Joe Dumars, Pelicans Reportedly Finalizing Contract as President of Basketball Ops

The New Orleans Pelicans are nearing an agreement with Joe Dumars to make him their president of basketball operations, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

In addition to winning two championships with the Detroit Pistons during their "Bad Boys" era, he was the architect of Detroit's championship-winning squad in 2004. That came during a run of six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

Beyond that the apex of Dumars' executive career was 20 years ago, you can't credit him for Detroit's success without pointing to what came after.

The Hall of Famer stepped down in 2014 after the Pistons missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season. A series of bad trades and draft picks turned the organization into a shell of its old self.

A 2014 profile of NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski also revealed that Dumars had received a $500,000 fine from the NBA for leaking confidential league memos.

Charania first reported Monday that Dumars was "a serious front-runner" to replace David Griffin as the lead voice on basketball-related matters in New Orleans. From that standpoint, a firm agreement isn't a total shock.

The fact the 61-year-old was a candidate in the first place was a surprise given how badly things went toward the back half of his Pistons run. He's seemingly being hired after the Pelicans executed little to no search to vet other options as well.

This will only exacerbate the larger concerns fans have had ever since Tom Benson, the late owner of the New Orleans Saints, bought the franchise in 2012. Benson wasted little time in installing Mickey Loomis, the Saints' general manager, as the head of basketball operations, and that helped to cement a broader narrative.

In 2019, The Athletic's Sam Amick reported Anthony Davis' perception at the time was that "the Pelicans were less of a priority to ownership than the Saints."

Hiring Griffin months later signaled a more serious approach as the veteran NBA executive was coming off a highly successful run with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The years that have followed will lead the fanbase to ask how much has fundamentally changed, though. The Pelicans have made two trips to the playoffs, losing in the first round both times, and they made a win-now trade for Dejounte Murray last summer, only to wind up going 21-61.

Maybe New Orleans will have the last laugh on hiring Dumars amid what's bound to be a lot of skepticism and negativity. Otherwise, this could be a costly whiff considering what lies ahead in terms of figuring out what to do with franchise star Zion Williamson and laying out a long-term vision.