To this point, the New Orleans Pelicans’ time under the Troy Weaver– and Joe Dumars–led regime has been disappointing. Despite a 14-40 start to this season, the Pelicans opted to make just one trade at this year's deadline and not alter their core at all, even though they are currently without a first-round pick in this upcoming summer's draft.
The Pelicans have a ton of holes, and the cheapest and maybe smartest long-term way to address them is through this year’s draft. To do that, though, the Pelicans likely have to commit to trading one of their valuable core pieces to even create that opportunity. And in an era where drafting is almost a science, Troy Weaver’s track record makes securing a first-round pick in the 2026 draft that much more necessary.
Weaver rarely misses on draft night
Sure, Weaver has his fair share of flaws when it comes to being a decision maker as part of the NBA front office. However, one thing no one can take away from the guy is that he knows how to draft, and a major reason for that is the time he spent in the Oklahoma City Thunder's front office.
Weaver spent several years with the Thunder, serving first as an assistant GM to Sam Presti, and was credited for being a massive advocate for Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka during the 2008 draft. A reminder, when Westbrook was drafted, he was not viewed as a top-four talent when OKC took him fourth overall.
Then in 2020, he made his way from the Thunder to the Pistons, where he hit on Isaiah Stewart at 16 and current Pelican Saddiq Bey at 19 in his first draft running his own show. He did have a miss by swinging on Killian Hayes seventh overall in this same 2020 class, but that was his only true miss during his time running the Pistons.
He then took Cade Cunningham, who was a consensus first pick in 2021, so we won't say much on that one.
In the following year, he took both Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren with their two lottery picks. Although Ivey hasn't really hit top 5 pick potential, he was trending in that direction prior to getting hurt midway through last season. He was averaging 17.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. In Duren's case, he was a massive home run as the now fourth-year big man just made his first All-Star appearance and is heading towards an enormous payday this summer.
But the following year, in 2023, he drafted Ausar Thompson 5th, who is now in his third season and is one of the league's most versatile defenders, and could win defensive player of the year this season, with a per-36 average of 3.8 stocks (steals + blocks).
Three of the Detroit Pistons five current starters were drafted by Weaver during his tenure with the team. Yes, the front office that came in after Weaver's exit in 2024 put the finishing touches on the roster and rounded things out, turning it into what it is now. But Weaver laid the groundwork.
Weaver's already done a good job drafting to this point in his tenure with the Pelicans, as Derik Queen is at No. 4 in the league's latest rookie ladder. And Jeremiah Fears and Micah Peavy continue to flash incredible potential.
With that in mind, the path forward this summer is increasingly clear. If New Orleans is serious about building a sustainable contender, it may be time to start selling pieces of a failing core, stockpile draft capital, and allow Weaver to do what he does best.