Troy Weaver Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Rumors: Pelicans, Queen, Essengue, Raptors, Nets, Wolves

June 25th, 2025 at 1:09pm CST by Luke Adams

While Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN have the Pelicans selecting Duke center Khaman Maluach with the seventh overall pick in their latest mock draft ahead of Wednesday night’s event, there has been some 11th-hour buzz linking New Orleans to Derik Queen, Givony notes.

As Givony explains, new Pelicans executive Troy Weaver has “long-standing connections” to Baltimore- and D.C.-area prospects, and his son was a graduate assistant on Maryland’s coaching staff in 2024/25, so he had an opportunity to scout Queen extensively this past season.

New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars recently indicated Weaver will play an important role in the team’s draft decisions, lauding the former Pistons GM for his “elite” ability to identify talent.

Here’s more on the 2025 NBA draft, with the first round just hours away:

After flying across the Atlantic from Germany this week, French forward Noa Essengue initially traveled to Toronto for a “secret” private workout with the Raptors before heading on to New York for the draft, according to Givony. While it may be just a coincidence, when Essengue was asked on Tuesday which players he models his game after, he mentioned three current or former Raptors: Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam, and Kawhi Leonard (Twitter video link via Erik Slater of ClutchPoints).
The Nets are signaling that they’re unlikely to move down from the No. 8 pick and aren’t opposed to the idea of using all five of their first-round picks tonight, given how many openings they’ll likely have on their roster, per Givony and Woo. Head coach Jordi Fernandez and Brooklyn’s coaching staff are also considered “friendly to the idea” of developing young talent, ESPN’s duo notes. Still, Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link) questions whether this leak is meant to improve the Nets’ leverage in trade talks involving some of those first-rounders.
The Timberwolves have conveyed an openness to moving the No. 17 overall pick for future assets, depending on which prospects are on the board at that point, Givony reports.
Like ESPN, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his mock draft on Wednesday. Interestingly, the two sites have the exact same results through the top 13 picks before starting to deviate at No. 14.

Southwest Notes: KCP, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Weaver

June 21st, 2025 at 1:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Magic wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said in the latest episode of his Dawg Talk Podcast (YouTube link) that he got a heads-up he would be traded to the Grizzlies before the agreement was reported last Sunday, so he wasn’t caught off guard when the news broke on social media. And while it took him a little time to wrap his head around the idea of changing teams again just one year after signing with Orlando, the 32-year-old is enthusiastic about what he’ll be able to bring to his new club in Memphis.

“The more I talked about it, the more I got excited,” Caldwell-Pope said, singling out Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Zach Edey as new teammates he’s looking forward to playing with. “A lot of the guys over there I know and I’m going to enjoy playing with. Seeing them, playing against them and the style that they have, I think it fits right into my game.”

Caldwell-Pope had a down year with the Magic in 2024/25, scoring just 8.7 points per game with a 34.2% mark on three-point attempts — both marks were well below his career averages. However, he knocked down 40.3% of his outside shots in the five seasons before ’24/25 and won a pair of titles during that stretch, so he’ll bring championship experience to a Grizzlies team that has won just a single playoff series during the Morant/Jackson era.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

Having acquired this year’s No. 16 overall pick in their deal with Orlando, the Grizzlies took a closer look on Friday at a prospect who could be a target in that spot, bringing in Georgia’s Asa Newell for a pre-draft workout, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Twitter link). Earl Timberlake (Bryant), Jahmyl Telfort (Butler), Jordan Gainey (Tennessee), and Obinna Anochili-Killen (Marshall) also participated in the session, Cole notes.
According to Grant Afseth of RG.org, a number of agents who represent point guards in this year’s free agent class have said they’re eyeing the Mavericks. With Kyrie Irving expected to miss a portion of next season while recovering from ACL surgery, those player reps view Dallas as a good spot for their clients to “build value and contribute to a playoff-caliber roster,” Afseth writes. Chris Paul and Malcolm Brogdon are among the free agent point guards who have been linked to the Mavs, while Jrue Holiday and Lonzo Ball have been cited as possible trade options.
New Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars tells Rod Walker of NOLA.com that he wasn’t disappointed when the club’s first-round pick slipped to No. 7 on lottery night, since he’s confident New Orleans will still get a good player at that spot. As Walker details, one reason why Dumars isn’t worried is because he trusts the scouting ability of new senior VP of basketball operations Troy Weaver. “Troy has a unique skill set,” Dumars said. “His ability to identify talent in this league is elite. He has a long track record of being able to identify players at an elite level.”

Pelicans Hire Troy Weaver As Senior VP Of Basketball Operations

May 28th, 2025 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

May 28: The Pelicans have formally confirmed the addition of Weaver to their front office, announcing that he’s the team’s new senior VP of basketball operations.

New Orleans also announced Jason Hervey as the team’s director of player personnel and Davis Smith as basketball operations manager. The club’s deal with Hervey was previously reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

April 23: The Pelicans are hiring former Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, according to Marc J. Spears of Andscape, who reports (via Twitter) that Weaver will be named the senior vice president in New Orleans’ basketball operations department under new executive VP Joe Dumars.

In a full story on ESPN.com, Spears says Weaver will also hold the title of Pelicans general manager.

Weaver spent more than a decade in the Thunder’s front office before being hired by the Pistons as their general manager in 2020. He oversaw the rebuilding project in Detroit for four years, but was removed from his position last spring after the team posted a franchise-worst 14-68 record in 2023/24.

As poor as the Pistons’ record was during Weaver’s tenure, he perhaps deserves partial credit for the team’s renaissance this season, which was led by a handful of his draft picks, including star point guard Cade Cunningham, center Jalen Duren, and swingman Ausar Thompson.

Following his exit from Detroit, Weaver joined the Wizards last summer as a senior advisor. He’ll be leaving that role to join the Pelicans’ front office, says Spears.

Although both Dumars and Weaver are former heads of basketball operations in Detroit, their stints with the club didn’t overlap at all. Dumars led the Pistons’ front office from 2010-14, departing the organization while Weaver was still in Oklahoma City.

Pistons Notes: Fan Survey, Langdon, Hardaway Jr., Beasley

August 29th, 2024 at 6:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons fans made it known in an annual survey conducted by James Edwards III of The Athletic that this is somewhat of a make-or-break year for the franchise.

Only 35.8% of the more than 2,000 fans who cast their votes believe the team is headed in the right direction, while 38.7% said they were unsure. The remaining 25.4% believe the Pistons aren’t on the right path. Edwards notes that in previous surveys he’s conducted with the fans, they tended to be more optimistic.

Regarding the question of which player needs to take the biggest leap during the upcoming season, 69% chose either Jalen Duren and Jaden Ivey. Both players had uneven second seasons under previous head coach Monty Williams and will be eligible for rookie scale extensions during the 2025 offseason. It shows that the fans believe this is a pivotal season for both lottery picks, Edwards notes.

As for this summer, the best move wasn’t a player acquisition, according to a majority of fans. Instead, the firing of former GM Troy Weaver received 62.7% of the votes.

We have more on the Pistons:

Trajan Langdon‘s personnel moves this summer showed that the new president of basketball operations is taking a long-range approach toward building the franchise, according to Pistons.com’s Keith Langlois. Langdon added a number of veterans on one- and two-year deals to improve the team’s short-term prospects but didn’t take any roll-of-the-dice gambles that might have hindered the long-term vision. Langlois notes that the next two draft classes are deeper with more projected franchise-altering prospects than 2024’s class featured.
Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley are two of the offseason acquisitions who might be flipped at the trade deadline, depending upon how the first 50 games shake out, according to Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required). Hardaway, acquired in a salary dump from Dallas, and Beasley, who signed a one-year contract as a free agent, are proven gunners who could help a contender if their efficiency holds up.
Did you miss any of the Pistons’ offseason moves? You can find our Offseason Check-In right here.

Troy Weaver To Join Wizards As Senior Advisor

June 24th, 2024 at 7:48am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Pistons general manager Troy Weaver will become a senior advisor with the Wizards, sources told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

As rumored last week, Weaver will reunite with Monumental Sports/Wizards president Michael Winger and GM Will Dawkins, who took over the team last summer. The three executives spent more than a decade together in Oklahoma City’s front office.

Wojnarowski hears that Weaver’s agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, is finalizing a contract to have Weaver in place in time for Wednesday’s draft and the start of free agency this weekend. A team executive tells Woj that Winger and Dawkins consider Weaver to be a “truth teller” who is willing to challenge them regarding difficult decisions.

Weaver is also viewed as an expert on prospect evaluation and player development, according to Wojnarowski, who cites his role in creating the powerful Thunder team built around Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Weaver is a Washington, D.C., native, and Wojnarowski notes that he launched his career as head coach of DC Assault, a successful AAU program. That led to assistant coaching jobs in the college ranks with Pittsburgh, New Mexico and Syracuse and eventually an NBA opportunity as the head scout in Utah.

Weaver and the Pistons parted ways in what was termed a “mutual decision” earlier this month as part of an organizational housecleaning after Trajan Langdon was hired as head of basketball operations. Detroit also dismissed head coach Monty Williams and is still searching for his replacement.

Although he didn’t produce much on-court success during his four years with the Pistons, Weaver assembled a promising collection of young talent. Draft picks during his tenure produced Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson.

Scotto’s Latest: J. Smith, Toppin, Weaver, Hartenstein, Huerter, O’Neale, More

June 15th, 2024 at 4:24pm CST by Arthur Hill

Early indications suggest that Pacers power forward Jalen Smith will decline his $5.4MM player option for next season and become an unrestricted free agent, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reports in his latest aggregate mock draft. Sources tell Scotto that a final decision hasn’t been made, but Smith appears to be leaning toward testing the free agency waters. He has a June 29 deadline to opt in for 2024/25.

Smith, 24, appeared in 61 games this season and posted a career high in scoring at 9.9 PPG, along with 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 17.2 minutes per night. He was selected 10th overall by Phoenix in the 2020 draft and was acquired by Indiana at the 2022 trade deadline.

Scotto notes that rival teams are watching to see whether the Pacers will re-sign restricted free agent Obi Toppin. If the fourth-year power forward reaches a new deal, there’s a belief that Indiana might be willing to trade Jarace Walker, who was a lottery pick last June.

Scotto shares more inside information in his aggregate draft:

Washington is believed to be a potential destination for former Pistons general manager Troy Weaver, who recently parted ways with the team, Scotto writes, noting that Weaver was once part of Oklahoma City’s front office along with Wizards executives Michael Winger and Will Dawkins.
Scotto talked with some NBA executives who believe the Magic should be considered a threat to sign Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein. Orlando could have close to $50MM in cap space to work with.
Executives also expect the Kings to explore deals involving Kevin Huerter and Harrison Barnes, Scotto adds.
The Raptors plan to work out an extension with Scottie Barnes this summer, sources tell Scotto. The versatile swingman made his first All-Star appearance this year.
Scotto echoes other reports in stating that Royce O’Neale is likely to reach a new contract with the Suns. The 31-year-old forward, who was acquired from Brooklyn at the trade deadline, is expected to receive about $10MM per year, according to Scotto.
Vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry isn’t expected to return to the Spurs next season, sources tell Scotto. The longtime NBA player has been an executive with San Antonio since 2018.
Assistant coach Jason Love will likely leave the Sixers and join Doc Rivers’ staff with the Bucks, Scotto states. Love previously worked for Rivers in Philadelphia.
The Hornets are assembling a staff of assistants for new head coach Charles Lee. Scotto hears it will include Lamar Skeeter, Josh Longstaff, Chris Jent, Ryan Frazier, Zach Peterson, Matt Hill and Blaine Mueller.

Central Notes: Bird, Pacers, Pistons, Portis

June 12th, 2024 at 9:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

Six players who participated in a pre-draft workout for the Pacers on Wednesday were surprised when a Hall of Famer showed up to watch them, writes Zion Brown of The Indianapolis Star. Larry Bird, who was hired as a consultant last June, walked into the gym to observe the prospects, who noticed his presence immediately.

“It’s exciting,” Oakland’s Jack Gohlke said. “Obviously (he’s) an NBA legend, and a guy who has been with the Pacers organization for forever and a legend with the Celtics, too. So I think it’s just really cool. … I would say it’s almost easier to play in front of a sold-out arena than to have these guys sitting courtside, but it’s still a really cool experience.”

Bird has worked for the Pacers in several capacities over the years, starting as head coach in 1997. Tyrese Haliburton and Isaiah Jackson also made an appearance on Wednesday, but the focus was on Bird, even though the players at the workout were all born well after his playing career ended.

“Once he walked in I was like, ‘I recognize him,’” UC-Santa Barbara’s Ajay Mitchell said. “It’s amazing to see him here. Working in front of him, it’s a great opportunity and it’s a blessing to have him around.”

Also participating in the workout were Yongxi Cui of China, Thijs de Ridder of Belgium, TCU’s Emanuel Miller and Michigan State’s Tyson Walker. Indiana owns picks 36, 49 and 50 in this month’s draft.

There’s more from the Central Division:

The Pacers have another workout set for Thursday featuring Baylor’s Jalen Bridges, North Carolina State’s D.J. Burns Jr., West Virginia’s Jesse Edwards, Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves and Morehead State’s Kalil Thomas, the team announced (via Twitter). Indiana’s Xavier Johnson was a late replacement for USC’s Boogie Ellis (Twitter link).
New Pistons head of basketball operations Trajan Langdon has a challenge to try to fix an organization that has been sputtering for years, observes Bob Wojnowski of The Detroit News. Wojnowski blames owner Tom Gores, whom he accuses of meddling too often, as well as the people he has entrusted to run the franchise. He criticizes former general manager Troy Weaver for his roster construction, particularly his willingness to take on big men who failed elsewhere, and coach Monty Williams for his insistence on playing Killian Hayes and his misuse of Jaden Ivey early in the season.
Bobby Portis should be thrilled by the return of Darvin Ham to the Bucks‘ coaching staff, notes Christopher Kuhagen of The Journal-Sentinel. Kuhagen recalls that after Milwaukee was eliminated from the playoffs in 2023, Portis sent out a social media message that read, “Only thing hurt us was D ham leaving. That ain’t talked about enough.”

Pistons Part Ways With GM Troy Weaver

June 1st, 2024 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 1: The Pistons announced Weaver’s departure in a press release, calling it a “mutual decision.”

“I very much appreciate all the dedication Troy displayed to our Pistons franchise,” Gores said in a statement. “As much as we have struggled lately, we will look back and see Troy as an important person in the remaking of the Pistons. He took the pain of rebuilding head on and he did the hard work to get us the flexibility we have today. He also assembled a great core of young men with tremendous skill and character to give us a path to the future. Make no mistake, I have real appreciation for who Troy is as a person and what he has meant to the organization. I wish him the very best as he pursues his ventures.”

MAY 31: The Pistons and general manager Troy Weaver are parting ways following the team’s decision to hire Trajan Langdon as its new head of basketball operations, according to James L. Edwards III and Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Reporting ahead of Langdon’s hiring indicated that Detroit’s new top front office decision-maker would be given the freedom to either retain or let go of Weaver. According to Edwards and Charania, the Pistons offered Weaver the option of staying with the franchise in an off-site scouting role, but he turned down that position and will leave the organization.

Weaver was hired as the Pistons’ general manager in 2020 and oversaw a full-scale rebuild during his four-year tenure. However, the team hasn’t made the strides that ownership and management were hoping for and expecting. After winning 20 games in Weaver’s first year and 23 in his second, Detroit has gotten even worse over the last two seasons, compiling just 17 wins in 2022/23 and a league-worst 14 this past season.

Weaver made some good draft picks during his time with the Pistons, as Edwards and Charania note. Cade Cunningham, 2021’s No. 1 overall pick, has star potential, 2020 first-rounder Isaiah Stewart has developed into a solid rotation player, and Ausar Thompson, Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, and Marcus Sasser have shown promise. However, Weaver’s first lottery pick – Killian Hayes at No. 7 in 2020 – was a miss, and his moves to fill out the roster around the young core weren’t particularly fruitful.

Langdon is expected to have “free rein” to make changes to both the front office and coaching staff, according to Edwards and Charania, who say that team owner Tom Gores has told him that money is no object.

With Weaver no longer in the picture, Detroit is in serious talks to potentially hire another Pelicans executive, league sources tell The Athletic — Michael Blackstone, the VP of basketball administration in New Orleans, could become Langdon’s second-in-command with the Pistons, per Edwards and Charania. Blackstone spent time in the Cavaliers’ and Hawks’ front offices before being hired by the Pelicans in 2020.

Pistons Notes: Langdon, Weaver, Draft, Fontecchio

May 25th, 2024 at 9:44pm CST by Arthur Hill

To succeed as the Pistons‘ new head of basketball operations, Trajan Langdon will have to be given total freedom to remake the organization as he sees fit, contends Shawn Windsor of The Detroit Free Press. Windsor notes that Langdon impressed team owner Tom Gores by building one of the league’s best young rosters with the Pelicans. He’ll have a head start on that process with a Detroit team that’s about to pick in the top five for the fourth straight season.

Windsor expects Langdon to part with general manager Troy Weaver, whose roster moves haven’t produced any on-court success during his four years on the job. A decision will also have to be made about head coach Monty Williams, who is still owed $67.5MM in guaranteed money from the record-setting contract last summer. Williams failed to develop the team’s young talent, according to Windsor, and often gave the impression that he only took the job because of the money.

Langdon’s greatest challenge will be trying to forge a competent roster from a group that only had 14 wins this season. Windsor observes that the Pistons won’t really know how good Cade Cunningham can be until they surround him with teammates who complement his skills. He adds that Langdon built a reputation as an effective talent evaluator in New Orleans, so management should trust his judgment as a new rebuilding process begins.

There’s more from Detroit:

Finding or developing a rim protector should be an offseason priority, Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes in a mailbag column. Sankofa says Jalen Duren is physically able to handle the job, but he needs to improve in terms of timing and consistent effort. Isaiah Stewart is undersized for a center, which makes him less of a deterrent under the basket. Sankofa lists ball control and shooting as other areas of concern, as the Pistons were 28th in turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio and 26th in three-point shooting percentage.
Trading out of the draft may help spark the rebuild quicker than adding another young player, Sankofa adds in part two of his mailbag. He notes that the Pistons’ roster already includes six first-round picks made by Weaver. Stewart has signed an extension and Cunningham is expected to this summer, while Ivey and Duren become extension-eligible in 2025. Sankofa points out that decisions are already being made about which young players are going to form the team’s foundation, and another lottery pick might complicate the process.
Simone Fontecchio, who recently underwent left foot surgery, won’t be able to play for Italy this summer in an Olympic qualifying tournament, according to a Sportando report.

Pistons Intend To Hire Trajan Langdon As Head Of Basketball Operations

May 23rd, 2024 at 4:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pistons plan to hire Trajan Langdon away from the Pelicans to become their new head of basketball operations, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the two sides are working toward finalizing a deal. That deal likely won’t be completed until next week, tweets Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press.

Langdon has spent the last five years as New Orleans’ general manager, serving as the second-in-command to executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. According to Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link), officials within the Pelicans organization “rave about his talent evaluation skills.”

A former standout as a player at Duke, Langdon was drafted with the 11th overall pick in 1999, though he spent just three seasons in the NBA with the Cavaliers. He went on to become a star overseas, winning a pair of EuroLeague titles in 2006 and 2008 with CSKA Moscow. He made multiple All-EuroLeague teams, earned EuroLeague Final Four MVP honors in 2008, and was named top the EuroLeague’s All-Decade team for the 2000s.

After retiring as a player in 2011, Langdon got his first front office role in San Antonio, working as a scout for the Spurs from 2012-15. Before being hired by the Pelicans, he was an assistant general manager with the Nets for three years under Sean Marks.

Long viewed as a candidate to eventually run a front office, Langdon actually interviewed for the Pelicans’ top job in 2019 before being hired under Griffin. He later received consideration for head of basketball operations jobs in Sacramento and Washington.

After finishing the 2023/24 season with a 14-68 record, marking their fourth straight year at or near the bottom of the NBA’s standings, the Pistons confirmed in mid-April that they were seeking a president of basketball operations who would replace Troy Weaver as the front office’s top decision-maker.

Langdon was named last week as one of four frontrunners for the job, along with Scott Perry, Dennis Lindsey, and John Hammond. According to James L. Edwards and Shams Charania of The Athletic, Lindsey was the other finalist, and both he and Langdon met with team owner Tom Gores multiple times in recent weeks before the club made a decision.

The Pistons considered over a dozen candidates during their search process, per Edwards and Charania. Their list of possible targets reportedly included Timberwolves president Tim Connelly, who will have the opportunity to opt out of his contract with Minnesota this offseason. However, Detroit has decided to move forward with Langdon rather than waiting to see if Connelly will be available.

Previous reports indicated that the Pistons’ new front office executive will have the final say on Weaver – who remains with the franchise for now – as well as head coach Monty Williams. Like Langdon, Williams previously spent five years working in New Orleans, though their Pelicans stints didn’t overlap at all. Williams still has five years and $60MM+ left on his contract, but Gores is willing to eat that money if Langdon decides he wants to bring in a new coach, according to The Athletic.

As for the Pelicans, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype recently reported that assistant general manager Bryson Graham would likely be the top candidate for a promotion to GM if Langdon were to leave the organization.