New Orleans Pelicans Part Ways With Willie Green After 2-10 Start

The New Orleans Pelicans fired coach Willie Green connected Saturday connected nan heels of a 2-10 commencement to nan season.

Pelicans executive vice president of hoops operations Joe Dumars, who announced nan coaching change, named apical adjunct James Borrego, a erstwhile Charlotte Hornets caput coach, arsenic interim coach. The Pelicans adjacent play astatine location connected Sunday nighttime against nan Golden State Warriors.

“It really wasn’t nan won and mislaid grounds arsenic nan eventual determining factor,” Dumars said. “We person to found who is going to beryllium present successful New Orleans going guardant and I conscionable did not spot that happening.”

Rather, Dumars saw a squad “losing nan aforesaid way, complete and complete again”.

“That’s not improvement,” he continued. “We person to found that we’re going to play difficult each night. Before you tin go thing successful this league, you person to found that first ... and that’s still what I’m looking for correct now.”

Team proprietor Gayle Benson, who has travel nether expanding nationalist unit during caller difficult seasons for some nan Pelicans and nan NFL’s Saints, often said glowingly of Green and his family but said she trusted Dumars “to make nan correct decisions for our franchise”.

“I person tremendous admiration and respect for Willie Green, and I genuinely admit each he has done for our statement complete nan past fewer years,” Benson said. “This is simply a reliable business and these are difficult decisions. My anticipation is to beryllium a winning squad that competes for championships.”

Borrego was caput coach of nan Charlotte Hornets for 4 seasons from 2018 to 2022, going 138-163, including 43-39 successful his last season. He besides served arsenic interim caput coach pinch Orlando during nan 2014-15 season.

Dumars said he expects Borrego’s promotion to past astatine slightest done nan remainder of this play but couldn’t guarantee whether “unforeseen” circumstances mightiness alteration that.

Borrego “has sat successful nan head-coaching spot earlier successful nan NBA and understands nan job”, Dumars said. “So, we person awesome religion and assurance successful James going forward.”

Green, hired to his first caput coaching occupation successful 2021 by erstwhile Pelicans hoops operations main David Griffin, went 150-190 successful four-plus seasons.

His Pelicans teams made nan playoffs twice, losing successful nan first information to Phoenix successful 2022 and Oklahoma City successful 2024. The Pelicans qualified for nan Western Conference play-in tourney successful 2023 but were eliminated by Oklahoma City.

Green’s occupation successful New Orleans was made much challenging by prima powerfulness guardant Zion Williamson’s predominant wounded absences. Williamson – nan 2019 first wide draught prime retired of Duke who has averaged 24.6 points per crippled during his profession – played successful conscionable 134, aliases astir 39%, of nan 340 games Green coached. Williamson has missed 7 games this season, hampered first by a bruised ft and past a strained near hamstring.

Dumars, hired to return complete for Griffin this year, chose successful nan offseason to instrumentality pinch Green, who was entering his last play nether contract.

“I’d seen immoderate of nan Pelicans erstwhile they were afloat patient a fewer years agone and it seemed that Willie was doing a bully job. I thought it was only adjacent to springiness him an opportunity,” Dumars said. “It was conscionable arsenic elemental as: He’s been here, springiness him a chance to person a caller commencement pinch maine and spell guardant and build.”

Dumars provided Green pinch a roster that included nan additions of free-agent veterans Kevon Looney, Sadiq Bey and Jordan Poole, on pinch 2 first-round draught picks – Jeremiah Fears (seventh overall) and Derik Queen (13th overall).

The Pelicans opened nan regular play pinch a six-game skid that included 3 30-plus-point losses. Green concisely seemed to beryllium uncovering his footing erstwhile nan Pelicans won 2 straight, but they person since mislaid 4 successful a row, including a 118-104 conclusion astatine nan hands of nan Los Angeles Lakers connected Friday nighttime successful NBA Cup play.

“We’re not position quo people. We’re conscionable not,” Dumars said. “We can’t beryllium connected our hands and we can’t beryllium present and go, ‘Well, it’s going to get amended 1 day.’ Like, that’s conscionable not nan measurement we’re going to attack it.”