It has moved on from David Griffin, but have the Pelicans found its new executive vice president for basketball operations?
A hall of fame member of the National Basketball Association and three-time champion has emerged as the top candidate New Orleans is pursuing for the role. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday that Joe Dumars is the name the Pelicans want in its front office. Dumars, 61, was a vital member of the “Bad Boy Pistons” for its back-to-back NBA titles in 1989 and 1990, sharing the backcourt with Isiah Thomas. He won NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in 1989 and was a six-time All-Star.
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Hall of Famer Joe Dumars is a serious frontrunner to become the lead basketball executive with the New Orleans Pelicans, sources tell ESPN. The 2003 exec of the year and 2004 championship exec with the Pistons is a Louisiana native. Dumars is currently heading NBA basketball ops. pic.twitter.com/Du0Be1LrFS
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 14, 2025
Dumars became an executive for the Pistons from 2000-14 after his playing career, capturing a third NBA Championship in 2004 and winning NBA Executive of the Year in 2003. He was a part of the executive staff for the Sacramento Kings from 2019-22 and has recently served as executive vice president and head of basketball operations for the league.
Dumars, a Louisiana native, was a star guard at McNeese State from 1981-85. His No. 4 was retired by the program after it watched him earn first-team All-Southland Conference four times and Southland Player of the Year in 1985.
Dumars knows what an exceptional product is suppose to look like. The Pelicans have talent on its roster — headlined by Zion Williamson — but it needs a visionary to push it in the right direction. Dumars may very well be the person it needs.
Stephen M. Smith is a writer for Ball Exclusives. You can follow him him X via @CoachingMSmith.
