New Orleans Pelicans: Grading David Griffin’s Performance So Far

David Griffin took over as Vice President of Basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans just over a year ago. Let’s look at how he has fared so far.

David Griffin is obviously excited about the opportunity he’s been given with the New Orleans Pelicans, as well as the future of his young and talented team.

The Pelicans officially hired David Griffin on April 17, 2019 and basically asked him to do what he had done in Cleveland: Build a championship team in a small market.

After the disastrous DeMarcus Cousins trade, it was clear that the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t trust GM Dell Demps to get the job done, so they brought in David Griffin, knowing Anthony Davis was on his way out the door.

Griffin had been candid about his relationship with LeBron James and the difficulty of dealing with a megastar from a front office perspective.

David Griffin seemed beaten down by the end of his time in Cleveland, and no one other than LeBron was more relieved when the Cavs won their first team title in 2016.

Griffin looked forward to a fresh start and got one when he was tasked with wiping the slate clean in New Orleans and making the biggest NBA trade of the last decade.

David Griffin didn’t waste any time putting his stamp on the roster, and most agree that the New Orleans Pelicans did as well as could be expected in the Davis trade, seeing that they lacked leverage over a guy who had requested his way out of town.

But the Davis trade wasn’t even close to the end of Griffin’s maneuvering, as few executives changed a roster as much as Griffin changed the New Orleans Pelicans.

In just one offseason, 14 different Pelicans were replaced, an entire roster’s worth of players, yet the Pelicans were still in the playoff hunt, which is a testament to the work David Griffin has done.

Let’s take a look at his moves and grade as a Pelican so far.