Pelicans Fire coach Willie Green 12 games into his 5th season amid 2-10 start

The New Orleans Pelicans fired Willie Green on Saturday after a 2-10 start to the season.

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, who announced the coaching change, named top assistant James Borrego, former Charlotte Hornets head coach, as interim coach. The Pelicans next play at home Sunday night vs Golden State Warriors.

“After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to replace the head coach,” Dumars said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect for Willie Green and truly appreciate his contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community.”

Team owner Gail Benson, who has come under increasing public pressure during recent difficult seasons for both the Pelicans and the NFL‘s New Orleans Saintsshe often spoke highly of Green and his family, but said she trusted Dumars “to make the right decisions for our franchise.”

“I have tremendous admiration and respect for Willie Green and really appreciate everything he has done for our organization over the last few years,” Benson said. “This is a tough job and tough decisions. My expectation is to be a winning team that competes for a championship.”

Borrego previously served as the Hornets’ head coach for four seasons from 2018 to 2022. He also served as interim coach with Orlando during the 2014-15 season.

Green, hired in 2021 by former Pelicans head of basketball operations David Griffin, went 150-190 over four seasons.

His Pelicans teams made the playoffs twice, losing in the first round to Phoenix in 2022 and Ololama City 2024 The Pelicans qualified for the 2023 Western Conference playoff tournament, but were eliminated by Oklahoma City.

But Green’s fortunes probably weren’t helped by star power Zion Williamsonfrequent absences due to injuries. Williamson — the first pick in the 2019 draft Duke who averaged 24.6 points per game during his career — played in just 134, or about 39%, of the 340 games Green coached. Hampered by a bruised foot, followed by a strained left hamstring, Williamson has missed seven games this season.

Dumars, hired to take over for Griffin this year as the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, elected this offseason to stay with Green, who was entering the final season of his contract.

The Pelicans opened the regular season on a six-game skid, including three losses by 30-plus points. Green appeared to find his footing when the Pelicans won two straight, but have since lost four straight, including a 118-104 loss to Los Angeles Lakers on Friday evening at NBA Cup game.

Associated Press reports.