In a move that signals an ongoing restructuring within the New Orleans Pelicans organization, the team has hired former Detroit Pistons General Manager Troy Weaver as their new Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations. ESPN’s Marc Spears broke the news.
The addition comes just one day after Joe Dumars was introduced as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations. Weaver is now the second high-profile executive with Detroit ties to join the Pelicans.
Coincidentally, former Pelicans executive Trajan Langdon replaced Weaver following the 2023-24 season.
Former Pistons Execs Head South
Aside from both having worked in Detroit, there isn’t much similarity between the careers of Dumars and Weaver. Both were instrumental in shaping the Detroit Pistons at very different stages. Dumars led Detroit during the team’s 2004 championship run, and Weaver steered a rebuild from 2020 to 2024. While their resumes are full of experience, they also raise valid questions about track record and fit.
Dumars, who built a title team around veterans like Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, and Rasheed Wallace, made several missteps later in his tenure. He overpaid aging veterans and failed to adapt to the league’s shift toward pace-and-space offense.
When Weaver took control of the Pistons before the 2020-21 season, his best player was a declining Blake Griffin. Given the task of rebuilding, Weaver leaned heavily into drafting athletic prospects, but his tenure produced just 74 wins in four seasons and no winning records.
His lone coaching hire, Monty Williams, was fired one year into the largest contract ever given to an NBA head coach.
What This Means for New Orleans
The Pelicans’ decision to overhaul their front office follows a disastrous 21-61 campaign, marred by injuries, inconsistency, and visible tension between the coaching staff and upper management. But it’s unclear if the Dumars-Weaver tandem represents bold leadership by Gayle Benson or a recycling of failed executives.
Both are known for strong convictions. Weaver is praised for his eye for talent, but critics have pointed to his inconsistent free-agent strategy and lack of overall team identity. Dumars is revered for his early success in Detroit, but he has not served as the top basketball decision-maker since stepping down from the Pistons in 2014.
A New Direction — or More of the Same?
For Pelicans fans, the question isn’t whether Weaver and Dumars can lead — it’s whether they’re the right leaders at this moment. New Orleans has talent with Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, and Herb Jones, but the roster lacks playmaking, rebounding, toughness, and cohesion. The organization has been running in place while watching the rest of the Western Conference reload.
Hiring Weaver suggests the Pelicans are leaning into a development-focused model, but they’ve done that before. The G-League is underutilized, the team’s identity remains murky, and even during Griffin’s analytics-heavy tenure, the Pelicans never finished above eighth in the West. Will Weaver and Dumars be allowed to reshape the roster? Or are they being brought in to execute the same vision under a new banner?
How does this impact the influence of general manager Bryson Graham, who has generally been credited for the Pelicans’ recent success in the draft?
There’s no doubt the Pelicans needed a change. But as they welcome two respected and polarizing figures to the front office, the focus should remain on results.
Can Dumars and Weaver take a team long on potential and turn it into a perennial threat in the West? Or will this latest pivot be remembered as another missed opportunity to build something real in New Orleans?
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