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Joe Dumars on giving up unprotected first rounder: 'I don't mind the criticism'
Social media has been going crazy over the trade you made to get the draft rights to Queen while trading a first-round pick. What would you say to the critics? (The Pelicans traded their 23rd pick in the 2025 NBA draft and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire the 13th pick in the 2025 NBA draft, using it to select Queen.) I don’t mind the criticism. People say they don’t mind. But I really don’t mind. When you’re running a franchise, you make a determination of what you think you need to start growing your franchise. The opportunity presented itself that we could get two lottery picks, and to do that, you’re going to have to give up something. We gave up what we thought it would take to get these two lottery picks and we did. Now, I really don’t mind the criticism, the second guessing. I’ve done this long enough to understand that it just comes with the business. It’s just the sports world we live in. But we’re building a team to play it out. I believe in my guys. We’ll see how it plays out.
What attracted you to trade for guard Jordan Poole? Joe Dumars: If you look around the league now, it’s almost a requirement to have high-level guard play, dynamic guard play. Jordan has a skillset that matches the most dynamic guards in this league. We’ve also seen him be a part of a championship team and contribute at a high level. So, with his skillset, he’s a dynamic guard and I know we have proof that he’s helped teams win championships. I look at those things and say, ‘I want him here and I want to tap into all of what he’s experienced so far.’
Joe Dumars on relationship with Zion Wlliamson: 'We are in constant contact with each other'
What kind of rapport have you built with Zion? How do you get the best of him? Dumars: The first thing I would say about Zion is he’s an incredibly good guy. He’s a really good person. He’s obviously immensely talented. He and I have had some incredible conversations. We are in constant contact with each other. I’ve talked to him about the responsibility of being great and the responsibility of being a leader, of being a captain, of being the best player, of being the face of a franchise. I’ve talked to him about how all of those things come with responsibility and how it’s time now at 25 years old to embrace those responsibilities.
Dumars strongly stated that he loved his job as the NBA’s disciplinarian. In recent months, Dumars declined the vice president of basketball operations job with the Kings and Phoenix Suns, a source told Andscape. But returning to New Orleans and Louisiana as an NBA team executive was too much for Dumars to pass on.
New Orleans Pelicans: Joe Dumars on Herb Jones: “Herb Jones exemplifies all the great qualities our team values with his toughness, competitiveness, and commitment to getting better every day. We could not be more excited to sign Herb to this contract extension and keep him in New Orleans for many years to come.”
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Hawks' front office were in disbelief over Pelicans' trade offer
One Eastern executive with knowledge of how the conversation went from Atlanta’s perspective described a perplexing scene. When Senior Vice President Troy Weaver made the call to Atlanta’s Bryson Graham, Graham couldn’t believe what was actually being offered. Graham asked for clarification multiple times to confirm the unprotected pick was indeed part of the deal. It got to the point where Hawks General Manager, Onsi Saleh, called Joe Dumars directly to confirm for himself. The Hawks waited nervously for Dumars to confirm, hoping he would not realize what was going on and walk the trade back. But the Pelicans persisted and the Hawks got their steal.
The league wide skepticism on the Pelicans started when Joe Dumars was named the head of basketball operations and only grew when Troy Weaver was brought into the fold. When the Pelicans traveled up to Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine a month prior, the league had already placed a target on their back. ”Man they were killing them up there,” one agent told me, referring to rival front offices. “They think they (the Pelicans) got F—in idiots in charge. It got so bad, I just felt sorry.” Teams were already jockeying for the privilege to conduct the first trade with the Pelicans as more than one executive jokingly expressed to me that the Pelicans are going to be their first call.
Everything that has transpired since the Pelicans traded with the Pacers has left rival executives questioning if Joe Dumars is taking an active role in the Pelicans decision making process. As the Pelicans would go on to acquire Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey, Derik Queen, Micah Peavy, and Hunter Dickinson— a very clear through line to Troy Weaver would emerge. Every single player is one Troy spent a great deal of time with personally or scouted in close proximity to the DMV geographical area. ”This has Troy written all over it, is Joe even in charge?” asked one executive incredulously after the Dickinson signing was announced. These are tough optics for a franchise struggling to find legitimacy. Weaver, who by all accounts is an incredible talent evaluator, carries a reputation for poor asset management. His time in Detroit was marked by incredible draft hits, but also a remarkably poor handling of draft capital and cap space. Towards the end of Weaver’s tenure in Detroit, another executive told me teams would call the Pistons regularly to see if they could secure a favorable deal.
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Jim Eichenhofer: Asked about trading up to No. 13 overall to get Derik Queen, Joe Dumars explained that he told his staff: " 'When you identify a player that you think, this can be one of the foundation (pieces) here, you go and get him.’ That’s what we did. We targeted Queen."
Jim Eichenhofer: Dumars on Jeremiah Fears' off-the-dribble and attacking offensive game: "I like his skill set, his ability to get anywhere on the court at any time... You have to have guys who can compromise the other team's defense."
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