The Pelicans and Joe Dumars are finalizing a deal that will make him the team’s new president of basketball operations, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). Charania first reported on Monday that Dumars had emerged as a “serious frontrunner” for the job.
A Hall of Famer as a player, Dumars began his front office career in 2000 as Detroit’s president of basketball operations. He remained in that role until 2014, earning Executive of the Year honors in 2003 and building the Pistons team that won a championship in 2004.
Dumars turned the Pistons into a perennial contender during the first half of his front office tenure in Detroit, making a series of savvy moves to compile a roster led by Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. The club advanced to at least the Eastern Conference Finals for six straight years from 2003-08, making two NBA Finals appearances during that time.
However, Dumars made his share of missteps while running the Pistons, most memorably drafting Darko Milicic with the No. 2 overall pick in 2003, right ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade. Detroit had a losing record in each of Dumars’ last six seasons at the helm and wasn’t set up for success following his exit.
Dumars later had a stint in the Kings’ front office, working in a variety of roles in the organization from 2019-22. He joined Sacramento as a special advisor to then-GM Vlade Divac and became the Kings’ interim head of basketball operations when Divac was fired in 2020.
Dumars subsequently transitioned into a chief strategy officer role following the hiring of general manager Monte McNair and held that title for two years before joining the league office as the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations in 2022. He has been in that position under commissioner Adam Silver for the last three seasons.
A Louisiana native who played his college ball at McNeese State, Dumars will be returning home for his new job with the Pelicans. He’ll be replacing former executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, who was let go by the club on Monday following a disappointing 21-61 season.
New Orleans’ 2024/25 season was decimated by injuries, some of which are expected to carry over to ’25/26, but there’s a solid foundation of talent on the roster for Dumars to work with. Forwards Zion Williamson and Herbert Jones, guard Dejounte Murray, wing Trey Murphy, and center Yves Missi are all locked up for multiple seasons, with CJ McCollum set to enter the final year of his contract.
The Pelicans also control all of their own future first-round picks, along with Indiana’s 2026 first-rounder (top-four protected) and the right to swap picks with Milwaukee in 2026 and 2027 (the Bucks’ 2027 pick is top-four protected). New Orleans’ 2025 first-rounder projects to be in the top half of the lottery.
The future of head coach Willie Green is uncertain — reporting on Monday indicated his status would be decided after a new head of basketball operations is hired, so Dumars will presumably be heavily involved in the decision on whether to retain Green or seek a new coach.
Dumars will be tasked with turning a Pelicans team with just one 50-win season (in 2008) and two playoff series victories (2008 and 2018) since its inception in 2002 into a contender.
Is this really a good hire? Looking at Joe Dumar‘s track record I’m not sure it is?
Can’t be any worse than Griffin.
There’s literally people on these threads that could do a better job than many of the GM’s working for teams.
Gary, This is like reaching the depths of internal hell to reek salvation for lost and tortured souls. Was there really nobody that was a better candidate than him? Respect him as a player but there was a reason why Dumars’ teams from Detroit stopped competing in the East after 2008. He’s a big part of why that playoff drought occurred in the first place.
If he had the Pistons as perennial contenders and in the conference finals the last 6 years there, with a championship and another finals appearance, but his first 6 years were losing seasons, would there still be questions on if it was a good hire?
@maddog32 that’s crazy logic. If it was in the inverse he wouldn’t have been fired. It’s very relevant when he was last successful as a GM too. This kind of mindset that someone good years ago means they are always good leads to dumb decisions like hiring Tony La Russa as manager of the White Sox.
Isn’t he in the hall of famed?
“A Hall of Famer as a player, Dumars began his front office career in 2000 as Detroit’s president of basketball operations.”
That’s what I said
That’s what the article said as well.
Ah I see thank you
It’s the front office equivalent of when they hired Van Gundy as coach. Dumars was a great executive 20 years ago, but there’s a reason he’s struggled to get a second GM job long term. He’s over the hill.
Building a winner or a winning culture never changes. It’s basketball not rocket science.
Dumars knows winning and what it takes. That’s what NO needs. He built the Pistons and won a chip. He deserves a shot. NO needs all the help they can get.
Zion to be traded.
Do you think they’ll be able to get good value for him right now? Or do you have to wait for him to prove he’s kind of healthy. I don’t know how many games he played this year? Maybe now is the time selling at his highest point?
Just looked it up.., Zion played 30 games this year…
Might trade CJ McCollum too?
Good news Zion, you’re leaving New Orleans, yay. Bad news, you’re going to Philly.
Good hire? Who knows. The history of trying to recycle FO’s that won championships isn’t good (unless Jerry West is in the equation). Although it’s a better history than that of attempted recyclings of HC’s who won championships.
But, as far as Dumars history in DET, he did an historically GREAT job in DET. He took over a team that was wallowing (with a losing record) and quickly turned them into one of the NBA’s elite teams, one that played in 6 straight ECF’s, and won an NBA championship. Most impressively (unlike any other equally successful team in this century), they did it WITHOUT a superstar. That requires near perfect team building. Any team, after a run like that, is going to get old and decline, and, when that happens, it will be a challenge to reset at even a playoff level. A team with a superstar only needs to account for his age, and reset the rest of the roster around him. Dumars didn’t have that option.
Those are great points, but you figure he could do it again after doing it once in Detroit.
Hard to figure out what happened after that great run?
As you all alluded to, you can’t say he just got lucky because without a superstar, you have to practically be perfect in matching skill sets and personalities combined with the right coaching staff. Yet with all those moving parts, Dumars got it done.