The Pelicans Earn Praise for Front Office Hire

Many analysts believe the New Orleans Pelicans have made a strong hire as the NBA franchise has reportedly hired David Griffin as the team’s executive vice president of basketball operations.

The 45-year-old was the General Manager when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA championship in 2017 with LeBron James. His trade of Andrew Wiggins to Minnesota for All-Star forward Kevin Love was a key transaction.

The Advocate reports that Griffin picked New Orleans, instead of the other way around:

"Griffin was a sought-after figure in the 2018 offseason and was set to be again this year. But Griffin wanted to make sure he found the right job for him. He pulled his name out of consideration for the Knicks and 76ers’ jobs last season.

In an interview with Fansided in February, he outlined what would be needed for him to get back into the front office.

“I think just the ability to be in lockstep with ownership and the head coach,” Griffin said at the time. “You want to be in a situation where everyone can be marching to the same beat, and you want to be moving in the same direction and believe blindly in one another.

“If you can find a situation like that, from a leadership standpoint where you can be empowered to raise a family that loves each other enough to tell them what they need to hear, that would be attractive.”

Griffin will see if he can bring some of his NBA Draft Lottery magic to the Big Easy. In his first season with the Cavs, he turned a 1.7% of winning the lottery into the #1 pick.