Pelicans fire head coach Willie Green after brutal start to fifth season

The New Orleans Pelicans are done with head coach Willie Green.

The Pelicans fired Green on Saturday, the team announced. Green was at the very beginning of his fifth season with the Pelicans this fall, though they started the campaign out by losing six straight games — which dropped them to the bottom of the NBA’s Western Conference standings. Green’s dismissal came after the Pelicans lost 118-104 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

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Green is now the first head coach in the league to be fired this season. James Borrego, former head coach of the Charlotte Hornets and associate head coach on Green’s staff, has been promoted to interim coach.

New Orleans was hoping for a solid start this season after Zion Williamson appeared to be in great condition and the offseason acquisitions of guard Jordan Poole and veteran center Kevon Looney, along with promising first-round draft selections Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. The Pelicans also were excited about the returns of Trey Murphy and Herb Jones, both of whose seasons ended last season prematurely because of shoulder surgery.

But the team continued to be mired in an offense stuck in neutral with an undersized roster that often struggled to rebound and defend, and seemingly lacked direction. The Pelicans lost their first six games to start the season, and didn’t win a game until they finally beat the Charlotte Hornets, 116-112, on Nov. 4. There were multiple bad blowouts in there, too, including a 32-point loss to the Boston Celtics, a 34-point loss to the Denver Nuggets and a 31-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Compounding the matter, Williamson’s health didn’t last. He missed the third game of the year with a bone bruise in his foot before suffering a Grade 1 hamstring injury for which he has missed more time.

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Injuries decimated the Pelicans last season as they won 21 games and finished 14th in the West. Williamson played 30 games before being shut down in March with a back injury, 2024 marquee offseason acquisition Dejounte Murray suffered a torn Achilles after 31 games, and Jones and Murphy combined to play 71 games.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/breaking-news/article/pelicans-fire-head-coach-willie-green-after-brutal-start-to-fifth-season-143819039.html

Author : Ian Casselberry

Publish date : 2025-11-15 14:38:00

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