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If the Warriors don't acquire Antetokounmpo, there isn't anyone on the current trade market who will force this level of asset aggression from them, team sources said. They've maintained a level of interest in New Orleans Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, but have been stonewalled in conversations by a Joe Dumars-Troy Weaver front office that has so far voiced an unwillingness to move most of their young core, league sources said.
Jordan Dumars, the 34-year-old son of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars, has been a constant presence on team planes, in practices, and in high-level meetings. Yet his name was absent from the staff directory and his role was never announced, leaving employees and the league to speculate about his influence. This situation occurs within a unique front-office power structure. Multiple sources describe a hierarchy where owner Gayle Benson, who hired Joe Dumars without a formal search, has taken a hands-off approach. Benson has publicly stated her philosophy, telling The Times-Picayune, “I hired Joe Dumars... When he makes a decision, that’s up to him. That’s why I hired him. I trust Joe... I’ve left that in his hands.”
According to team sources, Jordan Dumars is a recent but constant presence, accompanying the team on its plane, attending practices, and being in meetings. Officials from rival teams have also noted his conspicuous presence within the Pelicans’ traveling party on the road. Sources describe Joe Dumars, Troy Weaver, and Jordan Dumars as being “attached at the hip,” forming an insular leadership circle that operates separately from the rest of the basketball operations staff. This isolation, they say, has fostered a culture with no clear, established lines of communication from management downward, leaving many employees in the dark about the team’s direction and decision-making processes.
Joe Dumars was hired after no real search took place, with multiple league sources saying his is among the league’s most generous executive contracts despite the otherwise extremely tightfisted Pelicans operation under Benson. Yet as far as front-office gigs go, his appears only slightly more demanding than Kawhi Leonard’s endorsement contract with Aspiration. Instead, Dumars seems to have outsourced nearly the entire job to former Detroit Pistons exec Troy Weaver. The only notable New Orleans move that appeared to have Dumars’ imprint was Saturday’s firing of coach Willie Green.
In particular, Dumars bringing in Weaver and handing him the general manager job has left rival executives utterly baffled. The Pistons went 74-244 in Weaver’s four years at the helm in Detroit, and while there were some factors beyond his control, there wasn’t exactly a bidding war to get him back at the helm of a franchise. Sources in Detroit say nobody from New Orleans called to vet Weaver before he was hired.
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Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham, I'm told, is a name to watch in the Pelicans' search. My former ESPN teammate Ian Begley reported this week that former UConn coach and Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie — long admired by Dumars' top aide Troy Weaver — is another potential candidate.
It’s worth noting that Pelicans Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Troy Weaver remains a strong supporter of Ollie, league sources told HoopsHype. Weaver had strong interest in hiring Ollie as a head coach when he was the lead executive for the Detroit Pistons.
“I think Troy and Joe made an effort to get me over here as soon as they had the opportunity to just because they know how I play the game, the things that I’ve learned, my experience, just how good I am as a player and how good a fit I am with this team,” Poole said. “So I think the role is going to be big and important, regardless of the situation and regardless of who’s out there.”
Pelicans Film Room: "I am feeling really good going into the season. The focus was to build a relationship with Joe and Troy and just stay locked in on the game.. I worked a lot with T-Spoon this summer" -- Zion Williamson on his off-season
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.
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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.
New Orleans Pelicans: Welcome to New Orleans! 👏 🏀 Troy Weaver, Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations 🏀 Jason Hervey, Director of Player Personnel 🏀 Davis Smith, Basketball Operations Manager
Jeremy Woo: What we're hearing on the Pelicans: It remains to be seen what type of approach the Pelicans will take in the draft with veteran executives Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver now atop the decision-making tree, something rival teams are curious to assess. New Orleans has been treading water the past few seasons, with untimely injuries and Zion Williamson's struggles to get on track defining their results.