Joe Dumars says the early months of his tenure as the New Orleans Pelicans' basketball operations chief will be marked by listening.

NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported over the weekend that the "early word" out of New Orleans in the early stages of the Dumars era was that the new appointee "wants to evaluate his new situation fully before deciding to outright shop Williamson."

If Pelicans ownership is fed up and ready to move on from Williamson, few would be surprised. But it wasn't Dumars' job to relay that message on Tuesday, if so.