The Pelicans didn’t conduct an extensive search before hiring Joe Dumars as their new head of basketball operations in the spring, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who hears from sources that Dumars has one of the NBA’s “most generous” executive contracts despite the fact that New Orleans isn’t typically among the league’s bigger spenders.
After the Pelicans hired Dumars and awarded him that “generous” contract just two days after firing David Griffin and three days after last season ended, the veteran executive seems to be deferring to top lieutenant Troy Weaver on many of the team’s biggest roster decisions, Hollinger writes. Echoing earlier reporting from Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Hollinger says the offseason trades for Jordan Poole and Derik Queen were both believed to be spearheaded by Weaver.
According to Hollinger, executives around the NBA were “utterly baffled” by the Pelicans’ decision to bring in Weaver as their senior VP of basketball operations, since there “wasn’t exactly a bidding war” among teams looking to hire him in a high-ranking front office role after a disappointing run with the Pistons. Sources in Detroit tell The Athletic that no one from the Pelicans called Weaver’s former team to vet him before he was hired in New Orleans.
Still, Hollinger isn’t blaming Weaver for the Pelicans’ slow start this season, suggesting that team owner Gayle Benson and Dumars deserve more of the criticism for their “arm’s-length operation” of the organization and the basketball operations department, respectively.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), James Borrego‘s best chance to keep the Pelicans’ head coaching job beyond this season would be to significantly improve the team’s offense, which ranked 27th in the NBA at the time of Willie Green‘s dismissal. Borrego is known for his offensive acumen, Fischer notes — the Hornets ranked eighth in that department during the coach’s final year in Charlotte in 2021/22.
- Hollinger is skeptical that Borrego will remain in New Orleans long-term, suggesting this season will more likely be an audition for his next job, with a Weaver-connected candidate such as Kevin Ollie getting the Pelicans’ permanent job next spring. While Fischer has also heard the rumblings linking Ollie to the Pelicans, he says Ollie’s standing in New Orleans is “a bit murky.”
- One name that would be on the Pelicans’ wish list, according to Fischer, is Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, though there’s no indication that he’ll become available anytime soon. As Fischer writes, Orlando’s front office initiated some changes to Mosley’s coaching staff during the offseason, and the team got off to a slow start this fall amid whispers of a disconnect between Mosley and star forward Paolo Banchero. However, the club appears to be hitting its stride this month — the Magic have won seven of their last 10 games, with two of those losses coming by just four points apiece.
- Queen and Jeremiah Fears have played greater roles in the early going, but another Pelicans rookie, second-rounder Micah Peavy, is starting to earn regular playing time too, observes Rod Walker of NOLA.com. A 6’7″ wing, Peavy has appeared in each of New Orleans’ past seven games and submitted his best performance of the season on Monday vs. Oklahoma City, contributing 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with four assists and four rebounds. “I thought he came out and gave us great energy,” Borrego said. “Crashing the boards. Defensively, he really impacted that game. So I’m really proud of him. He responded tonight and that was a bright spot, for sure.”
- As Walker details, Peavy takes pride in his defense and has said he wants to make a Jose Alvarado-esque impact by bringing “energy” as part of the Pelicans’ second unit. “I want to be that spark plug off the bench. I see how Jose goes in and he’s the spark plug, and I want to do that as well,” Peavy said. “Do whatever it takes to be on the floor and make winning plays. Especially with my defense. That’s where I think I can help the team the most. And then knock down shots like I did (Monday).”