The New Orleans Pelicans have Joe Dumars as their new president of basketball operations, the team announced Wednesday. The movement comes a day after the team dismissed Main Executive David Griffin. Dumars, a member of the Hall of Fame, directed the main office of the Detroit Pistons of 2000-2014 and helped guide the franchise until the 2004 title. Dumars, 61, has worked in the NBA League Office as Executive Vice President and Head of Basketball Operations since 2022.
“Joe’s achievements as a renowned player of the Hall of Fame, NBA champion and executive of the main office are indisputable,” said the governor of the Pelicans, Gayle Benson, in a statement. “I have great respect for what Joe has already achieved as a player and executive, but the most important thing is that I admire his character and leadership. His vast experience and relationships throughout the NBA, along with his strong leadership qualities, will have a tremendous impact on our organization and our goal of winning a NBA champion and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the League, and the most effective knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the light, and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge of the League, and the knowledge, and the knowledge of the league, and the knowledge, and the knowledge of the light, and the knowledge of the league. We advance.
Native of Louisiana, Dumars was the NBA year executive in 2003, and ESPN appointed him as the favorite for the work of the Pelicans shortly after the dismissal of Griffin. Dumars was a six-time All-Star as a player and was part of the consecutive championship teams of the Pistons in 1989 and 1990.
Griffin, fired by New Orleans on Monday, took over the Pelicans before the 2019-20 season after winning a championship with the Cleveland Cavaliers 2016. However, a series of injuries and several training changes ultimately condemned their possession that was once promising in New Orleans. The news of Griffin’s dismissal occurred one day after the Pelicans finished the 2024-25 season with the fourth record in the NBA with 21-61.
The Pelicans press release announcing the expelled Griffin did not mention coach Willie Green. It was considered that Green was in the hot seat after the sad season, but his work seems safe for now.
“After considerable thought and evaluation, I have decided to relieve David Griffin of his duties as executive vice president of basketball operations,” said the owner of the Pelicans, Gayle Benson, in a statement. “This was a difficult decision, but I think it is necessary at this time to contribute a new approach to our main office and build a culture that provides sustainable success, on and off the court. I am committed to hiring the right person to direct our department of basketball operations and deliver a NBA championship to our city. David and his wife, Meredith, and his family, the best in the future.”
Griffin was one of the most wanted executives in basketball when it was surprisingly available in 2018, after a collapse in extension conversations with Cleveland. He took care of the Pelicans a year later and immediately won 2019 NBA Draft Lottery, which gave New Orleans the opportunity to recruit Zion Williamson. As a player, Williamson has lived up to turnover. The problem is that it has barely been available to play for the Pelicans. He has played only 214 regular seasonal games in six years in New Orleans and only 30 in 2024-25. Williamson is three years old in his current contract, but his future with the organization is a constant question.
How to build, or potentially trade, Williamson will be one of the most pre -presative questions that Dumars faces as he takes care of the work. The Pelicans expect more luck in the draft lottery next month. New Orleans has a 12.5% possibility to obtain selection number 1 and the opportunity to write Duke Phenom Cooper Flagg. The pins have a 48.1% chance of obtaining a selection among the top four.
Injuries have been a persistent issue in New Orleans, even outside Williamson. Brandon Ingram, the center of Anthony Davis’s trade, had also struggled to stay healthy. The Pelicans were forced to exchange Ingram for a little return on the deadline of this year instead of letting him walk for nothing in free agency. Litante Murray, the main addition of this year, broke his Achilles in the middle of the year.
Griffin also toured the coaches in their role in New Orleans. When he took over the team, he inherited Alvin Gentry as his chief coach. He fired him after a season, hired Stan Van Gundy and then fired him after only one year. Green has been his chief coach since then, and at that time, the Pelicans have not won a series of playoffs.
Griffin generally built talented lists in New Orleans. He wrote extremely well, landing key players like Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado E Yves Missi out of the lottery. However, he did not obtain the correct mixture, and never built a team capable of surviving the frequent absences of Williamson. The result is a possession with the pelicans that once seemed to produce constant containment, but finally ascended much less.
