The Pelicans’ new government VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars has already made a lot of eye-opening strikes. He gave up CJ McCollum in a commerce with the Wizards that introduced Jordan Poole to New Orleans. He additionally traded up within the draft, giving up an unprotected 2026 choose within the course of, to nab Maryland massive man Derik Queen on the No. 13 spot.
Dumars took warmth for these selections, particularly the latter. He instructed ESPN’s Marc J. Spears in an Andscape interview he doesn’t care in regards to the backlash.
“I don’t thoughts the criticism. Individuals say they don’t thoughts. However I actually don’t thoughts,” Dumars mentioned. “Whenever you’re working a franchise, you make a willpower of what you suppose it’s good to begin rising your franchise. The chance introduced itself that we might get two lottery picks, and to try this, you’re going to have to surrender one thing. We gave up what we thought it could take to get these two lottery picks and we did.”
Dumars selected to return to his residence state and tackle the duty of working a Pelicans franchise caught in mediocrity. Dumars declined the vp of basketball operations jobs with the Kings and Suns, in response to Spears, however felt the New Orleans supply was ‘proper place, proper time, proper folks.’
Dumars addressed a variety of subjects within the interview. Right here’s among the highlights:
- On the Poole acquisition: “In case you look across the league now, it’s nearly a requirement to have high-level guard play, dynamic guard play. Jordan has a skillset that matches essentially the most dynamic guards on this league. We’ve additionally seen him be part of a championship workforce and contribute at a excessive stage. So, together with his skillset, he’s a dynamic guard and I do know we have now proof that he’s helped groups win championships.”
- On how he approached the roster after taking the job: “I felt the core guys like Zion (Williamson), Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray, I assumed that was a extremely good group of fellows throughout the age of 25 years outdated. I checked out it from there and mentioned, ‘OK, we have to construct out and the way can we complement one another?’ I assumed the core was actually good there and I assumed when you’ve got a great core, let’s construct out round that core with the kind of gamers that we’d like. And I assumed Jordan Poole was a dynamic guard. I assumed that Saddiq Bey was the right man to return off the bench and add depth to your workforce. I assumed that (free agent acquisition Kevon) Looney was the right man for a workforce full of fellows who have been 25, 26 years outdated.”
- On his relationship with Williamson: “He and I’ve had some unbelievable conversations. We’re in fixed contact with one another. I’ve talked to him in regards to the accountability of being nice and the accountability of being a pacesetter, of being a captain, of being one of the best participant, of being the face of a franchise. I’ve talked to him about how all of these issues include accountability and the way it’s time now at 25 years outdated to embrace these duties.”
- On why he left his job with the league workplace to develop into a workforce government once more: “I cherished my job on the NBA. I didn’t prefer it. I cherished it. And I all the time mentioned it must take one thing particular for me to depart, in any other case I wouldn’t. And so, this was what I thought of particular to have the ability to come again, run the Pelicans in New Orleans with fairly frankly lots of people I knew within the group and outdoors the group. That’s what made it particular for me to say that I would depart the NBA and take this job as a result of I actually loved working on the league workplace.”
