NEW ORLEANS (AP) – The New Orleans Pelicans fired Willie Green on Saturday on the heels of a 2-10 start to the season.
Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars, who announced the coaching change, named top assistant James Borrego, a former Charlotte Hornets head coach, as interim coach for the Pelicans. They next play at home on Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors.
Borrego was formerly the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets for four seasons from 2018 to 2022. He also served as interim head coach with Orlando during the 2014-15 season.
Green, hired to his first head coaching job in 2021 by former Pelicans basketball operations chief David Griffin, has gone 150-190 in four-plus seasons.
His Pelicans teams made the playoffs twice, losing in the first round to Phoenix in 2022 and Oklahoma City in 2024. The Pelicans also qualified for the Western Conference play-in tournament in 2023 but were eliminated at that stage by Oklahoma City.
Dumars, hired to take over for Griffin this year as Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, chose this offseason to stick with Green, who was entering his final season under contract.
The Pelicans opened the regular season with a six-game skid that included three 30-plus-point losses. Green seemed to be finding his footing when the Pelicans won two straight, but they have since lost four in a row, including a 118-104 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in NBA Cup play.
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