David Griffin Out as Pelican Executive VP; Budenholzer Out as Phoenix Head Coach

The New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns made two franchise-altering moves on Monday, with the Pelicans firing executive Vice President David Griffin after six seasons and the Suns firing head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season leading the Suns in which the team finished 11th in the Western Conference with a 36-46 record. 

Griffin was hired by the Pelicans in April of 2019, two months prior to the team selecting Zion Williamson number 1 overall. The Pelicans went 209-263 during Griffin’s tenure, with the team hit by injuries and never finding their groove. Last season, the team won 49 games, and bolstered their roster in the offseason with a trade with the San Antonio Spurs in which the Pelicans landed one-time all-star Dejounte Murray. A nucleus of Williamson, Murray, C.J. McCollum and Brandon Ingram were thought to propel the Pelicans to a high level, but Murray tore his right Achilles against the Boston Celtics on January 31, which followed a hand injury that forced him to miss time from October 23 to November 27. Ingram only played 18 games before a February trade to the Toronto Raptors. 

The Pelicans were never fully healthy under Griffin, not an indictment on him but rather an unfortunate sequence of events for a team that had so much optimism after drafting Williamson. There are rumors according to Shams Charania that Joe Dumars will fill Griffin’s spot. Regardless of what happens next, the Pelicans are entering a new era. Things will be a lot more clearer after June’s draft. 

The Suns, meanwhile, were the most disappointing team in the league this season. Unable to win early on without Kevin Durant, the Suns sputtered all season, never getting a rhythm. Durant averaged 26.6 points on 62 games, Devin Booker played 75 games but shot 46%, lower than last season’s 49%. Bradley Beal averaged 17.0 points on 50%, but was pushed to the bench, starting 38 of just 53 games. Tyus Jones, a needed addition in the offseason at point guard, started just 58 games. 

Phoenix was never able to get continuity, their rotations were off and their health was not optimal. All of these factors produced a disaster season for the team, which ultimately fell to Budenholzer. 

Both the Pelicans and Suns will look vastly different next season. Who knows whether Zion Williamson will be back or if Kevin Durant will be back. Durant is the more likely to go, but regardless, both teams will go through significant offseason changes. The changes have already begun.