The new executive VP of basketball operations has already made a number of eye-opening moves. He gave up in a trade with the Wizards that brought to New Orleans. He also traded up in the draft, giving up an unprotected 2026 pick in the process, to nab Maryland big man at the No. 13 spot.

Dumars took heat for those decisions, especially the latter. He told ESPN’s Marc J. Spears in an Andscape interview he doesn’t care about the backlash.

“I don’t mind the criticism. People say they don’t mind. But I really don’t mind,” Dumars said. “When you’re running a franchise, you make a determination of what you think you need to start growing your franchise. The opportunity presented itself that we could get two lottery picks, and to do that, you’re going to have to give up something. We gave up what we thought it would take to get these two lottery picks and we did.”

Dumars chose to return to his home state and take on the task of running a Pelicans franchise stuck in mediocrity. Dumars declined the vice president of basketball operations jobs with the and Suns, according to Spears, but felt the New Orleans offer was ‘right place, right time, right people.’

Dumars addressed a wide range of topics in the interview. Here’s some of the highlights: