Conspiracy Corner: Are the Pelicans being deliberately sabotaged for a franchise relocation?

[wegotthabeet]

It seems like expansion talks have cooled off. I could easily see Pelicans ownership selling to a group that intends to move the team to Seattle. Too rich of a state/market to not have a team there.

Pelicans owner is Gayle Benson and she has said many times that she doesn't intend to sell her team. Ownership in both the Pelicans and Saints foes give her a large amount of power in New Orleans.

Give me a break. People say a lot of things.

This market doesn't need an NBA team and the NBA doesn't need this market. It's inevitable.

[Clav]

It's not a friendly situation moving a team from one market to another. ... hah... I don't know how many wrongs it takes for an entire fanbase to be fed up and give up to the point of hoping a team leaves, but the Pelicans fanbase must be up there in the most tortured of the past 25 years.

To the OP's point, the Pelicans consistently made baffling choices during its time in the Crescent City. Let's look at some players who left NOLA:
1) (rescinded) CP3 trade to LA - success with LAC, HOU, PHX as a primary guard and made it to Finals once.
2) Chandler, Peja - 2011 with Mavs
3) Jrue - 2021 with Bucks
4) Ariza and Davis - 2020 with Lakers
5) David West - 2x champs with GSW
6) Kenrich Williams - 2025 with OKC
7) JR Smith - 2x champs with Cavs

This franchise has its fans in a bind when it comes to support. There's been years of stars and a few decent teams that have come through. Many players in the Hornets time in NOLA have ended up being quite solid contributors. There were some teams that had a chance- but of course it is against the Spurs, Lakers, Warriors, Thunder, Rockets timelines in the WC.

It for me comes back to organizational stability. Per Basketball reference; 257 players have been a NOLA Hornet or Pelican over 24 seasons, only 51 players have been rostered 3+ years. It seems a little low to me, and beyond a few players I don't think they've really had a decent bench compliment for more than a couple of season, every time those guys are getting shuffled out somewhere else.

Let's look at some other teams for reference to see if it is different *I've never done this before*.
all per-basketball reference [ I chose some random teams that might be nearer to 24 seasons ]

MEM; 308 players in 31 seasons, 61 rostered for 3+ seasons.
CHA; 320 players in 36 seasons, 77 rostered 3+ seasons. [hornets and bobcats]
MIN; 306 players in 37 seasons, 80 rostered 3+ seasons.
MIA; 332 players in 38 seasons, 83 rostered 3+ seasons.

SEA/OKC; 407 players in 59 seasons, 132 rostered 3+ seasons.

[threethehardway]

It's a technical point but it's more about tax dodging than money laundering. Sports team ownership, especially in the first 15 years of owning the team, is the greatest tax dodge out there. That's why team valuations have skyrocketed in recent decades. You could call that money laundering in a way but it's more technically legal because our lawmakers suck

For the lawyers in the room, we can call it tax avoidance.

And that's why I always say sports leagues shouldn't have a cap only a cap floor and forced to fund their own stadiums at the minimum.


If they want a place to park their riches, they can at least attempt to give a damn about winning.

But then fans cry about parity and blame "markets" for why their team sucks instead of their crappy owner who is waiting to turn his 2 billion into 10 to give to his fail kids.

[DusterBuster]

Well, is it a conspiracy when Dumars comes straight from the league office to the top job in the organization? New Orleans fans were rightfully pissed about that. Not a good past 12 months for Adam Silver.

The Pelicans lease expires in 2029 as well.

I'll be straight up honest, I totally forgot Dumars was originally from the league offices when he was hired when I made this thread. Makes the red string connecting the dots even shorter... We're getting full Pepe Silvia up in this b!

[DusterBuster]

Hasn’t the team on the floor killed interest enough? Did they really need to give away their pick too?

A high lottery pick in a great draft like the upcoming 2026 draft gives hope. That at least keeps fans something paying attention.

They traded that near lock Top 6 pick for a player who might not even be a starting quality NBA talent.

[Bad Bart]

I'm imagining a meeting between Gayle Benson, Adam Silver and Joe Dumars, with Silver telling Dumars he needs to destroy the Pelicans with extreme prejudice.

[DusterBuster]

I'm imagining a meeting between Gayle Benson, Adam Silver and Joe Dumars, with Silver telling Dumars he needs to destroy the Pelicans with extreme prejudice.

Alternate scenario, Silver and Benson met with Dumars and said "Joe, we loved your work in Detroit. We really want you to work that magic for us one more time with New Orleans!"

[Bad Bart]

I'm imagining a meeting between Gayle Benson, Adam Silver and Joe Dumars, with Silver telling Dumars he needs to destroy the Pelicans with extreme prejudice.

Alternate scenario, Silver and Benson met with Dumars and said "Joe, we loved your work in Detroit. We really want you to work that magic for us one more time with New Orleans!"

Well, that's kinda what I was intending, but I was determined to shoehorn an Apocalypse Now quote in there and it didn't get across that Dumars was the man for the job because of what he did with Detroit.

[DusterBuster]

I'm imagining a meeting between Gayle Benson, Adam Silver and Joe Dumars, with Silver telling Dumars he needs to destroy the Pelicans with extreme prejudice.

Alternate scenario, Silver and Benson met with Dumars and said "Joe, we loved your work in Detroit. We really want you to work that magic for us one more time with New Orleans!"

Well, that's kinda what I was intending, but I was determined to shoehorn an Apocalypse Now quote in there and it didn't get across that Dumars was the man for the job because of what he did with Detroit.

That's my bad, haven't seen it. That and Godfarther movies are my greatest movie sins for classics I've never seen.

[Klomp]

I usually don't get sucked in to conspiracy theories. But this one at least made me pause.....

[Perishable517]

I usually don't get sucked in to conspiracy theories. But this one at least made me pause.....

Right?! Mr, as well. I'm goingto follow this now.

Sent from my CPH2417 using RealGM mobile app

[knicksfan974]

How did Dumars explain the Queen trade when it was done? Did someone point out to him the risks involved?

[pepe1991]

Keep in mind that they only "won" Anthony Davis draft because NBA couldn't find anybody that wanted to buy them in first place.

Pelicans owner bought team for only $338M in 2012, and i highly doubt winning lottery wasn't part of negotiations

For 16 months that Pelicans team was ran and operated by NBA itself. That's how little interest anybody had in owning it.

[UcanUwill]

Didn't read the OP (or the thread, yet), but based on the thread title, I said exactly that in the Draft thread as soon as the trade happened: Dumars inside job to move the team.

Was it a joke? Was I serious?

To borrow a Simpsons joke, I don't even know anymore.

He also traded for Jordon Poole for some reason. WIth him and NIco, I think this year featured 2 worst GMings I have ever seen. WIth all the other bad GM moves, you can atleast play devils advocate and see the point, these two guys were so bad the only reasonable explanation is they moles sabotaging the team. No matter how bad GMs were in a past, the explanation was always incompetence, not a flat out mole job, this is new level ****.

[Mr Peanut]

Before they were hired by the Pelicans, if I was asked who I would hire to run a team to sabotage it I would've had Dumars and Weaver at (or near) the top of the list. So this conspiracy theory may have legs. Now if they hire Monty Williams to coach then we will know for certain.

[UcanUwill]

How did Dumars explain the Queen trade when it was done? Did someone point out to him the risks involved?

I don't know, he really liked Queen. But the bad thing about this trade, there is no way Atlanta declines this trade even if you put protections on that pick, and they just didn't. Maybe I am wrong, Hoops collective guys compare this trade to Giddey trade, which I do not agree, because guys act that Chicago should just had to get picks back also, and I don't get that, they traded good 30 year old role layer for a 21 very talented huge prospect, if anything thats fair, I do not get why OKC also need to give picks back, just cause they have some? But people just say Chicago got hosed cause they didn;t get picks back, so maybe I am wrong, but IDK, I am not sure OKC does that trade if you demand a pick, and its a trade where both teams win, but there is no way Atlanta declines this trade if you put protections on a pick, I do not think its the same. Trading unprotected lottery pick to just move 10 spots to pick 13tg in a draft is crazy, if you moved from 12 to second, then yeah, it makes sense, but you are moving to 13th...

[doogie_hauser]

As the saying goes “how you got them is how you’ll lose them”. This is just karma for George Shinn’s crimes 25 years ago, wrenching away the Hornets from Charlotte and cowardly moving them to New Orleans, the disgusting POS. New Orleans didn’t get their franchise honorably or deservedly in the first place, they have squandered all the lottery luck they’ve been handed, and they will lose it the exact same way. Chickens (or in this case, Pelicans) always come home to roost

I will always feel bad for original Charlotte fans who had their team stolen, but you got your Hornets back eventually. The good people of New Orleans and their long suffering Pels fans don't deserve that bitter tirade, especially after suffering through Hurricane Katrina and other disasters/misfortune that befall the city over the years.

I don’t think you are in any position to criticise New Orleans as a city at any rate, given your state's insidious anti Transphobic laws, and you keep letting a spousal and child bashing scumbag (Miles Bridges) playing and earning millions, when he honestly deserves to be in jail.

I don’t like to be critical of small.matket teams and their fans who have it tough rooting for their teams that haven’t had enjoyed much on court success, but i have to fly the flag for New Orleans (the city) and The Pelicans fans.

I am still angry at the OKC owners/Starbucks and Stern for stealing The Sonics away from Seattle, but i definitely don't have any antagnosim towards the City of Oklahoma and its players and fans.

Let go of the hate/hostile feelings about The Pelicsns mate.
Your Hornets have a good young playing core and future (despite not current results beating fruit)

[Hornet Mania]

Moving that team was one of the worst decisions the NBA ever made.

Never forget the association sacrificed a model small-market franchise (original Charlotte Hornets) with massive fan support to back a financially shaky owner accused of sexual misconduct in his bid to move the team to an even smaller market with far less interest.

Instead of just forcing Shinn to sell the original Hornets the league split the baby and sent the franchise to New Orleans while instantly giving Charlotte a second team to try to salvage that situation. Now the league has a severely hobbled zombie Charlotte Hornets franchise that had its soul ripped out for a decade and an unwanted New Orleans Pelican franchise that may need to relocate again. Absolutely disastrous chain of events, and that's not even getting into any bad basketball decisions.

[FarBeyondDriven]

I think it's more likely that it was pretty obvious the Pelicans were going to be garbage and likely picking top 5 since they lost talent and the talent they do have is either young or oft-injured plus they play in the West. The Pelicans weren't going to be allowed to get one of the superstars at the top of the loaded 2026 draft. Zion conveniently gets into great shape in time to be traded (to Pistons for Ivey, Holland and a first?) which will soften the blow of not having their 2026 1st. Then Pelicans will be allowed to tank next year because the 2027 class looks weak and the league won't mind them having a top 3 pick in a draft like that. They kinda had to let Zion go there since their top priority is helping the Lakers by giving them AD and that's the cost of doing business to appease these small market owners. Had Zion played the professional and not gotten fat and "injured" his trade value would be higher than teams are willing to pay which is why he waited.

I don't see why the owner or the league would want the Pelicans to move. They're serving their role as a farm system better than any other franchise. They draft and develop talent which then gets traded to contenders. Rinse and repeat. Meanwhile, the owner is a part of an exclusive club, gets to use the franchise as collateral to fund other ventures and watches as its value appreciates yearly. Who exactly is upset right now that would necessitate a trade? The only aggrieved party is Zion but he got to be fat, still got the max and will eventually be moved to a contender so while I'm sure he wishes he didn't have to go through this b.s. he understands it's all a business.

[Johnny Bball]

After that trade, I'm surprised they haven't been run out of town already.