The new New Orleans Pelicans leadership faces harsh early reviews. Questionable draft moves and a controversial trade highlight struggles despite some promising rookie flashes.
The New Orleans Pelicans fired David Griffin in April 2025. They then decided to hand the keys to the franchise to Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver. Early evaluations of those hires have not been kind.
It is still the first season of this front office. Far too early to make any final judgements. The first moves they have made, though, have been regrettable.
CBS Sports' Sam Quinn recently took a look at all of the front offices in the NBA and ranked the Pelicans all the way down at No. 29. Here is what Quinn had to say:
"Troy Weaver has an eye for talent. Despite all of the other issues here, that much is certain. He drafted most of Detroit's core. Jeremiah Fears has had an up-and-down rookie year, but has shown enough promise to justify a No. 7 overall pick. Derik Queen has flashed possible stardom. If you squint, you could draw comparisons to Memphis as a front office that drafts well but struggles in other elements of team-building. But those flaws are relatively minor for the Grizzlies. They're gaping in New Orleans."
That is about as fair of an assessment as possible. Even with the rookies, they players have been far better than the process to get them.
It is known that they were interested in taking both Fears and Queen at No. 7. Had they just taken Queen then and then moved on, no one would be questioning that draft. It would have been a slam dunk.
Instead they took Fears at No. 7, which has been fine, but then traded next year's first to get both of those players. Queen has been very promising, but that pick is now in serious danger of being a top-four pick in a loaded draft class.
If the Atlanta Hawks end up with someone like Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa, the Pelicans are never going to hear the end of it.
New Orleans was hoping to be better than they actually are. They sit at 15-41 with an interim coach.
Another major move made, in an effort to try to make this team better, they traded CJ McCollum to the Washington Wizards. The Wizards, in turn, turned McCollum into Trae Young. The Pelicans got Jordan Poole, Saddiq Bey and the draft rights to Micah Peavy in the second round.
Bey and Peavy, the afterthoughts in this deal originally, have actually been impressive. Bey runs the offense at times, one of the team's most consistent players, and Peavy is a rotational piece with defensive upside.
Poole, though, is making nearly $64 million over this year and next, but is a healthy scratch.
There have been a lot of moves that this front office would make like a second try at, but through it all, there is at least some glimpse of hope with Queen and Fears. Perhaps that is why they finished ahead of the last place Sacramento Kings.