New Orleans' Pelicans shot Basketball David Griffin on Monday, confirmed the team.
The governor of the Gayle Benson team announced the news in a declarationSaying it was time for a “new approach” in New Orleans.
“After a considerable reflection and evaluation, I decided to relieve David Griffin from his duties as executive vice-president of basketball operations,” said Benson. “It was a difficult decision, but which, in my opinion, is necessary to bring a new approach to our front office and build a culture that will offer lasting success, on and out of the field. I agree to hire the right person to direct our basketball operations department and deliver an NBA championship to our city. This is what our fans deserve. I am really appreciated by David for the two leaders and the Pelicans community. We wish David and his wife, Meredith, and their families all the best in the future. »»
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The Pelicans seem ready to hire the former Detroit Pistons Joe Dumars executive to direct basketball operations, According to ESPNWith an agreement that should be finalized by the end of the week.
The native of Louisiana and the NBA renowned temple led the pistons from 2000 to 14, winning an NBA championship in 2004.
Griffin joined the franchise before the 2019-20 NBA season. His first months with the team changed the management of the franchise. A month after hiring Griffin, the team won the N ° 1 Global choice in the draft of the NBA 2019.
Just before the draft, Griffin exchanged an unhappy Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers for a certain number of players, including Lonzo Ball, and the overall choice n ° 4 of the NBA 2019 draft. With the higher choice, the Pelicans took Duke Big Man Zion Williamson. After exchanging the fourth choice, the Pélicans took Jaxson Hayes to No. 8 in total.
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These decisions came to define Griffin's mandate with the franchise. Davis has set up excellent figures with Lakers before being exchanged at Dallas Mavericks on the deadline for trade. Hayes failed to become a starter consistent with the Pélicans and left the team after four seasons.
When he is in good health, Williamson played as a global choice n ° 1. During his career, he has an average of 24.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.
But injuries have interrupted his promising career. Williamson only played 24 games as a recruit due to a meniscus operation. He then missed the whole NBA 2021-22 season with a foot problem. He returned the following season, but once again had trouble hurting, playing in just 29 games.
Williamson played a career summit of 70 games during the NBA 2023-24 NBA season. He collected an average of 22.9 points and 5.8 rebounds.
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The injuries have once again limited Williamson this season. He did not play in just 30 games due to the problems of the hamstrings and the back.
While the Pelicans started slowly under griffin – 97-129 in its first three years – New Orleans found its stride in time. The Pelicans finished just above 0,500 in 2022-2023 before going 49-33 last season and winning the 8 series heads in the western conference qualifiers. The team failed to get out of the first round of the playoffs, however, falling to Oklahoma City of seeded.
With things that improved, the team could not capitalize this season. The Pelicans crashed at 21-61, leading to Griffin shooting. He compiled a record of 209-263 in six seasons with the franchise.
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Before joining the Pélicans, Griffin was president of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball operations from 2010 to 2017. In 2014, he took the post of director general of the team. He occupied the two roles when the team won the NBA championship during the 2015-16 NBA season.
After the expiration of his contract in 2017, Griffin could not reach a new agreement to stay in Cleveland. He spent time as an analyst at NBA TV before being hired by the Pelicans.
