New Orleans Pelicans: What Gar Forman could provide the front office

Looking at why the New Orleans Pelicans head-scratching hire of Gar Forman could become a rousing success

Yesterday, the New Orleans Pelicans made a small move that was viewed as a bit of a headscratcher to many. The move, as Adrian Wojnarowski reported is that the organization is bringing former Chicago Bulls executive Gar Forman into the front office.

As you can see in the tweet that Wojnarowski released, Forman will focus on assisting David Griffin and Trajan Langdon with scouting, most likely at the college level. Now many fans are panning this move given the reputation Forman created during his time in Chicago, and while I’m not here to defend Forman’s tenure ( I won’t because he failed) I can acknowledge that Forman has a quality history of hitting on players in the draft.

Looking at Gar Forman’s draft history during his tenure with the Chicago Bulls

When looking at the Chicago Bull’s draft record from when Forman entered their front office in 2003 to the time of his firing this past April, here’s a look at some of the notable players that Forman was involved in drafting:

• Kirk Hinrich, 7th overall pick in 2003
• Ben Gordon, 3rd overall pick in 2004
• Joakim Noah, 9th overall pick in 2007
• Derrick Rose, 1st overall pick in 2008
• James Johnson, 16th pick in 2009
• Taj Gibson, 26th pick in 2009
• Wendell Carter, 7th overall pick in 2018
• Coby White, 7th overall pick in 2019

Now, certainly, there are some clear misses in some of Forman’s draft history, and his ability to draft outside of the lottery is questionable, but that’s the case with a lot of executives in this league. I’ll argue that during some of Forman’s draft miscues too, he wasn’t the only person in charge.

Let’s focus on Forman’s successful moves though, Hinrich was a smart pick in a relatively week draft, Gordon while he failed to reach his ceiling due to injury, flashed greatness at times. Then there are the gems.

In 2007 a lot of draft pundits thought the Bulls reached by selecting Joakim Noah, and he turned out to be the anchor to one of the league’s best defenses in the late 2000s-early 2010s. In 2008, everyone considered Derrick Rose the number 1 pick in the draft, and the Bulls picked him and the pick right. Rose was an MVP player in Chicago until injuries derailed his career. Finally, Taj Gibson was a total steal at the end of the draft in 2009, as he became one of the NBA’s most underrated Power Forwards.

Now let’s take a look at how Forman’s successes in the draft could help the New Orleans Pelicans in the future.