The New Orleans Pelicans have finally made a splash, but not in the way that many expected.
After not moving superstar center Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, the organization has decided to make a change. According to a press release from the franchise, the Pelicans have "parted ways" with general manager Dell Demps.
"We will immediately begin the process of restructuring our basketball operations department," stated Pelicans owner Gayle Benson. "This will include a comprehensive, but confidential, search aided by outside consultants to identify a new leader of our basketball operations, directly reporting to me."
It did not take the franchise long to find a replacement for Demps, at least on an interim basis, as the Pelicans have named Danny Ferry as their interim GM for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign. Ferry has been a Special Advisor to the General Manager in New Orleans since 2016. Previously, Ferry served as President of Basketball Operations and General Manager for the Atlanta Hawks (2012-15), Vice President of Basketball Operations for the San Antonio Spurs organization (2010-12) and General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10).
The Pelicans ownership believed that the situation reached a breaking point on Thursday night. Davis left the arena before the game was over after suffering a muscle contusion in his shoulder. In his initial report, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com noted that Benson wanted to make major changes in the front office and is searching for a general manager to "take command of Davis trade talks and the reshaping of team's future."
Ownership was livid with an injured Anthony Davis leaving arena during Thursday night’s game, sources say. Gayle Benson is telling associates she wants an overhaul of Pelicans and a search for a GM to take command of Davis trade talks and the reshaping of team’s future.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 15, 2019
According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Davis plans to travel to Charlotte and receive treatment over the next few days to determine if he can play in Sunday's All-Star Game. Davis had been previously dealing with a finger injury that had kept him out of the lineup leading up to the trade deadline, but did return last Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Following Thursday's 131-122 win over the Thunder, head coach Alvin Gentry did confirm that Davis left the building, but didn't elaborate on much more than that. Gentry did call the entire situation a "dumpster fire" due to the amount of chaos that has surrounded the franchise since Davis announced that he wanted to be traded. Even despite the turmoil, the front office has been "pleased" with the job that Gentry has done throughout the process and the team realizes that it's been a difficult task for Gentry.
The former No. 1 pick hasn't exactly been very productive aside from the Minnesota game since returning from his previous hand injury. In a 30-point loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, Davis scored just three points on 1-of-9 shooting and clearly looked like he wasn't giving maximum effort on the court.
