Pelicans Plan to Dump Jordan Hawkins to Overpay Bennedict Mathurin

The New Orleans Pelicans 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 Bennedict Mathurin. 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.

"Keith Smith reported New Orleans will use the NTMLE on Mathurin."

This is the kind of front-office maneuvering that sounds like it was drawn up on a napkin at 2 a.m. The Pelicans 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 Clippers, 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 Pelicans' 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 Clippers can just match the offer sheet anyway. We will see if the Pelicans can find a taker for Hawkins in the coming days, or if this whole scheme falls apart before it even starts.