Pelicans hire former WNBA star Swin Cash to front office
The New Orleans Pelicans have hired a WNBA star to a prominent front office position.
According to ESPN, Swin Cash, who played 15 WNBA seasons after winning two national championships at the University of Connecticut, will join the Pelicans as vice president of basketball operations and team development. In that role, per ESPN, Cash will assist in scouting and team development “on and off the floor.”
“I am so excited to join the New Orleans Pelicans as Vice President of Basketball Operations/Team Development,” Cash said in a statement. “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to Mrs. Benson, David Griffin and the Pelicans organization for the opportunity to serve in a leadership role in the front office. I will use my experience as a professional athlete in the WNBA, Vice President of the WNBPA, businesswoman and philanthropist, along with the knowledge I’ve gained as a front office executive, to cultivate the organization’s basketball culture on the court and in the community.”
Cash, a four-time WNBA All-Star and three-time champion, retired from playing after the 2016 season and later was hired by the New York Liberty as director of franchise development. She has also worked as an NBA analyst on NBA TV.
Cash, 39, joins a Pelicans front office revitalized by David Griffin, the former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager who was brought on as the franchise’s executive president of basketball operations.
Griffin previously hired Trajan Langdon, a former Cavs guard, as the team’s general manager. Langdon spent the three previous seasons as the assistant GM of the Brooklyn Nets.
“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Swin Cash and her family to the New Orleans Pelicans,” Griffin said in a statement. “Her legendary experience as a player, champion and winner at every level, on and off the floor, represents everything we want this organization to be about. In addition to her background as an executive with the New York Liberty, Swin has a strong reputation as a thought leader in the area of player and human development and her work as a global NBA/WNBA ambassador speaks to her incredible relationships throughout the League family.”
New Orleans has the No. 1 pick in the June 20 NBA draft and is expected to select Duke star Zion Williamson. Williamson could be paired with Anthony Davis, though the six-time All-Star has reportedly not backed down from his very public trade request that hung over the franchise throughout most of the season.
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