He is a good DRAFT talent evaluator. He is a poor talent evaluator at signing or trading for players outside of the draft. He can’t build a roster that complements each other

Nah. We aint here for Troy weaver praise. Miss us with that please

Played fantasy with lots of guys like that.

He walked into Cade & drafted Stewart, other than that we had to purge ourselves of his idiocy. This dude drafted Killian Hayes over Tyrese Haliburton don’t give him a lick of credit as a draft evaluator.

Glorify Scout?

Yeah Weaver pushed for Westbrook when he was Assistant GM in OKC.

Im sure Jerami Grant is thrilled tho

Not even the lack of protection - you traded a pick that had a humongous chance at being #1 to 5 overall and the 23rd pick - in order to get the #13 pick. That’s an absolutely insane over-pay. You could have gotten the #11, 12, 13 or 14 pick for far less than that. Even if you protected the pick, it’s till a massive over-pay.

Everyone in New Orleans’ front-office needs to be fired for doing this. Even if they got a good player at #13.

But Pelicans actually have a lot of decent players when healthy, even excluding Zion. Murray, Murphy, Herb Jones, Poole, Fears, Queen – this is not a bad group of players. Why can’t they figure it out in time? If Zion goes they can get some front court muscle with the money

The season isnt ending tomorrow— NOP will probably be the 6-9th worst team by seasons end.  Teams are pulling the plug soon and the Pels will keep trying to win. The odds are still heavily weighted this pick is 7-10 range, regardless how dumb the trade is.

For the trade to be good. Both Queen and Fears need to be better than the 2026 pick.

We could have take Queen at 7 and just kept 23 and next year’s pick. It’s bad process and bad valuation of assets

This sounds mighty familiar

A future Orlando pick and a 2026 pelicans are very different picks in value. The Magic have Franz and Paolo and a good deep roster built around them. With their best players locked up. Even if the Pelicans got a healthy Zion, which was unlikely, they still had a bottom 10 roster in a difficult conference.

I appreciate what Joe did but the moves that got us the 2004 title were over twenty years ago now and he wasn’t working a front office job for years before NO hired him. And Weaver was just not a good GM. I wouldn’t have high hopes if I were a Pelicans fan.

When Pistons fans disrespect Joe D, its almost a guarantee they are under 30.

I just don’t get how you go from that to building around Charlie V, Josh Smith, and Ben Gordon

He made 2 or 3 good deals 25 years ago lol

He didn’t make a single good decision after 09

I think you guys protect him too much for what he did 20 years ago.

He built that championship team, but he also ruined the Pistons and has been on an awful GM-ing run for over 15 years.

Resigning billups when they were trending down was a cataclysmic decision

He also played a big part in titles #1 and #2

He’s literally reporting something. The sport of basketball “isn’t that serious” but what he’s “reporting” would be actual news. Even though I doubt it’s true.

But you have no trouble believing a long time GM and fully staffed front office didnt know what they were trading? I get everyone hates the trade but that cutoff for believability is odd

He also repeats that Chicago and Phoenix should be criticized for not making the trade with the Pelicans. The original source for all those stories about Chicago and Phoenix turning down the trade was a Hollinger article where he speculated that if those teams were offered the same deal that Atlanta was, then they were doing a bad job. So yeah, respected writer and former exec, also not the most responsible reporter

Right, but how could anyone except the Pels know if they understood what they were trading? And why would they admit that to anyone if that were the case?

But that protected first could be anything! It could be the next MJ/Lebron.

The point is that they also would’ve accepted it if it were top 4 or 3 protected, and should’ve negotiated harder or made the trade with another team.

What I meant by that was, even in an extreme example where you think the 13th pick will actually turn into a generational talent, you’d still try to protect the pick you trade for them, because even MJ and LeBron need great teams around them. Wasting their rookie year being the worst team in their conference, when there isn’t even the slightest value, is not a sensible way to build a winning team.

I feel this.

Not a bad spot to be. I get excited every year and we roll out the middest of mid teams every year

It’s worse than that. They traded Indiana its unprotected 2026 first back right before Hali down for the pick in last year’s draft so they could package it with their own unprotected first. Had they simply done nothing, and taken Queen at 7 (if they truly believed he was the top guy on their board), they’d still have two shots at top 5 pick in a deeper draft, especially at guard.

If they had made it top 6 or even top 3 protected it actually would be a relatively fair trade. You move up 10 spots, which in the NBA is massive, like moving up a round or 2 in NFL, and you give up a pick that would/should/could be around the same pick that you’re using to take Queen.

But if it ends up being top 3 next year…ouch

And you think it is impossible that Queen ends up being the player that ends up better?

WHat player do you think that pick is going to convey as? Queen has been really good.

It was a bad trade, that doesn’t mean they won’t end up getting the better player.

The trade can’t be defended on its own terms, but it’s always possible that it doesn’t matter/works out fine in the end.

I was outraged at Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol, well, it turns out that Marc was a franchise guy and it was win-win in the end.

Yes, it was a bad trade. But it’s no Luka trade. Or Clippers Paul George trade even.

Yeah if they had loved Queen that much, they could have drafted him at 7 or traded down from the Fears pick for more picks this year or an additional pick next year.

You also don’t know if the player taken with that pick will contribute to a team that makes a deep playoff run.

Do people here really forget that sometimes high picks don’t work out?

He’s a tall point forward/center in the same vein as Jokic, and people still question his defense after a championship. It’s all so silly.

On the Heat, I’d have 100% confidence that he’d be another BAM but BETTER, on the Pelican, eh, we’ll see. The building blocks are there (6’9”, 7’ wingspan, point forward ability).

This guy could turn into another really exciting player on the Lakers.

Ehh Tatum for Maxey isn’t a great trade, no disrespect to Maxey intended, I like him

Totally agree! It would be insane.

In this conversation people seem to think I am defending the trade. I am absolutely not and have clowned on Dumars for it.

But terrible trades can work out. Queen has just been really impressive.

And its still an L because of the fact that they were trading picks not the players

Bro trust me no one hates the Falcons and the FO like falcons fans. Just go peak at the sub.

But I still think it was a good trade overall.

This headline is BS

I was referring to Dumars (I know he technically has a diff title but is the head decision maker) who is new to his job with the Pels and I guarantee wasn’t keeping up with draft pick swap details while he was working in the league office