Although the New Orleans Pelicans already had their Media Day happen, that doesn’t mean they have gone unmentioned at other team Media Days. Former Pelicans wing Bruce Brown Jr. had some comments that should leave fans thankful David Griffin is no longer in charge of the New Orleans front office.
“So, as soon as I got to Toronto, I thought about coming back to Denver right away,” he said. “Fast forward to getting traded to New Orleans. Another tough spot. A lot of injuries there. And the whole time I was in New Orleans, I was thinking about the Nuggets.”
Now, obviously, this quote does just sound like Brown Jr. just wanted to return to Denver and try to bring another championship to the city like he did in 2023. I don’t think Brown Jr. was trying to offend either Toronto or New Orleans with these comments; it's just more about him feeling so comfortable and welcomed in Denver.
However, it also feels like this quote is similar to what Dejounte Murray said during the offseason while he was on the Pivot podcast. Murray spoke about how last season was just a disaster in every way for the Pelicans, and he felt a lack of support, especially from the front office.
This could also be part of the reason Brown Jr. had a poor experience with the Pelicans because he felt a lack of support or care from the front office. With last year getting out of hand as quickly as it did for the Pelicans due to the numerous injuries the team dealt with, it felt like the front office threw in the towel early, and that affected a ton of relationships.
Thankfully, it’s a new era, and it appears the years of poor management are behind the Pelicans.
Joe Dumars is making sure he doesn't repeat David Griffin's mistakes
I’m not going to sit here and act like Bruce Brown Jr. was someone who could help the Pelicans reach the NBA finals this season. That being said, an NBA champion and a solid three-and-D threat, who could have been a great leader and spark plug player off the bench for this team.
Maybe if Joe Dumars was running the show during last season, Brown Jr. would’ve been back as a key role player for New Orleans. We've seen in his tenure with the Pelicans that he is already big on building relationships with players and is just as invested in the player as he is in the person.
This was something the previous front office struggled with and was part of the reason that, under David Griffin, the Pelicans struggled to build a culture. Now, under Dumars, the future looks bright, so hopefully, he won't burn bridges the same way Griffin did.