Joe Dumars understands why the NBA world was wondering what he did with the trade
Joe Dumars understood the confusion the NBA world had about the moves he made spent the offseason with the New Orleans Pelicans.
New Orleans was active during the 2025 NBA Draft, where they drafted Derrick Quinn while trading their draft picks. This surprised manyas one NBA executive told ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk.
“Everybody I talked to after the draft was like, what the hell were they doing?” one Western Conference executive said of the Pelicans trade. “… The Queen clearly has some talent and skill and could end up being a very good player. Maybe it won’t be so bad if this kid turns out to be a player.”
Dumars wasn’t shocked by the reactions he got to the moves he made. The president of basketball operations said he is building a culture that can stand out from the rest.
“I get it. So much of today’s NBA narrative is around picks and things like that,” Dumars told ESPN. “I’m trying to build a culture here with some really good young players, and I’ve given up some capital to do that. And I love the two young players we have. I hope that doesn’t get lost in all of this.”
What’s next for Joe Dumars, Pelicans
It’s clear that Joe Dumars is headed in a direction that could provide an interesting future for the Pelicans. However, it will take a lot to get the franchise back to winning status.
New Orleans is 3-22 on the season and sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They are 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings.
The Pelicans will continue their preparations for the upcoming games. They look to snap a seven-game losing streak at home against the Portland Trail Blazers on December 11th at 8:00 PM ET. After that, they hit the road to face the Chicago Bulls on December 14th at 7pm ET.
2025-12-11 23:38:00
