"Zion fasho bout to be traded" - NBA fans react as Pelicans hire GM Joe Dumars to run the show
The New Orleans Pelicans won just 21 games this season. They finished the year with the fourth-worst record in the NBA, with only the Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets having a worse season.
Of course, plenty of that had to do with health. Once again, this team couldn't stay healthy.
However, something had to change, which is why they decided to fire the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, David Griffin. According to ESPN's Shams Charania, they will replace him with Detroit Pistons legend Joe Dumars, the architect behind the Pistons' 2004 championship.
Then again, the team also struggled mightily in the final stretch of his tenure in the front office, which is why some fans weren't so excited to hear this news:
"Gonna bury the Pelicans like he buried the Pistons," one fan said.
"Joe Dumars also led Pistons to its dark era in 2010s… so there’s also that," another one added.
"What did he leave the Pistons with when he left?" another one asked, sarcastically.
Others, however, were more worried about how this decision might impact Zion Williamson's future with the organization:
"send zion to LA my boy," one Lakers fan tweeted.
"I wish him the best but this sounds like a lot of contested midrange shots and an unhappy Zion," another one said.
Pelicans could trade Zion Williamson in the offseason
Zion Williamson's future with the organization is a big question mark again. He's coming off a solid campaign, averaging 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, but he only played in 30 games.
Williamson has been in the league for five years and has played in 30 or fewer games three times. Since entering the league as the No. 1 choice in 2019, he has only participated in 45% of his available games, and he has yet to play in the playoffs due to injury.
Considering that, it's not much of a surprise to see that the team might look to move him. Per Pelicans beat writer Shamit Dua, they want to keep coach Willie Green, but it might be another story with Williamson.
"Since it looks like all the rumors are coming true - the final bit of intel have on this whole situation is that ownership will mandate Dumars to keep Willie Green and trade Zion. This is what I have heard," Dua wrote.
Besides the injury concerns, Williamson's work ethic has also been a talking point multiple times, and the team even suspended him for being late to a flight.