UCONN Professional Athletes

The NBA preseason has a way of sorting out who belongs and who's fighting for a lifeline — and two UConn alumni find themselves on opposite ends of that spectrum heading into the 2026-27 season.

Jordan Hawkins Lands with the Bulls After Memphis Waiver

Jordan Hawkins' roster journey took another sharp turn this week. The Grizzlies waived the former 14th overall pick last Friday, just weeks after acquiring him from the New Orleans Pelicans in a four-player deal that also involved Micah Peavy, AJ Johnson, and Taj Gibson. The stint in Memphis was brief and unceremonious.

But Chicago came calling fast. The Bulls signed Hawkins to a two-way contract Monday, filling their open spot with the 2023 draft pick who, at just a few years into his professional career, is already on his third organization. ESPN's Shams Charania first broke the news of the agreement.

The two-way designation is a meaningful reality check — it's not a guaranteed roster spot, and it comes with strict limitations on big-league game days. But it's also a legitimate foothold. Hawkins, a sharp shooter out of Storrs, has the skill set to stick in an NBA rotation if the opportunity presents itself. Whether Chicago gives him consistent run to prove it is the question that will define his season.

Andre Drummond Is Making the Knicks Forget Mitchell Robinson

Across the league, in a far less precarious position, Andre Drummond is quietly putting together a compelling preseason case in New York. According to Sports Illustrated, Drummond has impressed through his first two preseason games — enough to ease the Knicks' concerns about replacing Mitchell Robinson's rebounding and interior defense.

Robinson's absence created a real void for a New York team with championship aspirations. Drummond, the UConn product who has carved out a long and productive NBA career largely on the strength of elite rebounding, appears to be a credible stopgap. "Quietly" is the operative word in the SI report — this isn't a loud, highlight-reel story. It's a veteran center doing what veteran centers do: showing up, doing the dirty work, and giving a contender's front office reasons to exhale.

At this stage of Drummond's career, fitting cleanly into a winning system matters more than raw numbers. Two preseason games won't settle anything, but the early returns suggest he's earning trust in the right ways.

Also Watching: Castle, Jackson Jr., and the Rest of the Herd

Elsewhere in the UConn diaspora, Stephon Castle continues to cement his place in San Antonio's increasingly exciting guard rotation alongside De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper — though the Spurs' storyline belongs more to Harper and Fox than to Castle right now.

Andre Jackson Jr.'s week was rougher: the Raptors waived the UConn guard Monday in a corresponding move to sign forward Tyson Degenhart, leaving Jackson Jr. looking for a new home as rosters tighten across the league.

Donovan Clingan, meanwhile, is part of Portland's young core as the Trail Blazers head into a new era under head coach Micah Nori — though the preseason spotlight there has been on the broader roster rebuild rather than Clingan specifically.

Two weeks before opening night, UConn's NBA footprint is as wide as ever. Whether it deepens depends on how Hawkins plays on a two-way timeline — and whether Drummond keeps giving New York exactly what it needs.

Castle Is Already in His Villain Era

Stephon Castle showed up to Spurs media day this week with something to say — and didn't stop there. The second-year guard, who went to the NBA Finals as a 20-year-old last spring before San Antonio fell to New York in five games, took direct aim at the Madison Square Garden faithful, calling the vaunted MSG crowd "underwhelming" and insisting Oklahoma City's Paycom Center was "way louder" during the playoffs.

That's a spicy take for a player who shot 37.7 percent from the field in that Finals. But Castle wasn't finished. He also invoked the ghost of the 2012 Thunder — a loaded team that flamed out in the Finals — warning that San Antonio won't fall into the same trap of "strong-a** egos." The message: the Spurs are built on chemistry, and they intend to stay that way.

On the substance, Castle's media day was more than just bulletin-board material for Knicks fans. He spoke directly about the weight of being a title contender for the first time, acknowledging the shift in expectations heading into 2026-27. "Yeah, it definitely has," he said when asked whether the target on San Antonio's back has registered. The Spurs also face a legitimate starting lineup puzzle with De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, and Castle all vying for backcourt roles — a dynamic Sports Illustrated reports will be resolved internally rather than publicly.

Castle's star is clearly rising. The UConn product is firmly part of one of the NBA's most compelling young cores alongside Victor Wembanyama and Harper, and his media day performance — candid, sharp, unafraid — suggests he's growing into the role of team spokesman as much as on-court contributor.

Drummond Goes Home

Meanwhile, in New York, another UConn alum is settling in on the other side of that Finals rivalry. Andre Drummond signed with the Knicks in free agency this offseason, joining the reigning champions as a backup center after Mitchell Robinson's departure. For Drummond, it's a homecoming — he described joining his childhood team as "a true honor" and noted he had other options before choosing New York.

Media day went well by all accounts, with Sports Illustrated reporting that Drummond's arrow is "pointing way up" after his first official appearance in Knicks blue. Coach Mike Brown has spoken positively about Drummond's fit, and the veteran big man is expected to slot in as the primary reserve center behind Karl-Anthony Towns. For a franchise trying to defend a title, adding a high-energy, rebounding presence off the bench is a sensible move — and for Drummond personally, landing on a contender close to home is a clean story.

Hawkins Hits the Market

Not every UConn alumni headline this week was a feel-good one. Jordan Hawkins, the 2023 lottery pick, was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies just one month after they acquired him in a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. Per ESPN's Shams Charania, the two sides mutually agreed to part ways, with Memphis citing a roster crunch. The 24-year-old guard is now a free agent, free to sign with any team before the season opens.

Hawkins was once viewed as a high-upside shooter coming out of UConn's 2023 title run. His path to a stable NBA role has been bumpier than hoped, and this latest move leaves him searching for his footing yet again heading into what should be a prime developmental window.

Three UConn alumni, three very different stories — all of them shaping up before training camps fully open.

Stephon Castle Is Becoming the Spurs' Heartbeat

UConn's most prominent NBA alumnus right now isn't just along for the ride in San Antonio — he's driving it.

Stephon Castle put up 20 points and brought his trademark defensive intensity in a dominant 121-94 blowout of the Phoenix Suns in Austin, extending the Spurs' winning streak to seven games. Victor Wembanyama contributed 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks, but it was Castle's all-around presence — scoring and locking up opponents on the other end — that defined the performance.

The second-year guard out of Storrs has quietly become one of the more compelling stories in the NBA this fall. His game isn't flashy or stat-padded; it's the kind of two-way, hard-nosed play that wins coaches' trust and, apparently, seven games in a row.

The momentum didn't come out of nowhere. Castle spent part of his offseason in Paris, training alongside Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Tobias Harris, and others in a workout session filmed in Nanterre. The commitment to reps with his Spurs teammates during the break signals that Castle is treating this season as a serious step forward — and the early returns suggest he's right to.

Away from the court, Castle has been characteristically loose. In a recent video shared on social media, he "rated" his Spurs teammates on various attributes — including naming the team's biggest trash-talkers — giving fans a window into the locker room chemistry fueling this run.

Andre Drummond Lands in New York

The other notable UConn name making moves this week is Andre Drummond, who has joined the New York Knicks following the franchise's first NBA championship in 53 years. With the Knicks' primary backup center departing for the Boston Celtics, New York turned to Drummond to fill that production gap.

The signing comes with some organizational context worth noting: the Knicks also added James Wiseman and Drew Eubanks to the center depth chart. Rather than reading that as a vote of no confidence, a Sports Illustrated analysis framed those moves as a sign of trust — Drummond as the clear starter, with the additional bodies providing insurance and development depth rather than competition.

Drummond's path back to a contender is a redemption arc of sorts. Now in New York's system, the former UConn big will be expected to deliver physicality, rebounding, and rim protection for a team with genuine title ambitions.

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Two UConn alumni, two very different stages of their NBA arcs — Castle ascending and finding his footing as a franchise cornerstone in San Antonio, Drummond landing on a championship-caliber roster and looking to contribute in a defined role. The Huskies' NBA footprint stretches across the league, but this week, those are the two names moving the needle.

Andre Drummond Steps Into the Spotlight in New York

The biggest UConn alumni story in the NBA this week isn't about a rising star — it's about a veteran finding exactly the right moment, in exactly the right place.

Andre Drummond has locked in a backup center role with the New York Knicks, the defending NBA champions, heading into the 2026-27 season. The move comes after Mitchell Robinson departed in free agency for the rival Boston Celtics, leaving a meaningful vacancy behind Karl-Anthony Towns in New York's frontcourt rotation. Drummond is the answer.

It's a role that suits him. The Knicks aren't asking Drummond to be a franchise cornerstone — they're asking him to protect the paint, crash the glass, and give their championship core reliable minutes when Towns needs a breather. For a team built to repeat, having a known commodity like Drummond filling that slot is far less of a gamble than rolling the dice on an unproven big. New York is even bringing in additional frontcourt depth via a training camp invite, signaling the organization's commitment to shoring up the center position after Robinson's exit.

Whether Drummond fully delivers is the real question. Sports Illustrated has framed the arrangement in both directions: on the upside, his rebounding instincts and rim-running ability could be genuine difference-makers in a seven-game series. On the downside, durability and defensive consistency have been concerns at various points in his career, and the margin for error on a title contender is thin. The Knicks are betting that the upside wins out.

For UConn fans, it's a satisfying arc — a Husky playing a real role on the league's best team.

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The Rest of the UConn Roster Around the League

Drummond's situation is the headline, but UConn's NBA footprint extends well beyond Madison Square Garden this week.

Stephon Castle continues to develop in San Antonio, where the Spurs are giving the young point guard room to grow in a rebuilding environment. Donovan Clingan is entering a pivotal early stretch in Portland, tasked with establishing himself as a legitimate center of the future for the Trail Blazers. Both players represent opposite ends of the UConn pipeline — Castle the polished guard, Clingan the project big — but both carry genuine expectations.

In Memphis, Jordan Hawkins and Cam Spencer give the Grizzlies a pair of UConn wings to track, while Tristen Newton is working to carve out his point guard niche with the Houston Rockets. Andre Jackson Jr. is in Toronto with the Raptors, and Liam McNeeley and James Bouknight are part of a Charlotte Hornets roster trying to find its identity.

Tyrese Martin is in Philadelphia, and Adama Sanogo is contributing in Chicago's frontcourt.

The breadth of UConn's NBA presence — from contenders to rebuilders, from veterans to rookies — reflects what Dan Hurley's program has become: a professional pipeline operating at full capacity. But this week, the conversation starts and ends with Drummond. When the defending champions come calling, UConn answers.