New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green on Saturday after a disappointing 2-10 start in the 2025-2026 season. Green was fired early in his fifth season in New Orleans, after a disappointing first half of the season, which included three losses by 30 points, an NBA record. James Borrego, the associate head coach, has been appointed interim head coach.Joe Dumars’ executive vice-president of basketball operations said, “After careful analysis, we made the difficult decision to replace our head coach.” “I am grateful for Willie Green’s contributions to both the Pelicans and the New Orleans Community. I have the highest respect for him.” We wish his family the very best in the coming years.Green’s tenure with the Pelicans started with some promise. Green took over the Pelicans just two years after Zion Williamson’s promising career. New Orleans had still accumulated a large amount of draft capital as a result of the Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday deals. Williamson and Brandon Ingram were still a great source of talent, but the 2021 draft class, featuring Tre Murphy, Herb Jones, and Jose Alvarado, raised expectations.
Willie Green is a sign of deeper problems that the Pelicans are facing, and it’s unlikely a new head coach can fix them.
Sam Quinn
These talented young players struggled to remain healthy on a New Orleans squad that was never able to find a consistent starting lineup. In the short period of time that the Pelicans had the same starting lineup between the early months of December 2023 and the arrival C.J. McCollum recovered from an injury, but by March 2024 they had lost Ingram. They went 31-16.
Ingram’s injuries slowed down the Pelicans and Williamson then suffered his own injury in the Play-In Tournament. The Pelicans were never competitive again. They lost to the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs, and then finished with a 21-61 record during a season that was plagued by injuries. Joe Dumars replaced David Griffin as general manager, who had hired Green. Rather than bringing in his own coach immediately, Dumars allowed Green to start and season and attempt to prove that he was the man for the job long-term.Ultimately, he couldn’t do so. The Pelicans’ first six games were lost by 107 points. Green’s unwillingness to give Derik Queen meaningful minutes is perhaps more concerning for the long-term outlook of the team. Queen, with the exception of a 34-minute appearance against the Spurs, when there were no other big men available but Williamson, has played between 10 to 20 minutes in most games. The Pelicans front office wants to see him more this season, especially since they gave up unprotected first-round control in 2026 to acquire him. Over the summer, New York Knicks tried to poach Borrego to become the top assistant for their new head coach Mike Brown. The Pelicans chose not to allow the Knicks to interview Borrego. Now, the Pelicans are choosing the former Charlotte Hornets Coach as interim choice.
Borrego will be the man in charge in the short term, and the person in charge in the long run has their work cut out. Since 2003, the Pelicans in New Orleans have only won two playoff series, despite having drafted three superstars, Anthony Davis and Williamson. All of these players have been on their majority of rosters during this time. Williamson’s decreased production, an inexperienced forwardcourt, and the money that is tied to the currently injured Dejounte are just some of the reasons why the roster needs major upgrades in order to stay competitive. The New Orleans team will have to undergo a painful and long-lasting reboot if they are to compete in the near future.
2025-11-15 15:16:18
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