The New Orleans Pelicans are finalizing a deal to make Hall of Famer Joe Dumars their president of basketball operations, ESPN reported Tuesday.

Dumars, who has been the NBA’s executive vice president and head of basketball operations since 2022, would replace David Griffin, who was fired Monday after a 21-61 season.

Dumars, 61, was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2006. A six-time All-Star guard, he won consecutive titles with the Detroit Pistons in 1989, when he was the NBA Finals MVP, and 1990.

The Pistons hired Dumars to head their basketball operations after he retired in 1999 and he served from 2000-14. He was the 2002-03 NBA Executive of the Year, one season before Detroit won another championship.

He worked in the Sacramento Kings’ front office from 2019-22 before moving to the league office.

Dumars has strong ties to Louisiana. A native of Shreveport, he went to high school in Natchitoches and college at McNeese State in Lake Charles.

–Field Level Media