Sitting at the very bottom of the West, the New Orleans Pelicans had to make a tough decision. According to Chris Haynes, NOLA has decided to part ways with head coach Willie Green following their horrid 2-10 start this season. And honestly, it seemed like this was about to happen.

In an interview with NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan, owner Gayle Benson noted that the decision wasn’t in her hands. She handed those duties to Joe Dumars. “He is assessing Willie and all the players,” she said. Evidently, Dumars made the call to open up the Pelicans’ head coaching slot to bring a change in their management.

This came from someone whom Benson claims has “known Willie since he was a child,”. It might sound bad, but Joe Dumars is under some pressure. The Pelicans owner feels their team is positioned to compete right now. “We need to improve immediately. Our roster is built for success right now. I will rely on Joe to make these decisions and changes as he sees fit,” she told Duncon. The President of Basketball Operations is tasked with making sure the franchise gets the most out of the team. However, the Pelicans are bad for a lot of reasons that were out of Willie Green’s control.

Notably, Zion Williamson suffered a hamstring injury, causing him to miss the last six games. Jordan Poole, who the team got to inject some scoring life, will be re-evaluated next week. With their scoring batteries on the sidelines, the Pelicans are averaging a league-worst 108.4 points per game. That’s not to say Willie Green couldn’t have shown some optimism without his stars.

However, it is extremely difficult to compete with such injuries. The Dallas Mavericks, who are 3-10, are suffering from an injury plague, too. Whether it was a fair decision or not will be a subjective opinion. But for NOLA to be in a win-now situation, it’s important to have all resources on board.

Green, for the most part of the 12 games, didn’t have that at his disposal.

Willie Green’s tenure as the New Orleans Pelicans head coach

It’s been rough for Willie Green as a coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. He joined the team in 2021, Zion Williamson’s second season. Since then, he has posted some positive results. In his debut season as a head coach, Green led the Pelicans to a 36-46 record. It was still enough to get to the playoffs, where they lost in the first round to the Suns.

Despite Williamson being limited to 29 games. Green posted a winning season for the first time in his career. The Pelicans finished with a 42-40 record, but failed to make it past the Play-In tournament. Green would follow it up with a 49-win season, this time losing to the Thunder in the first round.

Willie Green ended his Pelicans tenure with a 150-190 record in five seasons. His time in NOLA did briefly bring a winning culture. However, Green failed to win a single playoff series. Moreover, with the squad marred in regular injury troubles, he never had a full roster for the entire duration of a season.

It was a complicated stint to say the least. It’s unclear what Willie Green’s future holds with all head coaching seats filled around the NBA. But he has shown that he could lead a team. Which team do you think Green will coach next? Let us know your views in the comments below.