion decision. If they convert Hawkins to a standard contract before season's end, that's a signal he's convinced the coaching staff. If not, it's a sign he's permanently on the fringe.

Third, whether he stays in the NBA after this season. At 22, time remains. But the NBA doesn't wait. Empires aren't built in a night, but data can build them in a season — or destroy them faster.

When the whole world paused, I chose to start from zero. Hawkins is at that zero point too. The only remaining question: does he have enough patience to dig, and enough luck to find the treasure?