{"id":13098,"date":"2025-07-16T02:18:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T02:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/13098\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T02:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T02:18:07","slug":"joe-dumars-special-opportunity-leads-him-to-new-orleans-pelicans-andscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/13098\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Dumars\u2019 \u2018special\u2019 opportunity leads him to New Orleans Pelicans \u2014 Andscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2013 The unique sound of New Orleans jazz instantly brought a smile to Louisiana native Joe Dumars\u2019 face. It was at that moment that the new leader of the New Orleans Pelicans came to the realization that he was truly back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked into the hotel and I could faintly hear some second line music playing in the background. I said, \u2018Yeah, I\u2019m home. That\u2019s second line music right there.\u2019 There\u2019s nowhere else you can go where you are going to hear this\u2019 And it was right then that it felt real,\u201d Dumars, 62, told Andscape in an interview Sunday as NBA Summer League action was taking place nearby.<\/p>\n

Dumars was named the Pelicans\u2019 executive vice president of basketball operations on April 16. The Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer previously served as the NBA office\u2019s executive vice president of basketball operations from 2022-25 and as the Sacramento Kings\u2019 chief strategy officer from 2019-2022. <\/p>\n

Most notably as an executive, Dumars was president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons from 2000 to 2014, winning the NBA Executive of the Year award in 2003. Those Pistons won the 2004 NBA title, won 50 or more games every season from 2001-08, and featured Hall of Famers Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace.<\/p>\n

Dumars was also a two-time NBA champion as a defensive-minded guard with the \u201cBad Boy\u201d Pistons. The six-time NBA All-Star was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and grew up in Natchitoches, about a four-hour drive from New Orleans. Dumars also starred in college in Louisiana at McNeese State.<\/p>\n

From Hall of Fame player to title-winning executive, Joe Dumars has always refused to failRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Dumars strongly stated that he loved his job as the NBA\u2019s disciplinarian. In recent months, Dumars declined the vice president of basketball operations job with the Kings and Phoenix Suns, a source told Andscape. But returning to New Orleans and Louisiana as an NBA team executive was too much for Dumars to pass on.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times you\u2019re in these jobs and you get to represent the city that you\u2019re doing these jobs in,\u201d Dumars said. \u201cBut in this particular job, you are a part of the state. You\u2019re not just representing a fanbase, you\u2019re representing the people that you came from. That\u2019s not the case at a lot of other jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get the distinction I\u2019m trying to make here? You\u2019re representing the people that you came from. That\u2019s what makes it uniquely different is that nowhere else can you go and represent the people and say, \u2018And this is where I come from.\u2019 That without a doubt is being unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

The following is Andscape\u2019s Q&A with Dumars in which he talks about how Pelicans owner Gayle Benson convinced him to join her franchise, his relationship with star forward Zion Williamson, his thoughts on players such as newly acquired guard Jordan Poole and injured guard Dejounte Murray, the state of African Americans in NBA executive roles, the criticism toward trading a 2026 first-round pick in order to draft Maryland forward Derik Queen, keeping head coach Willie Green and much more.<\/p>\n

\"\"New Orleans Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars (left) and team owner Gayle Benson (right) on April 22 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.. <\/p>\n

Layne Murdoch Jr.\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Why was it time to leave the NBA?<\/p>\n

I loved my job at the NBA. I didn\u2019t like it. I loved it. And I always said it would have to take something special for me to leave, otherwise I wouldn\u2019t. And so, this was what I considered special to be able to come back, run the Pelicans in New Orleans with quite frankly a lot of people I knew in the organization and outside the organization. That\u2019s what made it special for me to say that I would leave the NBA and take this job because I really enjoyed working at the league office.<\/p>\n

What was Gayle Benson\u2019s selling point to you?<\/p>\n

Her conversation with me was, \u2018You know the fans of Louisiana. You know how much they want to win and how dedicated they are. New Orleans is going to support their team. What better person to come back home and do this than you?\u2019 And so, she didn\u2019t have to sell hard. I understand uniquely the fans and the people of Louisiana. I understand that. So, it wasn\u2019t a hard sell. \u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the franchise that ultimately represents me as much as any other franchise would possibly fit. This represents me. This represents me not only as a professional, but as a person. And ultimately at the end of the day, I came here because I felt like I could make a difference here. I could bring something here and be completely vested in this organization. I\u2019m completely vested. Gayle Benson, she wants to win in the worst way. She\u2019s committed to this and so am I. \u2026<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a big believer in when things are supposed to happen, they happen. And I said this at my opening press conference, that \u2018Right place, right time, right people.\u2019 That\u2019s why I took it. It was the right time, it was the right place, and it\u2019s the right people. You only take these positions if you think you can make a difference. Ultimately, if you think you can make a difference and it\u2019s the right time and right people and right place, you take it.<\/p>\n

What does a Joe Dumars franchise look like? What do you want the Pelicans to be?<\/p>\n

I really want us to be an elite franchise. Just the way we handle our business, the way we do things. When people come, I want us to be super organized. I just want us to be a classy organization that does things the right way so that when you come to New Orleans you say, \u2018They really do things at a high level the right way.\u2019 That\u2019s important to me.<\/p>\n

What do you think about the Pels\u2019 roster? Take me through the changes you\u2019ve made and the people you\u2019ve kept.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt the core guys like Zion, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Dejounte Murray, I thought that was a really good group of guys all around the age of 25 years old. I looked at it from there and said, \u2018OK, we need to build out and how do we complement each other?\u2019 I thought the core was really good there and I thought if you have a good core, let\u2019s build out around that core with the type of players that we need. And I thought Jordan Poole was a dynamic guard. I thought that Saddiq Bey was the perfect guy to come off the bench and add depth to your team. I thought that [Kevon] Looney was the perfect guy for a team full of guys who were 25, 26 years old.<\/p>\n

The thing about Looney also was [he\u2019s] 29 years old, but he has a ton of experience. He\u2019s a veteran, high-caliber pro. I thought the perfect guy to be in this locker room every day is a guy like Looney. Then I thought, let\u2019s draft some really good young talent here and we drafted some in [Jeremiah] Fears and [Derik] Queen in the first round and Micah Peavy in the second round. I just thought, \u2018OK, upgrade your talent.\u2019 I always tell guys, when you are on a roster, thought has been put into you and what you can bring, how you can help this team. So, every single piece has a role to play in your success. I convey that to every guy all the time. You\u2019re not just here to fill out a roster spot. There is a specific reason why you\u2019re here.<\/p>\n

Jeremiah Fears sees himself as best player in 2025 NBA draft classRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

What kind of rapport have you built with Zion? How do you get the best of him?<\/p>\n

The first thing I would say about Zion is he\u2019s an incredibly good guy. He\u2019s a really good person. He\u2019s obviously immensely talented. He and I have had some incredible conversations. We are in constant contact with each other. I\u2019ve talked to him about the responsibility of being great and the responsibility of being a leader, of being a captain, of being the best player, of being the face of a franchise. I\u2019ve talked to him about how all of those things come with responsibility and how it\u2019s time now at 25 years old to embrace those responsibilities.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what our conversations have been. It\u2019s really just been about embracing your greatness on and off the court, very honest and upfront conversations. Not mincing any words. But he also knows it comes from a place of caring about him, helping him grow into being a real true pro.<\/p>\n

Do you have any idea when Dejounte will be back?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know yet. Medically, I can\u2019t say it. But what I can say about Dejounte is I say, \u2018Wow,\u2019 to him because he\u2019s got some character traits that I\u2019m really impressed with. He really cares about the game. He cares about things being done the right way. I like that about him. I really am impressed with him.<\/p>\n

What attracted you to trade for guard Jordan Poole?<\/p>\n

If you look around the league now, it\u2019s almost a requirement to have high-level guard play, dynamic guard play. Jordan has a skillset that matches the most dynamic guards in this league. We\u2019ve also seen him be a part of a championship team and contribute at a high level. So, with his skillset, he\u2019s a dynamic guard and I know we have proof that he\u2019s helped teams win championships. I look at those things and say, \u2018I want him here and I want to tap into all of what he\u2019s experienced so far.\u2019<\/p>\n

What drew you to select Fears with the fifth pick in the 2025 NBA draft and move up via trade to select Queen with the 13th selection?<\/p>\n

Both of them have potential to grow into great players. But I also wanted to build a team that didn\u2019t put all the pressure on them that they have to come in and prove that they\u2019re great in Day 1. I want them to be able to develop into great players without trying to force it from Day 1. It\u2019s why you see the roster built the way we did.<\/p>\n

\"\"New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears during a summer league game on July 12 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. <\/p>\n

Ryan Stetz\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Social media has been going crazy over the trade you made to get the draft rights to Queen while trading a first-round pick. What would you say to the critics? (The Pelicans traded their 23rd pick in the 2025 NBA draft and an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire the 13th pick in the 2025 NBA draft, using it to select Queen.)<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t mind the criticism. People say they don\u2019t mind. But I really don\u2019t mind. When you\u2019re running a franchise, you make a determination of what you think you need to start growing your franchise. The opportunity presented itself that we could get two lottery picks, and to do that, you\u2019re going to have to give up something. We gave up what we thought it would take to get these two lottery picks and we did.<\/p>\n

Now, I really don\u2019t mind the criticism, the second guessing. I\u2019ve done this long enough to understand that it just comes with the business. It\u2019s just the sports world we live in. But we\u2019re building a team to play it out. I believe in my guys. We\u2019ll see how it plays out.<\/p>\n

What ultimately made you confident in keeping Willie Green as head coach?<\/p>\n

I know Willie. When they were healthy, they were a formidable team. They had some success. This past season they were decimated with injuries. I thought it was unfair to judge him on the season where the team was decimated and not look at the job he did when they were healthy. I thought you have to give him a chance to have success here.<\/p>\n

Although you took a leave of absence with the NBA, you were still kind of like the godfather of all the Black NBA front-office executives. When you were a general manager, there weren\u2019t many Joe Dumarses. There weren\u2019t many African Americans. What do you like about the landscape now? Where does the landscape need to grow? How much have things changed as a Black front-office executive?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s absolutely great to see more opportunities being afforded to a lot of these young African American GMs. I think a lot of those guys have proved themselves. A guy like James Jones did a great job in Phoenix. He\u2019s now in my old seat at the league office, but I thought James did a good job. I thought [former Toronto Raptors vice-chairman and president] Masai Ujiri did a great job, obviously in Toronto. I can name guys that I think have done great jobs. What it shows is, given the opportunity, there are a lot of guys out here that can do a great job in these seats. It\u2019s great. I really like it.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of NBA players who you had to call in regard to fining them during your time working for the league. How do you feel being back on the other side now after holding that disciplinary job?<\/p>\n

I had to call a lot of players over the last three to four years. That was a part of the job. And it was interesting because a lot of the people I had to call, I knew them. It wasn\u2019t like these were strangers. There were coaches I had to call that were peers of mine. There were GMs I had to call. There were peers of mine that I had to call and deliver the tough news of either a fine or suspension. So, it was an incredibly unique position to be in to pick up that phone and have to call someone that you know and say, \u2018Yeah, we\u2019re going to fine you $50,000.\u2019 It is a surreal phone call to make.<\/p>\n

I took no pleasure in fining people. But I will say this about that seat: To sit in that seat, you really do have to have a strong sense of what\u2019s right for the league and what\u2019s not right for the league. And I want to say, [NBA commissioner] Adam Silver was incredible to work with. He was one of the best leaders I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n

What do you bring to New Orleans from your time in Detroit? <\/p>\n

The resilience and toughness of Detroit somewhat mirrors New Orleans. There is a connection there and there\u2019s a similarity there between those two cities and cultures and environments. I know that city I\u2019ve been connected to for a long time in Detroit, and with a city like New Orleans there\u2019s a kinship with who the people are.<\/p>\n

Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn\u2019t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2013 The unique sound of New Orleans jazz instantly brought a smile to Louisiana native Joe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13099,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-13098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}