New Orleans Pelicans could tap Louisiana native to oversee entire basketball operation
Updated: 1:07 PM CDT Apr 14, 2025
AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE FOLLOWING BREAKING NEWS AS THE PELICANS ARE NOW MOVING FORWARD WITHOUT EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT DAVID GRIFFIN WHO WAS FIRED TODAY FOLLOWING THE TEAM’S JUST DISMAL SEASON. WDSU’S SPORTS DIRECTOR FLETCHER MACKEL AND ANCHOR SHARIEF ISHAQ ARE JOINING US NOW WITH REACTION TO THE NEWS. AND ARE WE SURPRISED BY THIS GUYS? NO NOT REALLY. I MEAN, LOOK, RANDI, THEY’RE COMING OFF THEIR WORST SEASON IN 20 YEARS, THE SECOND WORST SEASON IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. EVEN WITH ALL THE INJURIES, THE PELICANS SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER. 21 IN 61 OVERALL. EVERYONE KNEW CHANGES WERE COMING AND IT COMES WITH THEIR LEAD EXECUTIVE, WHO WAS BROUGHT IN IN 2019. A CHAMPIONSHIP IN CLEVELAND TO TURN NEW ORLEANS INTO A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. AND THAT DID NOT HAPPEN IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM. YEAH, DEREK, DAVID GRIFFIN WANTED TO GET THIS FRANCHISE MOVING INTO THE RIGHT DIRECTION. I REMEMBER DURING THE EXIT INTERVIEWS LAST SEASON, ONE OF THE THINGS HE SAID, AND I JUST SAW IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA THIS PAST SATURDAY, HE SAID SOMETHING TO THE FORM OF, HEY, TEAMS WHO DIDN’T MAKE THE PLAYOFFS ARE GOING TO GET RADICALLY BETTER. WE NEED TO BE ONE OF THOSE TEAMS. WE NEED TO HAVE SOME URGENCY. THEY TRIED. LOOK, THEY BROUGHT DEJOUNTE MURRAY IN. IT DIDN’T WORK THE INJURIES. BUT AT SOME POINT IN TIME THE INJURIES CAN’T BE THE EXCUSE ANYMORE. YOU EVEN HEARD JOSE ALVARADO A FEW WEEKS AGO. THE WHAT COULD HAVE AND WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN WHAT. THE INJURIES JUST ISN’T GOING TO BE A GOOD THING FOR US. WE NEED TO FIND A WAY TO WIN. AND THEY JUST COULDN’T WIN. YEAH. AND LOOKING BACK ON THIS DAVID GRIFFIN CAME HERE IN 2019 AGAIN. HE WAS A FORMER EXECUTIVE WITH THE PHOENIX SUNS AND THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS. HE WON A CHAMPIONSHIP WITH LEBRON JAMES IN 2016. WHAT HE HAS DONE BEHIND THE SCENES IS SIGNIFICANT. THE PELICANS FUNCTION IN A MUCH BETTER WAY THAN THEY DID PRIOR TO HIS ARRIVAL. BUT ON THE COURT, THE RECORD AMAZINGLY GOT WORSE. SO AS THE LEAD DECISION MAKER, HE IS NOW OUT IN, A SEARCH IS UNDERWAY FOR SOMEONE WHO CAN MAKE BASKETBALL MATTER IN THE BIG EAST. YEAH, THERE WERE 209 AND 263 TWO PLAYOFF APPEARANCES, BUT THOSE TWO PLAYOFF APPEARANCES HAPPENED THROUGH THE PLAY IN THIS FRANCHISE DOESN’T WANT TO BE A PLAY IN TEAM. WE KNOW THAT FLETCHER WHEN HE GOT IN HERE HE TRADED ANTHONY DAVIS. THEY DRAFTED ZION KEPT ALVIN GENTRY FIRED ALVIN GENTRY BROUGHT IN STAN VAN GUNDY AFTER ONE SEASON FIRED HIM. AND WILLIE GREEN HAS BEEN WITH THE FRANCHISE THE LAST FOUR SEASONS. AND THEY GOT TO FIND A WAY WITH FLETCHER. WHO’S NEXT? THE NEXT QUESTION IS WHO IS NEXT? YEAH, WE’RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT WHO’S NEXT COMING UP IN LATER NEWSCAST TODAY. BUT AGAIN DAVID GRIFFIN IS OUT. HEAD COACH WILLIE GREEN WILL REMAIN AS THE HEAD COACH. THE NEW EXECUTIVE, WHOEVER TAKES OVER THE FRANCHISE WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF HEAD COACH WILLIE GREEN, BUT HE REMAINS AS THE HEAD COACH RIGHT NOW. COMING UP IN OUR NEXT HALF HOUR. RANDI KENDALL KENDALL DUNCAN WILL JOIN US LIVE FROM THE PELICANS FACILITY WITH SOME PLAYER REACTION TO ALL THE MOVING PARTS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW FOR THE NEW ORLEANS PELICANS. YEAH GUYS, WE SHOULD ALSO ADD THAT PELICANS OWNER GAYLE BENSON. WELL SHE HASN’T MENTIONED GRIFFIN’S FIRING PER SE. BUT SHE DID RELEASE THIS STATEMENT SAYING WHILE OUR FOCUS IS ON A CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE COURT, WE’RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE DO THE SAME OFF THE COURT, GOING ON TO SAY THAT WE ARE WORKING TO DETERMINE THE BEST PATH FORWARD TO TRANSFORM THE SMOOTHIE KING CENTER INTO THE BEST ARENA IN THE NBA. SHE SAYS WE LOOK FORWARD TO DELIVERING ON THOSE PRIORITIES FOR FANS. BUT AGAIN, I THINK THOSE FANS ALSO WANT SOME DUBS. SO FOR MORE ON THIS DEVELOPING STORY, YOU CAN LOG ON TO OUR WEBSITE WDSU.COM. OR YOU CAN DOWNLOAD OUR FREE
New Orleans Pelicans could tap Louisiana native to oversee entire basketball operation
Updated: 1:07 PM CDT Apr 14, 2025
Just hours after the New Orleans Pelicans fired Executive Vice President David Griffin, they may have his replacement. Longtime NBA executive Joe Dumars is expected to takeover as the Pelicans top decision maker. According to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charinia, the Pelicans and Dumars are expected to engage in conversations to finalize a deal by the end of the week.Dumars was born in Natchitoches and played college basketball at McNeese State in Lake Charles. After helping lead the Detroit Pistons to two NBA Championships (1989, 1990) he moved into the Pistons front office and led that franchise from 2000-2014 and was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2003. Since 2022, Dumars has been working as an executive at the NBA League Offices in New York City.
NEW ORLEANS —
Just hours after the New Orleans Pelicans fired Executive Vice President David Griffin, they may have his replacement.
Longtime NBA executive Joe Dumars is expected to takeover as the Pelicans top decision maker.
According to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charinia, the Pelicans and Dumars are expected to engage in conversations to finalize a deal by the end of the week.
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The Pelicans and Dumars are expected to engage in conversations to finalize a deal by the end of the week, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/Dgzvaanwkd
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2025
Dumars was born in Natchitoches and played college basketball at McNeese State in Lake Charles.
After helping lead the Detroit Pistons to two NBA Championships (1989, 1990) he moved into the Pistons front office and led that franchise from 2000-2014 and was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2003.
Since 2022, Dumars has been working as an executive at the NBA League Offices in New York City.