The New Orleans Pelicans are currently in a rough patch, as the on-court product has not looked well, and off the court, things look like a mess as well. After their loss against the Los Angeles Lakers, Willie Green was relieved of his duties as head coach, which felt like it was bound to happen sooner rather than later.
One of the things that Green did earlier in the season was bring Jordan Poole off the bench after they had traded for him in the offseason. The trade is now gaining scrutiny after Green has been fired, more specifically because it wasn't the type of player that Joe Dumars said that he wanted for the team, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
“Poole’s player profile doesn’t match the description Dumars told his staff he sought shortly before making the trade,” Scotto wrote. “His salary was also considered a tough contract to move by rival NBA executives. However, Dumars’ right-hand man, Weaver, spearheaded that trade with his former Wizards colleagues and was a strong proponent of the Queen trade, as he knew him well, partly due to their local ties, league sources said.
“While Dumars and Weaver have identified young talent in the draft with Fears and Queen, their asset management has been heavily questioned around the league, along with the handling of the Green coaching situation, by NBA executives.”
Dumars and the Pelicans have gotten scrutinized since the draft, after they traded their first-round pick for next year to the Atlanta Hawks to move up and draft Queen. As of now, it looks like that draft pick might end up being good when looking at how they're currently performing.
At this point, the only thing the Pelicans can do is hope to play better, and the season is still young, so anything is possible.
