Pelicans Cleared To Talk Business With Clippers Assistant GM
The New Orleans Pelicans have their Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations in place in David Griffin. Talk about winning a press conference, he did a great job at coming in and connecting with the city and the team's fans immediately. He was also realistic about expectations and somewhat surprisingly endorsed Alvin Gentry to remain as the teams head coach.
Now, the next phase is upon us, get his staff in place quickly before the NBA Draft rolls around (June 20th).
On Thursday, they got clearance to discuss a senior front office position with Assistant GM of the Los Angeles Clippers Trent Redden.
There's no surprise here as these two men have a history of working with each other. Redden was David Griffin's chief aide with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In addition, Redden spent 11 years in Cleveland after he began his career with the Cavs as an intern and working his way up the food chain.
During Griffin's introductory press conference he was asked specifically if he would look to hire a GM, he said, “If the role of general manager is what it takes to get the right people, then yes, we’re open-minded to giving that opportunity to someone,"
It wasn't long after Griffin and the Cavs parted ways that Redden joined the Clippers in his current capacity in 2017.
This seems to be the likely hire if the Pelicans do bring in a GM to work under Griffin and I'm sure Redden would revel in the opportunity to take a step forward in his career as well.
For all my sports posts and to hear my inner sports thoughts, make sure to keep up with me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook