After spending NBA Summer League with the Golden State Warriors, former Illini forward Coleman Hawkins will make his NBA G League debut in November with the Grand Rapids Gold, the affiliate of the Denver Nuggets. Training camp for the Gold began this week.
Hawkins was expected to join the Warriors in training camp, but that ended up falling through, and the opportunity to join Denver and its system presented itself.
“I was waiting on Golden State,” Hawkins said. “That’s where I wanted to be. The Nuggets had reached out and they were really putting an emphasis on me signing with them. Then, you know, I was like the last piece. They really wanted me to accept that opportunity and I did.”
Hawkins signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Denver on Oct. 8 and was subsequently waived a day later. He was designated as an affiliate player with the Nuggets’ G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Gold, where he will start the 2025-26 season. Hawkins’ base G League salary will be $40,500, but if he spends at least 60 days with the Gold, he can earn up to a bonus worth up to $85,300.
With the Gold, Hawkins will have the opportunity to focus on his development while also competing against arguably the second-best basketball talent pool in the world. The G League is full of current, past and future NBA players, and has proven to be an ideal development ground for many players who have had productive careers at the next level.
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“I’m looking to just evolve as a player,” Hawkins said. “Just evolve all skill sets and assets of my game. I can become a more consistent shooter, a knockdown shooter, and just really, truly evolve and just be an elite basketball player. That’s my goal. And to win, obviously, that’s always the main goal, but just goals for myself, that’d be number one.”
Grand Rapids mimics Denver’s offensive and defensive philosophies, which is why NBA teams love utilizing their G League affiliates for player development. They know that players on their minor league team will get acclimated to and understand their system, should they ever be called up on a standard NBA deal or sign a two-way contract and move between the two teams.
“I just know that (the Nuggets) play through Jokić a lot,” Hawkins said. “And (the Gold are) going to model everything that the Nuggets do.”
Denver has utilized center and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić as a focal point of its offense. He’s an extremely skilled passer at 6-foot-11, uses his frame well and can also step out and shoot. The 6-foot-10 Hawkins has the versatility to fill that Jokić-style role at the G League level. He has the size to play inside, the guard skills and shooting ability to be effective on the perimeter and he can facilitate.
“So hopefully (my role) is in that five (center position),” Hawkins said. “That’s the trigger. It was kind of like that point forward. I could see myself playing that spot, but I don’t truly know what.”
Hawkins has long taken pride in his versatility. Whatever role he plays in Grand Rapids and whatever the ups and downs of a G League season throw at him, he is ready to take the challenge head on.
“Whatever the opportunity is, I’m going to try to perfect it and excel at it,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins and the Gold kickoff the regular season at home on Nov. 7 at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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