Pelicans hire Joe Dumars: Hall of Famer takes over New Orleans’ front office after David Griffin firing

The New Orleans Pelicans have Joe Dumars as their new president of basketball operations, the team announced Wednesday. The move comes one day after the team fired lead executive David Griffin. Dumars, a Hall of Famer, led the Detroit Pistons’ front office from 2000-2014 and helped guide the franchise to the 2004 title. Dumars, 61, has worked in the NBA’s league office as the executive vice president and head of basketball operations since 2022.

“Joe’s achievements as a renowned Hall of Fame player, NBA champion and front office executive are indisputable,” Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson said in a statement. “I have a great deal of respect for what Joe has already accomplished as a player and executive, but more importantly I admire his character and leadership. His vast experience and relationships throughout the NBA, along with his strong leadership qualities, will have a tremendous impact on our organization and our goal of winning an NBA championship. While at the league, he was involved in every aspect of basketball operations and got unparalleled perspective and knowledge of the most effective personnel, strategy and tactics throughout the league. That will benefit our team immediately as we move forward. I am delighted to welcome Joe, his wife Debbie, and their children Jordan and Aren to the Pelicans.”

A Louisiana native, Dumars was the NBA’s Executive of the Year in 2003, and ESPN named him as the frontrunner for the Pelicans job shortly after Griffin’s dismissal. Dumars was a six-time All-Star as a player and was part of the Pistons’ back-to-back championship teams in 1989 and 1990.

Griffin, fired by New Orleans Monday, took over the Pelicans before the 2019-20 season after winning a championship with the 2016 Cleveland Cavaliers. However, a rash of injuries and several coaching changes ultimately doomed his once-promising tenure in New Orleans. The news of Griffin’s firing came one day after the Pelicans finished the 2024-25 season with the fourth-worst record in the NBA at 21-61.

The Pelicans’ press release announcing Griffin’s ousting did not mention coach Willie Green. Green was considered to be on the hot seat after the dismal season, but his job appears safe for now.

“After considerable thought and evaluation, I have decided to relieve David Griffin of his duties as executive vice president of basketball operations,” Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said in a statement. “This was a difficult decision, but one that I feel is necessary at this time to bring a fresh approach to our front office and build a culture that will deliver sustainable success, on and off the court. I am committed to hiring the right person to lead our basketball operations department and deliver an NBA Championship to our city. That is what our fans deserve. I am truly appreciative of David for his leadership and many contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community over the last six years. We wish David and his wife, Meredith, and their family all the best moving forward.”

Griffin was one of the most sought-after executives in basketball when he surprisingly became available in 2018, following a breakdown in extension talks with Cleveland. He took over the Pelicans a year later and immediately won the 2019 NBA Draft lottery, which gave New Orleans the chance to draft Zion Williamson. As a player, Williamson has mostly lived up to the billing. The trouble is that he has barely ever been available to play for the Pelicans. He has played just 214 regular-season games in six years in New Orleans and only 30 in 2024-25. Williamson has three years remaining on his current contract, but his future with the organization is a constant question.

How to build around — or potentially trade — Williamson will be one of the most-pressing questions facing Dumars as he takes over the job. The Pelicans are hoping for more luck in next month’s Draft Lottery. New Orleans has a 12.5% chance at landing the No. 1 pick and the chance to draft Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. The Pels have a 48.1% chance of landing a top-four pick.

Injuries have been a persistent theme in New Orleans even outside of Williamson. Brandon Ingram, the centerpiece of the Anthony Davis trade, had also struggled to stay healthy. The Pelicans were forced to trade Ingram for a meager return at this year’s deadline rather than let him walk for nothing in free agency. Dejounte Murray, this year’s major addition, tore his Achilles midway through the year. 

Griffin also cycled through coaches in his role in New Orleans. When he took over the team, he inherited Alvin Gentry as his head coach. He fired him after one season, hired Stan Van Gundy, and and then fired him after only one year. Green has been his head coach ever since, and in that time, the Pelicans have not won a playoff series.

Griffin generally built talented rosters in New Orleans. He drafted extremely well, landing key players like Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, Jose Alvarado and Yves Missi outside of the lottery. However, he not quite got the mix right, and he never built a team capable of surviving Williamson’s frequent absences. The result is a tenure with the Pelicans that once seemed like it would yield consistent contention, but ultimately amounted to far less.