Pelicans Guard Jordan Hawkins Gets Another Opportunity To Solidify His Value

New Orleans Pelicans Trey Murphy III's injury is unfortunate, but Hawkins gets the chance to prove his worth.

Nov 18, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) and guard Trey Murphy III (25) chest bump after making a three point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half at the Smoothie King Center. / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Unfortunately, the New Orleans Pelicans are in the same predicament as last year when starting the season. Sharpshooting forward Trey Murphy III will likely miss the season opener after suffering a hamstring injury during training camp. The injury will likely mean the fourth-year forward will miss the team's season opener and possibly some additional time.

Last season, Murphy III missed the first 19 games of the year after injuring his right meniscus during the summer. In his place, the Pelicans played then-rookie Jordan Hawkins big minutes to help compensate for Murphy III's three-point prowess. The former UConn National Champion averaged 11.5 points on 38% from deep in the first 19 games last season.

During that stretch, Hawkins played nearly 25 minutes per game, but those numbers sharply decreased when Murphy III returned to the lineup—his minutes dipped to just 12 per contest in December, and he averaged only 3.7 points. He can re-establish himself in the lineup until Murphy III gets healthy.

The Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations praised the second-year guard's dedication to improving this summer. He highlighted Hawkins as a player who was present in the gym every day. The sharpshooting guard acknowledged that the decision to work so hard was initiated to make a jump from Year 1 to Year 2 in the league.

"I think with me, as a shooter you have to have confidence. Being in the gym and working as hard as you can to see the ball go through the hoop that's where it starts and where the confidence begins," Hawkins told reporters at Meda Day. He didn't quite have the start to the summer he and many hoped for.

Summer League was supposed to be an opportunity to show growth heading into his second year, but instead, he struggled in his five games in Las Vegas. Hawkins averaged 13 points on a poor 24% shooting from downtown and led the team in turnovers with 3.8 per game. He once again struggled with ball-handling when forced to initiate the offense, falling into some of the same bad habits as last season. An ankle injury during the final game in Vegas forced him to sit for the remainder of the game.

According to reports, Hawkins was impressive during the first part of the team's training camp in Nashville and the voluntary workouts in California. Head Coach Willie Green expected him to play himself on the court even before the Murphy III injury.

"I want him to be as competitive as he's ever been and carve out some minutes for himself," Green said of Hawkins.

Those minutes will now come because of necessity, but another strong showing during the beginning of the year could keep the young guard in the rotation to contribute for the entire season.