The Bykov the guard will sign Jordan Hawkins to a two-way contract, according to reports from Shams Charania of ESPN and Michael Scott of HoopsHype (Twitter references).
As Scott points out, Hawkins will be reunited with the Bulls’ new head of basketball operations Bryson Grahamwho was a member of New Orleans’ front office when the Pelicans drafted Hawkins 14th overall three years ago.
Chicago has an open two-way slot, so they won’t have to give up a current two-way player to add Hawkins. However, the team will need to release someone from its preseason roster, with the most likely candidates Brandon Boston Jr, Orlando Robinson, Drew Peterson, Jalen Bridges or Isaiah Stevenseach of which signed the Schedule 10 transaction.
Hawkins just cleared waivers on Monday after he was refused Memphis on Friday night.
Hawkins declared for the 2023 draft after a sophomore season with UConn in which he averaged 16.2 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 38.8% from three-point range at high volume. The 6’5″ shooting guard helped the Huskies win the national championship that spring before being drafted by the Pelicans a few months later.
While he was considered one of the best shooters in the 2023 class, Hawkins has yet to make a significant impact at the NBA level. The 24-year-old averaged 9.2 ppg and 2.5 ppg on .376/.348/.826 shooting in 123 regular season games over his first two seasons (20.2 mpg), then saw his playing time decrease in the 2025/26 season under the new front office regime when he averaged 5.1 ppg and 1.7 RBI on .366/.348/.852 shooting in 51 games (13.6 MPG).
Pelicans traded Hawkins and Micah Peavy to the Grizzlies last month in a cost-cutting move (New Orleans included a second-round pick and a second-round trade).
The Grizzlies save some money as a result of Hawkins’ two-way deal with Chicago, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Instead of having $7 million in dead money, the Grizzlies’ new cap hit for Hawkins will be around $6.3 million, as his new two-way contract with the Bulls will pay him roughly $679,000.
This is a low-risk flyer for a Bulls team in the early stages of a rebuild, as two-way contracts are not guaranteed and do not count against the cap. Hawkins will be eligible to play in 50 regular season games this season and could spend time in the G League with the Windy City Bulls.
