There has been more and more chatter around the NBA in recent weeks about David Griffin‘s job security, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who says that Griffin’s hold on his position as Pelicans executive VP of basketball operations appears increasingly tenuous.
The Pelicans came into the season with playoff aspirations, but have lost eight consecutive games and own a league-worst 1-11 record. The team has been without Zion Williamson so far, and Griffin has faced criticism for making misleading comments on Media Day about when the former No. 1 pick would be ready to return from his offseason foot surgery.
[RELATED: Williamson Out Until At Least Mid-To-Late November]
When Griffin took the reins in New Orleans in 2019, the Pelicans were in position to draft Williamson and cash in on trades involving stars Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, giving them a massive leg up in the rebuilding process.
Although Griffin did well to stock up on draft picks in the Davis and Holiday blockbusters, he has made a handful of other questionable moves, including extending Steven Adams and then dumping him a year later before the extension even took effect. Additionally, besides Williamson, Griffin’s first-round picks in 2019 and 2020 – Jaxson Hayes, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Kira Lewis – have yet to make a major impact at the NBA level.
According to Fischer, another recent incident raised eyebrows around the league. A NOLA.com report in September claimed that Griffin blamed the Pelicans’ poor start in 2019/20 on former head coach Alvin Gentry, telling one person, “I give Alvin all the answers to the test, and he still fails.” After Sacramento beat the Pelicans in New Orleans on October 29, Griffin approached Gentry – now a Kings assistant – to say hello, but Gentry viewed Griffin’s friendliness as inauthentic, per Fischer.
During that interaction, Fischer says, Griffin denied multiple details from that NOLA.com report, while Gentry pointed out that the Pelicans had essentially the same record under Stan Van Gundy (31-41) in 2020/21 as they did under Gentry in ’19/20. “You must not have given Stan the answers to the test, either,” Gentry shouted at Griffin, per Fischer’s sources, who say the two men had to be separated.
Meanwhile, Willie Green, the third coach of Griffin’s tenure with the Pelicans, expressed frustration following the club’s loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN details. Four New Orleans players combined for five technical fouls in the game, prompting Green to call out his players after the game for complaining about foul calls they “haven’t earned.” The first-year head coach also wasn’t happy with his players’ compete level.
“It’s not the losing streak. It’s not one quarter. It’s our approach to this game,” Green said. “There were moments in the game where we just didn’t have guys who didn’t compete hard enough for me. Hard enough for our team. That’s a non-negotiable for me. That’s the deal. That’s who we are. As the leader of this team, I can’t have that. I can’t have guys on the floor if they aren’t going to give 110%.”
Getting Williamson and Brandon Ingram (hip) back on the court will go a long way toward making the Pelicans competitive again, but the club’s early-season slump is creating an increasingly difficult path to playoff contention. If New Orleans doesn’t bounce back in a major way, significant changes could be coming, and the head coach is unlikely to be the fall guy for a third straight year — that means Griffin finds himself firmly on the hot seat.
Griffin is a horrible GM. The Bulls fans thank you for giving away Lonzo Ball.
He was gonna leave in free agency anyway
The problem isn’t that he did a sign and trade for Ball, its that they didnt get anything at all of value for him. Satoransky is worthless, Temple is a decent role player, but hes ancient, overpaid for what he brings to the table and signed for 2 more years.. Griffin could of demanded Thaddeus Young from the Bulls who at least is a prodcutive player. Why not match the offer sheet and shop Ball around to other teams? The Bulls were not the only PG needy team in the NBA this offseason or the only team with interest in adding Ball.. Then to top it off to land Balls replacement he agrees to give up an unporotected 2922 #1 pick to get Graham.
The man should be fired.
“Then to top it off to land Balls replacement he agrees to give up an unporotected 2922 #1 pick to get Graham.”
Nope. It’s a top-14 protected pick, and if it doesn’t convey it’ll be two second-rounders. So in other words it’ll be two second-rounders the way this season’s going.
As for why they didn’t match the offer sheet and shop Ball, what if you don’t get fair enough value to trade him? Not saying Satoransky and Temple are, but New Orleans already got burned matching an offer sheet for someone who didn’t want to be there (Eric Gordon). You don’t want to get stuck with that again. (And I’m saying this as someone who thinks, between their record and Zion’s drama, that it’s time for Griff to go.)
Griffin has been a disaster and has created a negative environment for all involved. Time for you to go bro
I can’t believe he still has a job. I thought for sure he wouldn’t survive after last season.
It will be a surprise if he and Green last until year’s end, or perhaps month’s end.
Green isn’t going anywhere, everyone who’s relevant recognizes that their record isn’t his fault, it’s that they basically have nowhere near enough without Zion and Ingram because they built the rest of the roster around those two guys. He’s got the respect of the players and is holding them accountable (especially after that five-tech debacle). Griffin’s toast but they’re not dumping Green.
Agree with everyone, its pretty obvious that his decisions were awful.
Even a healthy Zion will not carry this team to Playoffs IMO.
The only good thing he did this off-season was get Jonas.
Agreed
I’d trade Ingram and bucks picks for Simmons
Lonzo trade is the awful
I actually would do that deal too if I was NOLA. I don’t even care about the Ben-Zion fit, I’m not high on Zion at all. I’d trade him too and build around Ben.
Zion’s ceilling is pretty high, even if he looks unprofesional with his weight thing and is kind of an injury concern, you must think about his fit with Ben wich is godawful.
Ingram is not a problem, he is playing good.
I haven’t watched a lot of NOP and from what i’ve seen they look like a mess. Ill wait for Zion and go from there to see wich pieces are missing before make any move.
Duh
Good riddance Mr Griffin!
Don’t let the door hit you on your way out!
Griffin built his GM career by riding LeBron’s coat tails. Then he was able to use his NBA network gig to make some people (in New Orleans) forget that he had never been able to put together a winning team without LeBron.
I don’t think he’s ever understood the job. He was hired to build a team, not just make draft picks and trades. Even a detached owner like the NOP have has to see there’s nothing being built here.
Should’ve kept Stan and never brought this clown in.
they already wasted another season and so early too. where is Ingram even at? he had bruise hip and hasnt been seen since october
He should be
They have some very nice pieces and teams with their two best players missing are never going to be good.
The problem is that they aren’t any better than when he arrived even if everyone is healthy.
The mark of bad leadership is needing to win trades in the media instead of knowing and doing what you need to do to build a good team. Playing for stats and playing to win are not the same and are not really even compatable.
Chemistry isn’t just a word. It reflects the delicate and precise balance of different things needed in precise quantities to make something.
You don’t just have to know that it exists and that you have to consider it. You need a PhD in Chemistry and owners who know cake ingredients don’t seem like they can magically turn into a cake.
You lost me with the last few paragraphs.
The only thing I learned is that you need a PhD in chemistry to make a cake.