Official announcement! Unable to join forces with Zion! The Pelicans officially waive the 41-year-old center.

Insider Shams:In a trade with the Grizzlies, New Orleans sends Jordan Hawkins, Mica Pivy, a second-rounder, and a swap right in exchange for AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson.

After completing this deal, the Pelicans freed up $5.7 million in cap space, clearing the way to sign unrestricted free agent Bennedict Mathurin. The 2025 Finals guard recently chose to join New Orleans on a two-year, $16 million contract (player option for the second year), officially becoming a bodyguard for our "Fat Tiger" Zion.

Mathurin is now 24, a 6'5" swingman with a 6'9" wingspan and the 6th overall pick in 2022. Last season while wearing a Clippers uniform, he averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal in 28 minutes per game, shooting 42.6% from the field and 20.7% from deep.

It is worth noting that,Recently the Pelicans officially announced they waived Gibson, who was just acquired from Memphis via the same trade. Through this transaction, Gibson unexpectedly saw his guaranteed salary rise from $0 to $200,000.

This guy is now 41—matching LeBron in age—a 6'9" power forward/center with a 7'4" wingspan, the 26th pick in the 2009 draft. He has played 17 NBA seasons, and last year appeared in 10 games (1 start) for the Grizzlies, averaging 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.7 minutes while shooting 46.2% from the floor. He really has nothing left in the tank.

But Gibson likely loves basketball too much to retire. In an interview this past April, he publicly said he hopes to land on a good team next year...

The peak of Gibson's career was undoubtedly his time with the Bulls, where he was one of Derrick Rose's most reliable running mates. Over seven and a half seasons in Chicago, he was a key starter helping the team reach the playoffs six times, including an Eastern Conference finals run in 2010-11. Now his old comrades have all retired and moved on to new chapters, leaving him to struggle on alone.

By rough estimate, Gibson's total NBA earnings have reached $95 million. Is he planning to hit the $100 million mark before retiring? The fear is that no team will offer him another contract, forcing him to fade out quietly.