{"id":274063,"date":"2025-04-14T07:07:41","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T07:07:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/pelicans-eye-nuggets-inspired-reset-as-coach-willie-green-vp-face-uncertain-futures-after-dismal-season\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:08:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:08:52","slug":"pelicans-eye-nuggets-inspired-reset-as-coach-willie-green-vp-face-uncertain-futures-after-dismal-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/14\/pelicans-eye-nuggets-inspired-reset-as-coach-willie-green-vp-face-uncertain-futures-after-dismal-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Pelicans eye Nuggets-inspired reset as coach Willie Green &#038; VP face uncertain futures after dismal season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\" data-postid=\"4873978\" data-slug-id=\"2472966\">\n<div class=\"vidazoo-player-container\">\n<span class=\"vidazoo-close-btn  hidden \"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/cmc-predictor\/v2\/cross-icon.png?w=40\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" alt=\"close\"\/><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The <strong>New Orleans Pelicans<\/strong> entered the season with a lot of expectations after making the playoffs last year. However, the campaign turned into a disaster as players began dropping like flies due to injuries. The latest reports suggest that the Pelicans might do a reset heading into the offseason. <\/p>\n<p>According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer on Substack, New Orleans&#8217; ownership, led by Gayle Benson, could fire coach Willie Green and executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin. The team finished with a 21-61 record, which is the second-worst in franchise history. <\/p>\n<p>To make matters worse, the team only had the fourth-worst record in the NBA. That means they don&#8217;t have the best chance of landing the first overall pick in this year&#8217;s draft, led by Duke star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/cooper-flagg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Cooper Flagg<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><template id=\"also-read-articles-template\"><\/p>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p><template id=\"bets-today-poll\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"preview-card-holder bets-today-poll\">\n<p><span class=\"date\"\/> \u2022 <span class=\"time\"\/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"march-madness-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/march-madness-logo.png\" height=\"42\" width=\"99\" alt=\"march madness logo\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<p>Willie Green has been the coach of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/new-orleans-pelicans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">New Orleans Pelicans<\/a> since the 2021-22 NBA season, compiling an unimpressive record of 148-179. He made the playoffs twice, but they were eliminated in the first round both times. <\/p>\n<p>David Griffin, the former general manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was signed to take over the New Orleans front office in April 2019. They quickly nabbed the first pick of the draft, selecting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/zion-williamson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Zion Williamson<\/a>, who has been riddled with injuries and weight issues since joining the NBA. <\/p>\n<p>Griffin pulled off some great moves over the years, such as drafting Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. He also acquired CJ McCollum and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/dejounte-murray\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-is-sponsored=\"false\">Dejounte Murray<\/a>, but injuries prevented the Pelicans from reaching their full potential. They also traded Brandon Ingram to the Toronto Raptors at the deadline due to his impending issue with his contract extension. <\/p>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\">                    <noscript><iframe title=\"This is Why Zion Williamson Gets Traded\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/efUD_ZOzjr8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\" data-embed=\"efUD_ZOzjr8\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/7d77c-17446134172773-1920.jpg\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/7d77c-17446134172773-1920.jpg\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While the moves looked fantastic on paper, injuries killed the team&#8217;s chances of having a great season. Murray suffered two major injuries, limiting him to just 31 games, while Williamson looked great in the 30 games he played. <\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h2>Pelicans rebuild starts with Zion Williamson trade<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"sk-app-thumbnail\" alt=\"Pelicans rebuild starts with Zion Williamson trade. (Photo: IMAGN)\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazy-img\" width=\"6575\" height=\"4383\" data-img=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=190 190w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=720 720w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=1045 1045w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=1200 1200w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=1460 1460w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=1600 1600w, https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg 1920w\" alt=\"Pelicans rebuild starts with Zion Williamson trade. (Photo: IMAGN)\" data-img-low=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/editor\/2025\/04\/25699234-1744613495.jpeg?w=640\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,&lt;svg%20xmlns=%22http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg%22%20viewBox=%220%200%206575%204383%22&gt;&lt;\/svg&gt;\"\/><figcaption>Pelicans rebuild starts with Zion Williamson trade. (Photo: IMAGN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It&#8217;s easier to replace coach Willie Green and executive vice president David Griffin than find a generational talent like Zion Williamson. That&#8217;s the reason why a potential rebuild for the New Orleans Pelicans starts after they trade away Williamson.<\/p>\n<p>There are plenty of candidates available to take over the coaching staff and front office if the team fires Green and Griffin. They can look at Michael Malone, who was recently fired by the Denver Nuggets, as a potential replacement on the sidelines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sportskeeda-embed\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\">\n<div class=\"yt-wrapper\">                    <noscript><iframe title=\"Why the Pelicans should TRADE Zion Williamson #neworleanspelicans #nba #lockedonpodcast\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/08ZilcAJX4w?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript>                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/youtube\" data-embed=\"null\">\n<div class=\"play-button\"><img loading=\"lazy\" height=\"370\" width=\"660\" data-img=\"false\" data-img-low=\"false\" class=\"lazy-img\" alt=\"youtube-cover\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Taylor Jenkins was great with a young Memphis Grizzlies team before a plethora of bad situations and bad luck led to his firing. ESPN&#8217;s Tim MacMahon reported that New Orleans is open to trading Williamson, who might be better off starting fresh in a new city. <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-post-rating-widget\">\n<p><template id=\"post-rating-feedback-modal-template\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-feedback-box\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-content\">\n<div class=\"post-rating-feedback-data\">\n<p>Why did you not like this content?<\/p>\n<p><textarea id=\"dislike-feedback-text\" rows=\"4\" placeholder=\"Please type your feedback...\"\/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<button class=\"close\">Cancel<\/button><br \/>\n<button class=\"submit\">Submit<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/template><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-widget-parent hidden\">\n<div class=\"rating-parent-container\">\n<div class=\"rating-content-holder\">\n<p>Was this article helpful?<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-rating-action-container\">\n<div class=\"like-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-like-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"like\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"like selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dislike-container\">\n<button class=\"post-rating-dislike-button post-rating-button\" data-action=\"dislike\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"post-dis-like-image post-rating-image\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/like-articles\/upvote-icon-grey.svg\" height=\"20\" width=\"20\" alt=\"avatar selected\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThank You for feedback\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-author-info-parent\">\n<span class=\"about-the-author\">About the author<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"author-info-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-pic-holder\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"author-pic\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,&lt;svg width=\" height=\"100\"\/><rect width=\"100\" height=\"100\" style=\"fill:rgb(128, 128, 128);\"\/>&#8221; data-lazy=&#8221;https:\/\/keedag.sportskeeda.com\/user-pic\/591451-1634031427-200.jpg?w=200&#8243;<br \/>\nalt=&#8221;Juan Paolo David&#8221; height=&#8221;72&#8243; width=&#8221;72&#8243;&gt;\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-bio-detail-holder\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p class=\"author-bio\" id=\"author-bio-text\">\nJuan Paolo is a journalist for Sportskeeda who covers the NBA and WNBA. He&#8217;s been writing about basketball since 2015 and has been with Sportskeeda since 2021.<\/p>\n<p>Juan&#8217;s allegiance lies with the Golden State Warriors and his journey with the Warriors began with their memorable victory over the Lakers in 2000, and he experienced the successes of the &#8216;We Believe&#8217; era and the rise of Steph Curry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What Juan loves most about basketball is its ability to evoke a range of emotions, from adrenaline-fueled excitement to the highs of victory and the lows of defeat. To ensure complete accuracy in articles, he conducts thorough research before writing his articles.<\/p>\n<p>The Warriors&#8217; victories in the 2022 and 2017 championships hold a special place in Juan&#8217;s memories, as well as iconic moments like Baron Davis&#8217; dunk over Andrei Kirilenko and Goran Dragic&#8217;s performance in the 2010 Western Conference semifinals.<\/p>\n<p>Off the court, Juan enjoys watching football, TV and movies, caring for his numerous cats, and cooking whenever time permits.\n<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"author-know-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/author\/juan-paolo-david\" aria-label=\"Author know more\">Know More<br \/>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tag-cloud\">\n<div class=\"tags-text\">\n<div class=\"scrollable-content-holder  article-padding\">\n<p class=\"article-p  \">Quick Links<\/p>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerLeft\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Left \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-left.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<nav id=\"pnProductNav\" class=\"pn-ProductNav\">\n<\/nav>\n<p><button id=\"pnAdvancerRight\" class=\"pn-Advancer pn-Advancer_Right \" type=\"button\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"background: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/staticg.sportskeeda.com\/skm\/assets\/article\/article-scroll-right.svg\"\/><br \/>\n<\/button>\n<\/div>\n<p>More from Sportskeeda<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n<span class=\"publisher-name\">Edited by Juan Paolo David<\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script> \nvar fbPixelFired = false;\nvar pixelID = \"952063904834769\";\ndocument.addEventListener(\"scroll\", loadFBPixel, { once: true, passive: true });\ndocument.addEventListener(\"mousemove\", loadFBPixel, { once: true, passive: true });\nfunction loadFBPixel() {\nif(fbPixelFired) {\nreturn;\n}\nfbPixelFired = true;\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? \nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;\nn.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, \ndocument,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\nfbq('init', pixelID); \nfbq('track', \"PageView\");\nfbq('track', 'ViewContent');\ndocument.removeEventListener(\"scroll\", loadFBPixel);\ndocument.removeEventListener(\"mousemove\", loadFBPixel);\n}\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportskeeda.com\/basketball\/rumor-pelicans-eye-nuggets-inspired-reset-coach-willie-green-vp-face-uncertain-futures-dismal-season\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] The New Orleans Pelicans entered the season with a lot of expectations after making the playoffs last year. However, the campaign turned into a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274064,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274063"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}