The New Orleans Pelicans are set to have one of the most interesting offseasons for a non-playoff franchise in recent memory. All expectations are that Anthony Davis will continue to push for a trade after failing to get his wish at the deadline this season.
New executive vice president David Griffin has stated publicly he will try to keep Davis, but now possesses the most coveted asset in the league, the 2019 NBA Draft top pick, which means they will bring Zion Williamson to New Orleans in late June. With Williamson coming on board, the Pelicans now have a new star to build around for the future — or possibly quite the selling point on trying to keep Davis in town to play with the young star.
The latter situation remains unlikely, as Davis is looking to compete now and New Orleans can now use a Davis trade to bring in complementary young pieces and draft assets to build on Williamson’s timeline. Griffin won’t be doing that alone, however, as the team is bringing in Nets assistant GM Trajan Langdon to be their new GM to work alongside the ex-Cavs executive, per Shams Charania.
New Orleans has agreed on deal with Brooklyn assistant general manager Trajan Langdon to make him the new GM working alongside David Griffin, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 19, 2019
Langdon has been a rapid riser in the front office world and had recently been considered for a few bigger jobs, ultimately landing in New Orleans to work with and continue learning from Griffin. The Pelicans now have their top front office staff in place and can begin doing the legwork on potential deals and figuring out exactly how to go forward in roster building, with or without Davis in the plans for next season.
