David Stern was critical of the general manager job Dell Demps has done with the New Orleans Pelicans while also defending his decision to veto a Chris Paul trade in 2011.

"There was a trade that Dell Demps wanted us to approve, and I said heck no, but he had told Daryl Morey and Mitch Kupchak he had authority to do it, and he didn't," Stern said. "I said no. We just settled a lockout, and you want me to approve a basketball trade?"

Stern did not waver in his decision despite intense criticism.

"[Demps] had agreed to [trade Paul to the Lakers for] Kevin Martin and Luis Scola or something, and I said we can do better than that," Stern said. "... And the next trade was [to the LA Clippers for] Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu and what we thought was a really great draft pick, the 10th pick, which turned out to be Austin Rivers. At least those three and someone else [center Chris Kaman].

"But Dell Demps is a lousy general manager, and none of those players are currently with the team anymore, and he may lose Anthony Davis," Stern said.

"I did it because I was protecting the then-Hornets," Stern said of the 2011 veto. "... To this day, everyone always asks me, 'Well why did you keep Chris Paul from going to the Lakers?' I didn't keep him. I didn't approve the trade. No team sells or trades a future Hall of Famer without the owner signing off, and I was the owner's rep.

"But I wasn't going to hand up Dell Demps."

The Pelicans released a statement supporting Demps and criticized Stern's comments.

"We are very disappointed to read the inappropriate and inaccurate comments from the former NBA Commissioner regarding the New Orleans Pelicans," the club said in a statement. "Our organization has the utmost confidence in our General Manager, Dell Demps. He is a part of our family, the NBA family. We are excited about the direction of our team, the 3-0 start to the season, building on the success of the 2017/18 playoffs. Finally, our organization is excited and proud to be part of the NBA with the progressive and innovative leadership of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver."

Anthony Davis will be eligible for a supermax contract this offseason, which will go a long ways to determining what the future of the NBA holds depending on whether he chooses to sign it.

If Davis decides not to sign the extension, the New Orleans Pelicans could look to trade him.

"My sense has always been with Anthony that he is always: some players are looking for reasons to stay and some players are looking for reasons to leave," said Adrian Wojnarowski on the Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective Show. "I've always thought that Anthony is a guy looking for reasons to stay in New Orleans. And I think that will continue to be the case until he feels he's out of them.

"I do think down the line that the Boston and L.A., if he became available, that will be interesting, especially if the Lakers get shut out this summer."

The New Orleans Pelicans have claimed guard Tim Frazier off waivers. Frazier, 6-1, 170, appeared in four preseason games for Milwaukee, averaging 4.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists before subsequently being waived on October 15.  

This will be Frazier’s second stint in New Orleans, after originally joining the club on March 16, 2016. In 81 career games with New Orleans, Frazier has averaged 8.3 points, 5.6 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals. Undrafted out of Penn State in 2014, Frazier has appeared in 186 career regular season games with Philadelphia, Portland, New Orleans and Washington, holding averages of 5.2 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 rebounds. 

In a subsequent move, the Pelicans have waived forward Troy Williams. Williams, 6-7, 218, appeared in four preseason contests for New Orleans, averaging 8.5 points and 1.0 rebounds.

The Los Angeles Clippers have agreed to trade Wesley Johnson to the New Orleans Pelicans for Alexis Ajinca.

Johnson and Ajinca are each in the expiring season of their current contracts.

The Clippers will waive Ajinca, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived forward Garlon Green and guard Jarrett Jack.

Green, who was originally signed on July 24 after playing on the Pelicans’ summer league team in Las Vegas, appeared in four preseason games, averaging 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds. Jack, who signed with New Orleans on September 19, appeared in three preseason games, averaging 3.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 rebounds.

New Orleans’s roster currently stands at 16, including one two-way player (Trevon Bluiett).

The New Orleans Pelicans have waived center Brandon McCoy and guard Darius Morris.

McCoy, who signed with New Orleans on September 29, appeared in three preseason contests, averaging 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. Morris, who was originally signed on September 4, appeared in three preseason games with New Orleans, averaging 1.7 assists.

New Orleans’s roster currently stands at 18, including one two-way player (Trevon Bluiett).

Shortly after Jahlil Okafor was traded by the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets, he sat down with a staff member of his new team who helped him realize he might have been dealing with depression and anxiety.

“I didn’t know I was dealing with depression and anxiety myself,” Okafor told The Athletic. “When I was in Brooklyn after the Philly trade, I started to talk to somebody there. That was the first I heard about it. Then, during the season, I didn’t act on it.

“I was in a dark place, man. I didn’t act on what was told to me, and I ignored it and shut it down.”

Okafor appeared in only 26 games for the Nets and before the end of the season, he had an epiphany about his situation.

“A week before the season ended, I looked at myself in the mirror and knew I not only had to get my body right but my mind right,” Okafor said. “I went straight to Miami and changed my diet and worked out. But most importantly, I started talking to a therapist to help me get through the depression and anxiety that I was going through, and it’s something I’m still dealing with. But I’m coping with it a lot better, and I’m learning ways to continue to feel good.

“I thanked Kevin Love because when I was reading his piece, I realized that this is normal and some of the stuff he was talking about … damn, I deal with some of the same things. Kevin Love, we know how successful he’s been in the NBA, but to hear somebody of his stature come out and talk about this is super inspiring to me.

“I lost my mom when I was 9, and it goes way deeper than me playing the game of basketball. It’s my life. It’s my trials. I wouldn’t blame Philly, wouldn’t blame the media or anybody.”

Okafor worked to transform his body and lost 17 pounds over the offseason.

“There was no bullshit with Jah, and I have a no (expletive) approach,” trainer David Alexander said. “We clicked, and it was organic from the beginning. I knew that with Jah, it would be work both mentally and physically. It goes hand in hand. He’s had some unfortunate situations, some setbacks and organizations that weren’t a great fit. I understand the psychological side. With someone like Jah, I understood the space and where he’s coming from. From what I felt and saw, he wouldn’t have benefit from the drill sergeant approach, or the fuck you mentality. The more he believed in himself and his body, the more successful he would be.

“He was extremely inflamed, extremely bloated, when he arrived here to start the offseason program. He wasn’t a fat guy, but he doesn’t have the physique he has now. And when you’re not successful at something you’ve been successful at your whole life, it can eat at you. It can tear you apart. You can’t look at the glass half empty, and I told him he’s got to believe in himself, that he’s young enough to be one of the better big men in this league. He built himself back up.”

Jahlil Okafor has been diagnosed with a right ankle sprain.

The injury occurred during the closing moments of the Pelicans' preseason opener in Chicago on Sunday, September 30.

An MRI review and further examination by Pelicans Director of Medical Services Dr. Misty Suri confirmed the sprain. Okafor is expected to miss approximately 1-2 weeks from the time of injury.