This was expected. Over the weekend, Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that people around the league are “undeniably bracing” for sweeping changes in New Orleans.
Those changes have arrived: The Pelicans have parted ways with Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin, the team announced Monday, following an injury-riddled 21-61 season that saw New Orleans miss even the play-in.
“After considerable thought and evaluation, I have decided to relieve David Griffin of his duties as executive vice president of basketball operations,” Pelicans owner/governor Gayle Benson said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision, but one that I feel is necessary at this time to bring a fresh approach to our front office and build a culture that will deliver sustainable success, on and off the court. I am committed to hiring the right person to lead our basketball operations department and deliver an NBA Championship to our city. That is what our fans deserve. I am truly appreciative of David for his leadership and many contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community over the last six years. We wish David and his wife, Meredith, and their family all the best moving forward.”
The frontrunner to get the job is Joe Dumars, a Louisiana native, a former Pistons player and the GM of their 2004 title team, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. He was interviewed for the Pistons job six years ago when Griffin was hired but did not make the final cut.
Hall of Famer Joe Dumars is a serious frontrunner to become the lead basketball executive with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN. The 2003 exec of the year and 2004 championship exec with the Pistons is a Louisiana native. Dumars is currently heading NBA basketball ops. pic.twitter.com/Du0Be1LrFS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2025
In the six years Griffin was on the job, the Pelicans made the playoffs twice and won two games total in those series.
Whoever ends up with the job, the new lead executive will decide Willie Green’s future as the team’s head coach. Generally, that’s a bad sign for a coach, new GMs tend to want to hire their own guys. However, Benson reportedly is a Green fan and there is an expectation that the Pelicans will keep Green and shake up the roster, including trading Zion Williamson.
While the chronic injuries to Zion and others — Dejounte Murray (torn Achilles), Trey Murphy III (torn laburm), Herb Jones (torn labrum) and CJ McCollum all missed considerable time with injuries — were part of the problem this season, it was player evaluation and usage that had become a bigger source of frustration. Dyson Daniels spent two seasons scrapping for minutes in New Orleans, losing out on run that went to Jones, Murphy, and Jose Alvarado among others, was traded to Atlanta this season, given a real opportunity with the Hawks (he’s playing 11 more minutes a night), and has had a breakout season where he is the frontrunner for Most Improved Player and is in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year (at least, he will make First Team All-Defense). Daniels became the symbol for missed opportunities in New Orleans.
Whoever is hired as a new head of basketball operations takes over a team at a crossroads: Do they test the trade market for Zion Williamson, or bring him back? Zion has three years and $126.5 million remaining on his contract, and he looked like an All-NBA player (24.6 points a game on 56.7% shooting with 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists a night) when healthy, but he only played 30 games this season.
It’s decision time for the Pelicans, and there will be someone new making the decisions.
