Pelicans Reportedly Weigh Coaching Change as Willie Green Starts Season 0-4
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The New Orleans Pelicans have engaged in “serious” internal discussions about the future of head coach Willie Green after an 0-4 start, according to Brett Siegel and Chris Dodson of ClutchPoints.
New Orleans opened the season aiming to rebound under newly appointed executive vice president Joe Dumars, but the early schedule has produced lopsided defeats to the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets and close losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs.
Multiple sources told ClutchPoints that several players are frustrated with Green’s rotation decisions, and league observers believe the coach may have lost the locker room.
The Pelicans face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday before returning to New Orleans. A decision on Green’s job status could follow that two-game trip, the report said. Assistant coach James Borrego is viewed as the leading candidate to take over if a change is made.
Green, 44, has compiled a 148-184 record since taking the helm in 2021. His teams have reached the playoffs twice, including a 49-win campaign in 2023-24, but have not advanced beyond the first round.
After Wednesday’s 34-point loss in Denver, Green told NOLA.com’s Rod Walker that the Pelicans “have to dig down and find our identity.” He added, “The first order of business is you’ve got to compete harder, play harder, play more together, and the belief has to be there.”
Source: Hoops Wire
