With the 14th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Jordan Hawkins from the National Champion UConn Huskies. He averaged 16.2 points on nearly 39% from three-point land and grabbed All-Big East, NCAA All-Region, and NCAA All-Tournament honors.
General manager Trajan Langdon talked about some of the things that attracted the team to the 6ft5, shooting guard.
“His speed off of downstream actions, and his ability to get into shots quickly”, Langdon noted.
“All kinds of different variety of shots, whether it's transition, half court or spotting up. Quick first step, great read react on drives so all of that complements our group of guys on the roster right now. And, I think a lot of our players are excited about his skill set and what he'll bring. Obviously, the shooting component is huge, and will be a huge addition for our team this year. But, I think he's a high basketball IQ player, obviously a winner, and a big-time competitor. So, he'll be a really good fit with our group.”
The Pelicans were second-to-last in three-point attempts last season, while Hawkins set the record for making the second-most threes in UConn’s school history.
“Whether it's transition, whether it's coming off ball screens, whether it's coming off staggers, flare screens, just anything that you can think of, you can do that a lot in the mid-range”, continued Langdon.
“But, to do it from that distance is really hard to do. And, the speed at which he comes off that has to engage defenses, which opens up a lot of other things. So, when you have a Brandon and you have a CJ, you have a Zion, you have a Jonas, then you have this guy who can really shoot running off a lot of stuff that players have to stay connected to where they can't help on those elite type players. It opens up the floor for either our players to get something or if somebody helps, then a player like that has wide open shots, which will help our offense. Very intriguing for us with the roster that we have, and very intriguing for our coaches as well to have another weapon on the floor with those guys.”
We should get our first glimpse of Hawkins in a Pelicans uniform come the Summer League in Las Vegas. New Orleans schedule is:
July 7: vs. Minnesota 3:30 p.m.
July 9: vs. Golden State 9 p.m.
July 11: vs. Phoenix 7 p.m.
July 13: vs. Charlotte 6:30 p.m.