Pelicans fire executive David Griffin

Pelicans fire executive David Griffin

The New Orleans Pelicans have fired vice president of basketball operations David Griffin, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania first reported Monday.

The franchise experienced its worst season since 2004-05, its third in the NBA, going 21-61 amid a slew of injuries that ravaged its season. A total of 20 players appeared in at least 300 minutes while only seven players played more than 50 games.

Former No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson had yet another injury-riddled campaign, playing 30; Dejounte Murray battled multiple injuries for much of the season, playing 31; Herb Jones, Brandon Ingram (before getting traded) played 20 and 18 games, respectively. To put it lightly, it was an awful season for New Orleans, who never came close to overcoming the injury bug.

Willie Green‘s future as head coach is still unknown. New Orleans can proceed by hiring someone who can make that decision or fire Green, who finished his fourth season, before so a new executive could bring in his own guy.

Griffin’s six-year tenure in New Orleans is polarizing to many. Williamson fell into his lap, but the star wing could never stay healthy and Griffin’s investments not only in the people around him, but Williamson himself, simply didn’t work.

I don’t think Griffin had a bad draft track record. He nailed the Yves Missi, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III and Dyson Daniels picks. However, he sold low on Daniels and Brandon Ingram. I also don’t love how he didn’t part with more assets ahead of the deadline, though we aren’t privy to the conversation of what was actually on the table versus what we thought was.

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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