National Basketball Association

Is New Orleans Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps on the Hot Seat?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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With another round of roster changes for the New Orleans Pelicans, is the team’s General Manager Dell Demps back on the hot seat?

New Orleans Pelicans General Manager Dell Demps has been on the hot seat for quite some time.

Going into the 2016-2017 season, it’s more about how hot that seat actually is.

Demps is now going into his sixth season as the GM for New Orleans. His tenure has been filled with mixed results.

Going into his decisions is a lot to analyze. There’s the good, where he acquired Ryan Anderson for Gustavo Ayon. Then there’s the bad, like his decision to re-sign Eric Gordon, even though he did not want to be there. Or re-signing Omer Asik to a monster deal, in what was essentially the Pelicans outbidding themselves.

Those decisions are in the past. They certainly come into play when talking about how hot his seat is. But, the bigger marker to Demps’ job security is the offseason the Pelicans just had.

The Pelicans completely changed their roster, from one that fit former Head Coach Monty Williams to one that fits current Head Coach Alvin Gentry. The team continues to lean on Demps’ talent of finding “sleeper” players that can fill roles, with guys like Lance Stephenson and E’Twaun Moore joining the team.

New Orleans is giving Demps’ method of building a team another try. However, depending on if it works or not, it may be the last try for Dell. The Pelicans nearly fired Demps two years ago when they let go of Monty Williams. The only thing that saved him was a playoff appearance. After last year’s disappointment, it will likely take that again to save his job once more.

The other major marker for his job security is Danny Ferry. Ferry was brought into New Orleans this offseason to be a “Special Advisor”. It’s not completely far fetched to see this kind of move from an NBA team, but it doesn’t look the best for Demps.

Ferry’s best trait in his past stints was his ability to get quality talent off the free agent scene and fit them into the scheme. Essentially, what makes a good general manager. The fact New Orleans went out searching for this kind of help does not seem like the team shows a lot of confidence in Dell.

This could mean multiple things. Either the Pelicans want to be sure to shore up Demps’ struggles and keep him on with extra help. Or, it could mean the team is trying out a possible replacement. It’s not for certain either way. What is for certain is the seat is growing hot once again for Dell Demps.

Demps has been on the hot seat for most of his tenure. This season is no different. With changes surrounding the Pelicans, it’s hard to argue against letting the GM of six years go. The team’s success this season will have a huge effect on how hot his seat gets.

But, with injuries surrounding the squad already and plenty of new faces that need to learn a new system, it could go south for New Orleans fast. That would all but spell doom for Demps’ GM position.

The New Orleans Pelicans will have a big decision to make next April, depending on how the season goes. Dell Demps has had some success as the Pelicans’ GM. However, for what the team had aspirations for, Demps has left a lot to be desired. If New Orleans wants to contend and keep their superstar Anthony Davis content, it might soon be time for the Pelicans to let Demps go and find a fresh face to fill an important position for the team’s future.