New Orleans Pelicans interview candidates to replace Dell Demps
Friday 5 April 2019 07:45, UK
The New Orleans Pelicans have started interviewing candidates to become the club's new general manager following the sacking of Dell Demps.
Candidates include current Pelicans interim general manager Danny Ferry, as well as former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin, Golden State assistant Larry Harris, Brooklyn Nets' Trajan Langon, Houston Rockets assistant Gersson Rosas and interim Washington president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard.
Demps was fired amid the fallout from All-Star Anthony Davis' trade request and the new manager is expected to oversee the trade, which could take place as early as this offseason.
The new GM could also decide the fate of coach Alvin Gentry after the Pelicans, whose record is 32-47, missed the playoffs for the third time in four years.
Ferry, who was serving as a Pelicans front office consultant the past three seasons, was wideley tipped to fill in for Demps until at least the rest of this season.
The 52-year-old has been a general manager twice before with Cleveland and Atlanta, and also worked in San Antonio's front office.
He built a playoff team in Atlanta, but was bought out in 2015 amid controversy when a recording of him speaking derisively about a player's African ancestry was made public.
Ferry, a former Duke and NBA player, has maintained he was reading from someone else's scouting report when the recording was made.
Griffin, 45, was in charge of the Cavaliers from 2014 to 2017, during which LeBron James returned from Miami to Cleveland and the Cavs won an NBA title. But his contract was not renewed after the 2016-17 season and James joined the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency a year later.
Harris, 56, spent nearly two decades with Milwaukee's front office, starting in scouting and working his way up to general manager from 2003 to 2007. He has been with the Warriors since 2008.
Langdon is a former Duke and NBA player who also played professionally in Europe. The 42-year-old has served as Nets assistant GM since 2016 and has helped rebuild Brooklyn into a squad that entered Thursday's games on the cusp of qualifying for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Rosas, a native of Colombia, has more than a decade of NBA front office experience, primarily with the Houston Rockets and also has worked with USA Basketball as an international player scout.
Sheppard stepped into his current interim post this week after the Wizards' fired Ernie Grunfeld, and it is unclear how the 50-year-old's potential for advancement with his current team could affect his interest in joining the Pelicans.
