{"id":380959,"date":"2025-11-15T15:12:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/380959\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T15:12:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T15:12:14","slug":"pelicans-fire-coach-willie-green-amid-2-10-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/380959\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans fire coach Willie Green amid 2-10 start"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul class=\"authors\">\n<li\/>\n<li>\n<p>Ohm Youngmisuk<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"icon-font-after icon-close-solid-after\" href=\"#\">Close<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"author-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763219533_120_youngmisuk_ohm.png&#038;h=80&#038;w=80&#038;scale=crop.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Ohm Youngmisuk<\/p>\n<p>ESPN Staff Writer<\/p>\n<ul>Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL since 2006. Prior to that, he covered the Nets, Knicks and the NBA for nearly a decade. He joined ESPNNewYork.com after working at the New York Daily News for almost 12 years and is a graduate of Michigan State University.<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/NotoriousOHM\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Follow him on Twitter \u00bb<\/a><\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nov 15, 2025, 09:47 AM ET<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/no\/new-orleans-pelicans\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> have fired coach Willie Green after a 2-10 start to the season, the team announced Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Green was doomed by a miserable 0-6 start and injuries to his best players. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/4395628\/zion-williamson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zion Williamson<\/a> has played just five games due to a hamstring injury, an ailment he has suffered in four straight seasons.<\/p>\n<p>The Pelicans were the first team in NBA history to lose three of their first six games by at least 30 points, after allowing at least 120 points in five straight games to begin a season for the first time in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.<\/p>\n<p>Editor&#8217;s Picks<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a name=\"&amp;lpos=story:editorspicks:inline:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/46954506\/pelicans-star-zion-williamson-cleared-court-activities\" class=\"img-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/r1555697_1296x1296_1-1.jpg&#038;w=130&#038;h=130&#038;scale=crop&#038;location=center.jpeg\" width=\"65\" height=\"65\"\/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>New Orleans is on a four-game losing streak, including a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/game\/_\/gameId\/401809787\/lakers-pelicans\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">118-104 loss<\/a> to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/lal\/los-angeles-lakers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> on Friday. The Pelicans are a bottom-five team in both offensive and defensive rating this season, according to ESPN Research.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at head coach,&#8221; Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. &#8220;I have the utmost respect for Willie Green, and I&#8217;m sincerely appreciative of his contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community. We wish him and his family all the best in the future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Assistant James Borrego will become the interim coach for the Pelicans. Borrego, the former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/cha\/charlotte-hornets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Charlotte Hornets<\/a> coach, was a finalist for the Lakers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/cle\/cleveland-cavaliers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> head coaching jobs in 2024. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/ny\/new-york-knicks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">New York Knicks<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/den\/denver-nuggets\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Denver Nuggets<\/a> also offered Borrego lead assistant jobs during the offseason, but he stayed in New Orleans.<\/p>\n<p>Green was in his fifth season as Pelicans coach and finishes with a 150-190 record, including postseason appearances in 2021-22 and 2023-24.<\/p>\n<p>When Williamson is healthy, he can be a force. He is averaging 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game this season. But he has been out since Nov. 4 after being limited to 30 and 29 games in two of the previous three seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Green also had to coach without <a data-player-guid=\"4b0492b5-a52f-267f-e840-98ef6d2e2bdf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/4277956\/jordan-poole\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jordan Poole<\/a>, who missed games with a left quad strain. And point guard <a data-player-guid=\"069547d0-66e5-79d2-06ac-195011e77472\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/3907497\/dejounte-murray\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dejounte Murray<\/a> remains out as he works his way back from a torn Achilles suffered at the end of January.<\/p>\n<p>Dumars made several key moves in the offseason, such as the acquisitions of Poole and <a data-player-guid=\"10a8e77b-8773-24c6-9966-f0c4618caad6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/3155535\/kevon-looney\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kevon Looney<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Pelicans have plenty of incentive to win games. They traded an unprotected 2026 first-round pick to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/atl\/atlanta-hawks\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlanta Hawks<\/a> on draft night for the No. 13 overall pick to select <a data-player-guid=\"0e7f21a8-df8c-3ace-8cf6-c7ff07c756fa\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/4869780\/derik-queen\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Derik Queen<\/a>. While Queen has impressed with more playing time since early November and No. 7 overall pick <a data-player-guid=\"a34d3e64-4f77-38de-8d04-34456599255d\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/player\/_\/id\/5144091\/jeremiah-fears\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jeremiah Fears<\/a> has started games and displayed potential, the pick sent to Atlanta could be a top pick in what is expected to be a draft containing potential franchise talent.<\/p>\n<p>New Orleans also traded another 2026 first-rounder back to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/ind\/indiana-pacers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Indiana Pacers<\/a> to acquire the No. 23 pick in 2025. By moving both their own and the Pacers&#8217; first-round picks, the Pelicans currently have no firsts in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Green was hired by the Pelicans in 2021 off the Western Conference champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/phx\/phoenix-suns\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Phoenix Suns<\/a>&#8216; coaching staff as a well-regarded rising assistant in the league. Green&#8217;s best season was in 2023-24 when New Orleans won 49 games before being swept by the <a data-clubhouse-guid=\"bd458c44-2d33-47eb-cebc-35d3d4ac595c\" href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/team\/_\/name\/okc\/oklahoma-city-thunder\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Oklahoma City Thunder<\/a> in the first round.<\/p>\n<p>Green&#8217;s exit comes months after David Griffin was replaced by Dumars in April.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ohm Youngmisuk Close Ohm Youngmisuk ESPN Staff Writer Ohm Youngmisuk has covered the Giants, Jets and the NFL&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":380960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-380959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-nba","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115554363562801488","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}