Pelicans’ News: Potential changes on the coaching staff and front office

On Friday, NBA Insider Marc Stein released his latest intel dump on his substack (subscription required). On this news edition, there were a handful of reports involving the New Orleans Pelicans – specifically involving their coaching staff and front office – so we figured we would summarize all the reports for our readers in this post.

Jarron Collins a finalist for a head coaching position 

As we’ve been documenting on this website, Pelicans’ lead assistant Jarron Collins has been in the running for the Detroit Pistons head coaching job. Here is what Stein had to say about it:

"“[Charles] Lee, of course, remains a finalist for the Detroit Pistons’ coaching vacancy alongside Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins and former UConn coach Kevin Ollie, with all three scheduled to meet next week with Pistons owner Tom Gores.”"

It has also been reported that Ollie is the favorite to land the Pistons’ gig and that Charles Lee – a current assistant coach on the Milwaukee Bucks – is expected to replace the recently dismissed Mike Budenholzer as the team’s head coach. However, Collins still remains one of the three finalists. Collins has been a member of Head Coach Willie Green’s staff since Green joined the team last season.

Pelicans could be adding a former head coach to the coaching staff

If he does get the job with the Pistons, Collins’ departure will undoubtedly leave some big shoes to fill. And while it will be hard for anyone to replace him, the team may be getting former Charlotte Hornets’ Head Coach James Borrego to do just that. Here is what Stein had to say about it:

"“I reported Sunday about Dallas’ interest in hiring Borrego to join Jason Kidd’s staff, but sources say he was already being pursued by the New Orleans Pelicans before the Mavericks had an opening … with other teams (presumed to be Houston and Brooklyn) also said to be circling.”"

Borrego is widely respected around the league for his offensive genius. In his last season with the Hornets, they had the ninth-best offense in the NBA. As a team that finished in the bottom 10 in that category this year (21st), the Pelicans could use someone like him on the staff.

Are we losing a front office executive too?

Since becoming the Pelicans’ general manager in 2019, Trajan Langdon has done a nice job acting as a decision-maker of the franchise. So much so that his name has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Tommy Shepard after the Washington Wizards’ general manager was fired last month. Here is what Stein had to say about it:

"“Highly rated Pelicans executive Trajan Langdon is the first name circulated to me as a candidate in Washington’s search for a new lead decision-maker to replace Tommy Sheppard.”"

Will we be losing Collins and/or Langdon this off-season? Will we be adding Borrego? Stay tuned for the next Stein update to find out.