New Orleans Pelicans Fire Executive Vice President David Griffin

The New Orleans Pelicans wasted no time turning the page on a disappointing 2024-2025 season. They fired Executive Vice President less than 24 hours after their season ended. Griffin came over to the Pelicans in April 2019 with a championship pedigree. He helped build the Cleveland Cavaliers into a champion in 2016. Griffin’s tenure with the New Orleans Pelicans finished with a record of 209-263 and playoff appearances in 2022 and 2024. Who will be hired in his place?

New Orleans Pelicans Season Summary

The Pelicans came into the regular season with playoff aspirations. Instead, the bottom fell out of the team. They finished 21-61. It was their fewest wins since 2011-2012 and the second-worst record in franchise history. Griffin took the fall for the team’s star players being unable to stay on the floor. Zion Williamson is one of the league’s most electrifying players but is seemingly never on the court. He played 30 games this season. Griffin drafted him to be a franchise cornerstone, but that never came to fruition.

Williamson was supposed to team up with veteran Guard C.J. McCollum to create a dynamic 1-2 punch. McCollum also struggled to stay on the court this season playing in a mere 56 games. While Griffin’s tenure was not a smashing success, he crafted a roster that should have been able to make the NBA Play-In Tournament this year. When a team’s two best players are hurt, it is tough to win games.

Final Thoughts

The New Orleans Pelicans retained Head Coach Willie Green while firing Griffin. That is always a slippery slope as the incoming president will be forced to work with a coach they did not hire. New Orleans believes that keeping Griffin and switching out his boss will lead to a resurgence for the franchise.