New Orleans Pelicans: 5 candidates to replace Dell Demps as GM

Now that Dell Demps has been fired by the New Orleans Pelicans, we’ll look at five candidates to replace him as general manager.

It’s been a tumultuous near-decade for Dell Demps. He was general manager of the New Orleans Pelicans from 2010 until his dismissal on Friday, overseeing the franchise through some lean years and the eternally controversial vetoed Chris Paul trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, but also drafting one of the best players in the NBA in the form of Anthony Davis first overall in 2012.

It ended up being Davis’ recent trade request that was a crucial element of Demps’ undoing. While the decision to not trade Davis at the deadline was likely not the reason Demps was fired, the fact that Davis ultimately decided he would not sign a contract extension worth $240 million over five years almost certainly played a significant role. In essence, Davis deciding the team Demps built was not worthy of the next five years of his career was the final straw.

Now that the Pelicans have an opening at general manager, it’s time to take a look at who might be the next to take that spot as the franchise sets to make perhaps its most important decisions yet this coming summer.

Anthony Davis will almost certainly be moved, and the package the Pelicans receive in return will shape the organization’s future for years to come.

As things stand now, Danny Ferry is the interim general manager, but who should owner Gayle Benson and executive vice president Mickey Loomis look at as a permanent fixture in this critical chapter in Pelicans’ history? We’ll take a look at five candidates for the job.