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Dumars’ message to Williamson has been simple: “To be great, you have to be obsessed with this,” he told Williamson. “You can’t casually become great in this league. What I’ve seen from him this summer is he’s obsessed with the work he’s putting in. And that is really encouraging for me that he’s putting this type of work in.”
“We were engaged in a lot of conversations with a lot of different teams,” Dumars said Friday in an interview with The Times-Picayune. “But at the end of the day, you’ve got to make a determination if this is the right deal or not. You don’t want to make a move for the sake of making a move. It has to be right for us.”
“We certainly could have got into the first round,” Dumars said. “But the price was too steep to do it. That’s where discipline comes in. It’s appealing sometimes to say you can get into the first round. But at what cost? Then you have to look at where you’re getting your pick at. Last year we moved into the lottery and got Queen. I thought it was worth it. This year, where we would have landed in the first round wouldn’t have been worth giving up what we had to give up.”
“I think if we are healthy, we have a good roster,” Dumars said. “I believe in the players we have. But two things can be true at the same time. You can believe in your roster and you can continue to look to get better. So that’s what I’m doing. I believe in the roster, but I’m still looking for us to get better.”
League sources say multiple teams have put two first-round picks on the table for Murphy. Pelicans general manager Joe Dumars has been pushing for three firsts in discussions so far, and there is still a chance he gets there. But for now, teams appear to be holding firm at two.
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External trade interest in New Orleans' Trey Murphy III remains intense, league sources say. Yet I was told this week that the inquiries have all been of an inbound nature. League sources say that the Pelicans have not offered Murphy anywhere and that this is the first time their new front office regime headed by Joe Dumars has been truly willing to field offers for Murphy. As one team interested in Murphy put it to me this week: "They want a lot." Two teams known to have expressed interest in the 25-year-old sharpshooter, I'm told, are Detroit and Indiana.
Furthering this initial tension, when Cosgrave was first hired as a consultant, his specific role and responsibilities were not broadly communicated within the organization. This created some uncertainty among staff about his purpose and scope. It is a dynamic the organization has since acknowledged. By the time the season ended, many on the staff believed their fate had been sealed regardless of their performance. “It felt like no matter how good of a job they did, or how much the players liked working with them, the outcome was going to be the same,” one source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
The organization has made clear Dumars has no intention of being constrained by budget in rebuilding the medical and performance department, and is prepared to spend what is required to bring in the caliber of people the organization is targeting. The hires of Cosgrave and Sharpe reflect that commitment.
Pelicans Film Room: "About half the team have been to games. They wanted to see it and feel it... [Queen] was talking about the intensity like "I haven't seen that in the regular season" I said "You're not going to see that in the regular season" -- Joe Dumars on players attending playoff games
Pelicans Film Room: "When they lost only then did I reach out to him, the next day... I texted him "Should we have a conversation?" and he said "Yeah, give me a day or two though. I am just trying to breath right now" That was the first time I reached out to him" -- Joe Dumars on Jamahl Mosley
"When they lost only then did I reach out to him, the next day... I texted him "Should we have a conversation?" and he said "Yeah, give me a day or two though. I am just trying to breath right now" That was the first time I reached out to him"
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) May 26, 2026
-- Joe Dumars on Jamahl Mosley pic.twitter.com/cDLMC5Y3zj
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Pelicans Film Room: "We haven't changed our opinions on Zion. I'd love to see Jamahl coach Zion. I'd love to see him get Zion to defend and do all the things he said. Lets see what we have here" -- Joe Dumars on Zion Williamson
"We haven't changed our opinions on Zion. I'd love to see Jamahl coach Zion. I'd love to see him get Zion to defend and do all the things he said. Lets see what we have here"
— Pelicans Film Room (@PelsFilmRoom) May 26, 2026
-- Joe Dumars on Zion Williamson pic.twitter.com/1hFetgA6ws
Will Guillory: Joe Dumars' statement on the Jamahl Mosley hire: “Jamahl has earned tremendous respect across the NBA for his leadership, professionalism, and the strong relationships he develops with players and staff. He has consistently demonstrated an ability to develop young talent while establishing teams that compete with toughness, discipline, and togetherness. His teams reflect his coaching style through their defensive intensity, effort, preparation, and commitment to playing the right way. Those qualities reinforce the long-term stability of a winning culture.”
Assistant coaches Casey Hill and Corey Brewer are among those who will not return, sources confirmed. The Pelicans are expected to move in a different direction with most of the coaching staff. On the business side and not under the purview of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars, T.V. Studio Host, Erin Summers, and Studio Analyst, Wesley Johnson are also among those who were let go.