There’s nothing more frustrating than watching the national media pile on negativity against an organization over bad luck and front office errors — except when they’re right. The New Orleans Pelicans are facing alleged curses, with every figure that covers the NBA dragging them through the mud, even entertaining rumors of relocation. 

How did the Pelicans reach what at least feels like rock bottom?

Blown Opportunity

Last spring, on April 16, the New Orleans Pelicans hired Joe Dumars as the Vice President of Basketball Operations.

John Hollinger, an NBA columnist for The Athletic, made this comment regarding Gayle Benson’s hiring of Dumars:

“The message that they sent out — without intending to — is ‘stop taking us seriously, we’re not a real organization, everyone else in the West can exhale, don’t worry about us. We’re just gonna keep being cheap and doing whatever we’re doing.”

This scrutiny doesn’t stem from a pundit having it out for a small market team; it’s the God’s honest truth. In 23 years as an organization, the Pelicans have never once dipped into the luxury tax. Hollinger’s reference to the team’s frugality is more than a fair assessment.

For an organization that is tight on spending, though, treating it as the rule instead of the exception is an issue; hard work and due diligence can cover some of the ground lost.

In the hiring of a new Basketball Operations VP, not only did Gayle Benson forgo a formal search for the open position, but she appointed a close friend with whom she was familiar.

David Griffin right now after Gayle refused to allow him to fire Willie and ultimately fired him instead to hire Joe Dumars after no search or interviews. pic.twitter.com/L7u2ywfOVq

— Dalton (@DaltonGNOLA) October 30, 2025

That friend was Joe Dumars, who hadn’t had an executive job with a team since 2014, where he ‘stepped down’ after six straight losing seasons, a slew of poor draft picks starting in the iconic 2003 draft, and trades for veterans who were far past their prime, like the Billups for Iverson deal in 2009.

Benson’s hire wasn’t a culmination of research and examination of current league trends or modeling after others’ success — but a relationship-driven move. Something one would expect when hiring a high-school-aged fry cook, not the lead executive for an NBA team worth over $3 billion.

This was the Pelicans’ opportunity to right the ship, disregard the injury curse, and find someone with the mindset it takes to be a cut-throat executive in a rapidly changing, uber-competitive league. Adapt with the times or die, yet Gayle Benson chose someone who’s almost 20 years removed from the times.

The Joe Dumars Experience

In the golden era of 2000s Pistons basketball, Joe Dumars was at the helm of decision-making, giving the city of Detroit a winning product. They accumulated seven straight seasons of 50+ wins from 2001 to 2007, made two NBA Finals appearances, held up the Larry O’Brien trophy once, and Dumars received the NBA’s executive of the year award in the 2002-03 season.

Even the most pessimistic Pelicans fan cannot deny that success is a possibility, and perhaps there was hope for Dumars to reignite the flame and find success for a team that so desperately needs it.

It’s hard to be encouraged when Dumars brought on Troy Weaver as his senior vice president of basketball operations as his first move, who had a record of 74-244 overall, with no postseason appearances as the Pistons GM.

Dumars approached his new job patiently, making his first move just a week before the NBA draft. On June 17, he traded the Pacers’ 2026 first-round pick for their 2025 pick, two days before Game 6 of the NBA Finals. The Pacers forced a Game 7, but during that game, star point guard Tyrese Haliburton tore his Achilles tendon, sidelining him for the entire 2026 season.

Unless this new leadership had a time machine, there is no way they would have been able to foresee Haliburton’s injury, which made the Pacers’ 2026 pick so valuable. The flak they’re receiving for this is unjust; however, what they used it with isn’t.

Drafting Derik Queen

This pick was slotted to be the 23rd of the 2025 draft. Dumars used it along with 2026 first-round pick (most favorable between New Orleans or Milwaukee) to move up and acquire Derik Queen, a big out of Maryland, with the 13th pick.

Dumars made this move with the potential of Giannis leaving Milwaukee hanging over the Bucks’ head — a team coming off a 21-win season that has a star who has played 214 games in six seasons and, to top it all off, didn’t bother to get insurance with a pick protection.

To further shroud the illogical nature of the decision, this is what Dumars said on media day concerning the team’s expectations this season:

“There is no amount of wins, no you have to make the play in. What I expect is a highly competitive team every night… If we play as hard as we can play every night, we’ll get enough wins to be happy… I will accept no less”

— Joe Dumars on Expectations pic.twitter.com/675C2Ou2jO

— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) September 22, 2025

 

Dumpster Fire Start for the Pelicans

The Pelicans are winless in their first five games; their first two losses were in close fashion. Even with their poor history of closing games in recent seasons, these are results teams can live with.

The numbers overall tell us what cannot be tolerated:

The numbers here are bleak; it’s even worse for those who tuned in to lay eyes on the team.

The Pelicans’ body language, energy, and effort have perfectly encapsulated lifelessness over the past two games. They went from being from a competitive, energetic team in the first two games to a desolate-looking unit.

Willie Green Gone?

Many believe that Head Coach Willie Green has lost the locker room, and it is blatantly apparent that almost every player on the floor no longer wants to play for him. It doesn’t take a psychologist or someone with a PhD in body language to figure that out.

Even with some tangible change against LA, like an improved result and an uptick in intensity against the Clippers, the emotions surrounding the team are still somber.

With the Thunder as their next opponents, the Pelicans will likely finish their road trip 0-6 to start the year without a 2026 draft pick to stand on. If Green isn’t gone after all of that, then givens have no place in the Big Easy, gumbo isn’t made with a roux, and plastic babies don’t exist in king cakes.

For now, though, there are only rumors.

If these discussions produce a tangible result, then what?

The question is how Dumars and Weaver replace Willie Green? What move can they make to right the sinking, NBA version of the Steamboat Natchez? History has told us that the two will likely make a ‘buddy-like‘ hire, either someone whom Dumars has brought on in the past or the obligatory DMV Weaver hire.

The job should go to assistant coach James Borrego, who likely has pull and trust among the players, understands the situation from within, and will bring a newfound energy to the team.

Desperate times, to put it lightly, require desperate measures. This roster isn’t without its talent, and has a ceiling far beyond what the product has been so far — but can a dismembered, potentially rudderless organization find its way after such an abysmal start?