Pelicans GM David Griffin turned Anthony Davis into so much return value

Pelicans general manager David Griffin is looking like the early favorite to win Executive of the Year, and it’s not even July.

When the Pelicans opted to trade disgruntled star Anthony Davis to the Lakers for Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram and draft picks, Griffin had already set the franchise up with a solid foundation to work with alongside Zion Williamson.

It turned out that Griffin was just getting started.

According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Pelicans decided to trade that No. 4 pick that they got from the Lakers to the Atlanta Hawks for the No. 8, 17 and 35 overall picks of Thursday’s NBA Draft. The Pelicans also dumped Solomon Hill’s expiring contract from their books.

Basically, Griffin took one player who already wanted out and turned him into this …

Anthony Davis has turned into:

– Lonzo Ball
– Brandon Ingram
– Josh Hart
– No. 8 pick in 19
– No. 17 pick in 19
– No. 35 pick in 19
– L.A.' 21 pick if top 8
– L.A.' 22 pick if not
– L.A. swap in 23
– L.A.' 1st in either 24 or 25

And got rid of Solomon Hill's contract.

— Andrew Lopez (@_Andrew_Lopez) June 20, 2019

Just wow.

And that doesn’t even take into account that Williamson is going to be on the Pelicans. If you didn’t already believe that Griffin could turn the Pelicans around, you should start about now.

NBA fans were beyond impressed with Griffin’s work.

David Griffin is back! He should have never been out but way to come back.

— DWade (@DwyaneWade) June 20, 2019

David Griffin is not playing. He’s out here showing teams how it should be done. https://t.co/I7b2vuuVmp

— Dahntay (@dahntay1) June 20, 2019

Griff Cold… lol

— C.J. Miles (@masfresco) June 20, 2019

David Griffin walking into the Barclays Center. pic.twitter.com/thDBSKo5dw

— Eric Ray (@EricRayweather) June 20, 2019

David Griffin has been a magician for the New Orleans Pelicans so far. It’s like watching an artist at work. https://t.co/JjoEVkVTst

— Ryan Reynolds (@RPRTalks) June 20, 2019

David Griffin's message to the NBA tonight: pic.twitter.com/LHgyaVJlks

— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) June 20, 2019

David Griffin is really good at his job.

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 20, 2019

It's weird to see an NBA executive win the offseason before the draft or free agency even begins, but David Griffin is absolutely crushing it.

— David MacKay (@DavidMacKayNBA) June 20, 2019