NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have decided to fire ninth-year general manager Dell Demps and start the process of finding someone to deal with the fallout of All-Star Anthony Davis' recent trade demand.Demps' dismissal comes after Davis said in late January that he would not sign an extension with New Orleans and wants to be traded to a contending team."As difficult as these decisions are, my responsibility is to provide the leadership and resources necessary to deliver a winning team to our fans and community," Pelicans owner Gayle Benson said Friday in a written statement. "I take that responsibility seriously and would like to assure our fans that I am prepared to provide any, and all, resources required to compete for championships."Davis has another season remaining on his contract after this one and this season's trade deadline has passed, meaning no trade will happen until summer under the new front office regime.Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft out... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans have acquired forward Nikola Mirotic and a second-round draft pick from the Chicago Bulls for center Omer Asik, guards Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen and a 2018 first-round pick.The trade, announced by both teams late Thursday afternoon, comes less than a week after New Orleans lost All-Star DeMarcus Cousins for the season to a left Achilles tear and with the Pelicans still in the playoff picture.Mirotic has averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game since missing the first 23 games this season with two broken bones in his face stemming from a fight in practice with Bobby Portis.Nelson has averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 assists in 43 games for New Orleans this season. Allen averaged 4.7 points before a broken leg sidelined him for 22 games. He returned to the active roster this week. Asik has averaged 1.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14 games this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Pelicans acquired forward Nikola Mirotic and a second-round draft pick from the Chicago Bulls for center Omer Asik, guards Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen and a first-round pick, a person familiar with the deal said.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither team has announced the trade.The trade comes less than a week after New Orleans lost All-Star DeMarcus Cousins for the season because of left Achilles tear and with the Pelicans still in the playoff picture.Mirotic has averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds since missing the first 23 games this season because of two broken bones in his face stemming from a fight in practice with Bobby Portis.Nelson has averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 assists in 43 games for New Orleans. Allen averaged 4.7 points before a broken leg sidelined him for 22 games. He returned to the active roster this week, but did not play in Tuesday night's loss to Sacramento. Asik has averaged... [More]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A person familiar with the decision says the New Orleans Pelicans have acquired forward Nikola Mirotic and a second-round draft pick from the Chicago Bulls for center Omer Asik, guards Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen, and a future first-round pick.The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because neither team has announced the trade.The deal, first reported by ESPN, comes less than a week after New Orleans lost All-Star DeMarcus Cousins for the season to a left Achilles tear and with the Pelicans still in the playoff picture.Mirotic has averaged 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game since missing the first 23 games this season with two broken bones in his face stemming from a fight in practice with Bobby Portis.Nelson has averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 assists in 43 games for New Orleans this season. Allen averaged 4.7 points before a broken leg sidelined him for 22 games. He returned to the active roster this week. Asik has averaged 1.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 14 games this season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

C Omer Asik, who has started 19 games this season, is out with a bacterial infection.

C Omer Asik missed his seventh game in a row Monday because of an illness.

C Omer Asik (undisclosed illness) sat out his ninth consecutive game Sunday.

C Omer Asik, who earns slightly less than $10 million, seems lost in Alvin Gentry's up-tempo offense. His bad hands are a huge liability because the Pelicans cannot use him as an option on the pick-and-roll. Despite a short New Orleans bench, Asik played just 14 minutes against Phoenix and missed the only shot he took. He failed to score.

C Omer Asik, who missed five games because of a right ankle sprain, returned to the starting lineup on Saturday against the Jazz.

C Omer Asik could be out two weeks after spraining his right ankle, coach Alvin Gentry said. The injury occurred during Sunday's win over the Detroit Pistons. Alexis Ajinca replaced Asik in the starting lineup.

C Omer Asik sprained his right ankle Sunday.

C Omer Asik came back Friday night from a stomach ailment.

C Omer Asik was sidelined due to a stomach ailment Tuesday.

C Omer Asik (calf) sat out another game on Friday night.

C Omer Asik (right calf strain) was out for an already depleted Pelicans lineup Tuesday. "It's going to be a day-to-day thing," said New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry. "Hopefully, we'll get him back for the next game (Friday against Atlanta). It's close, but I don't know if it's worth taking the chance right now."

Asik will miss three weeks with a calf strain, ESPN's Marc Stein reports.

With Alexis Ajinca set to miss four-to-six weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Pelicans could be without two of their top centers to start the season. Asik's newest injury is particularly alarming considering he also dealt with a back injury throughout much of the summer, further clouding his availability for the start of the regular season. If Asik and Ajinca are out for any considerable amount of time, Kendrick Perkins and Anthony Davis could see additional time at center until the injured duo returns.

Asik (back) is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, Scott Kushner of The Advocate reports.

Asik was dealing with a back injury over the summer, which caused him to withdraw from the EuroBasket tournament earlier in the month. The big man averaged 7.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in 26.1 minutes last season, and he figures to see a similar workload in 2015-16. Asik projects to open the season as the starting center, but Anthony Davis will encroach on his minutes as he swings between the center and power forward spots.

Asik withdrew from EuroBasket 2015 due to lingering back spasms, Sportando reports.

The pain was significant to withdraw from a tournament that begins in September. The consulted doctors weren't thrilled with the results, and at this point, it's unclear how long Asik will be out and the severity of the issue remains uncertain.

Asik has agreed to a deal with the Pelicans, John Reid of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

Asik's contract will be five years and $60 million. He was valuable alongside Anthony Davis, averaging 7.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in 26 minutes per game for 76 games. Marc Stein reports that the final year of the contract is not guaranteed for Asik.

Asik is finalizing a five-year deal with the Pelicans, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reports.

Asik was traded from Houston to New Orleans last offseason and averaged 7.3 points and 9.8 rebounds in 26 minutes per game through 76 games in 2014-15. He proved valuable as a rebounder and defender alongside Anthony Davis. His role will likely stay the same next season.