The New Orleans Pelicans made a bold move when they fired former Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin on the very first day of their offseason. Griffin's tenure in the Bayou had been rocky through the last six years, at best. This past 2024-25 NBA season, in which injuries dashed the Pelicans' playoff aspirations and the team ultimately finished just 21-61, turned out to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
Cutting ties with Griffin immediately following the conclusion of their campaign was a bit abrupt, but it couldn't be classified as unexpected, especially after New Orleans's disastrous season. While he can't be blamed for Zion Williamson's health concerns or the various injuries that soiled their season this past year, it was clear that time had run out on his regime, with just two playoff wins in six years.
The controversial part of the Pelicans' offseason thus far is who they replaced Griffin with and how they did it. Just one day after firing Griff, the franchise announced that they had hired former Detroit Pistons general manager and recent NBA executive Joe Dumars to fill the seat. The timing made it clear that the New Orleans brass had already had this planned out ahead of time and didn't undergo any real due process before choosing Dumars as Griffin's successor.
This front office change and the manner in which it was executed felt uninspired and lazy. Still, none of that was in Joe Dumars's control. All he can do now is do the best job he can, even if it the way he landed the gig might not have been the most favorable way to do so. Since joining the Pelicans, Dumars has gotten busy fleshing out his staff. He's got a lot of work to do to separate himself from David Griffin's regime, but he's already made one major move to differentiate himself from how Griff was operating.
Troy Weaver hire shows that Joe Dumars doesn't want to monopolize control like David Griffin
One of the first moves that Joe Dumars made as the Pelicans' new executive vice president of basketball operations was hiring a number two in Troy Weaver. Prior to joining New Orleans, Weaver had been the general manager for the Pistons between 2020 and 2024, before stepping down last summer and taking a senior advisor role with the Washington Wizards for this past season.
Weaver won't be taking over as GM for the Pelicans, as that post still currently belongs to Bryson Graham. Instead, he's now New Orleans's new senior vice president of basketball operations, the position previously held by WNBA legend Swin Cash.
While Weaver won't have the same nominal position as he held with Detroit, he is expected to take on the same duties, essentially becoming the Pelicans' primary decisionmaker in terms of basketball personnel. Dumars will be the ultimate authority — aside from ownership, of course — as executive vice president of basketball operations, but it seems that Weaver will handle more of the hands-on work, like he did in Detroit.
During Griffin's tenure, Swin Cash held the same title as Weaver but had a much different role. Cash was mostly in charge of player development and scouting and didn't hold much weight in terms of major personnel decisions, as David Griffin himself was the sole authority in those matters during his time.
While Troy Weaver and Joe Dumars himself were both scrutinized hires with questionable resumes at best, it's refreshing to see that Dumars is willing to divvy up responsibilities and bring on more minds to help run the show. Only time will tell if this delegation will turn out to be a better approach than Griffin's monopolistic regime or if it'll turn out to be a "too many cooks in the kitchen" situation. At the least, it's a change from Griff, which is all that the Pelicans can ask for right now.