The Pelicans and Willie Green are expected to finalize a deal this week that will make the Suns assistant the new head coach in New Orleans, reports ESPN’s Andrew Lopez (Twitter link).
There has been an expectation for several days that the Pelicans – who dismissed Stan Van Gundy after a single season – will hire Green as their head coach. Reports over the weekend said Green was viewed around the NBA as the frontrunner for the position, while a Monday report called him the strong favorite and a Tuesday report stated that New Orleans planned to hire him. The two sides are now nearing completion on their agreement, according to Lopez.
A former NBA shooting guard, Green transitioned into the coaching ranks in 2016, working with the Warriors as an assistant for three seasons before making the move to Phoenix in 2019. He has been on Monty Williams‘ staff for the last two years and reportedly talked to the Wizards and Magic about their head coaching vacancies before zeroing in on the Pelicans’ job.
Green’s current team remains active in the NBA Finals, which is likely slowing down the hiring process a little. Even if he and the Pelicans do complete their deal this week, Green figures to finish out the season with Phoenix. He’s seeking his third championship as an NBA assistant coach.
Get him to sign the deal before he changes his mind.
Willie sign or won’t he?
Get it?
Did anyone get it?
Suns in 6? So many people thought this series was over when they were up 2-0. Go Bucks. Go PJ!
Think this is the poorest coaching selection this offseason. You’ve had so much time, in an offseason with so many big name coaches, or really good assistants available and you get this guy. Not that he is bad just an average move.
You’ve got Ingram and Zion and thought last season you’d make the playoffs with a experienced coach seems like they are now just doing to complete opposite and get someone young and hope to make the playoffs.
Small market teams don’t have time to waste when it comes to building a winning team around a young future superstar. AD left cause he felt as if he wasn’t ever going to win there. I mean so far in Zion short career they haven’t built much that would make me want to stay either.
You said it, they went one way and it did not work, so now they try another way.
You were the first to say here that ZW & BI do not fit. How are they going to change that and make it work when previous coaching templates have failed? There are bad feelings there, so a psychological-type HC makes sense.
There is no such thing as a “really good assistant” at least that a remote viewer can tell. All one can do is listen to interviews and generally only only local fans will do that if anyone.
I thought Green was best for NOLA for a logical reason, not just a political one, though that is in effect also.
It’s the Lonzo call that may be the lose-lose proposition.
I can’t say a Stotts is the best call when SVG was fired.
The only really big question right now ……. with all the new black head-coaches in the NBA, why is Stephen A. Smith still angry ?
Because he’s a sellout..
Isn’t it the persona we’ve come to expect from him for a long time? It’s entertainment without consideration for much else, apparently.