The New Orleans Pelicans had a busy first offseason under new President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars. He was brought in to overhaul the team after a disastrous 2024-25 season that saw the Pelicans have the second-worst record in the NBA.
Dumars made a ton of moves, starting with the addition of Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. He then, shortly after, brought three rookies, 2 of which were lottery picks in Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen, and Micah Peavy in the second round. He then brought in a 3 time NBA champion, Kevon Looney, at the start of free agency.
Among all the moves made this summer, one move that many fans expected didn't happen. Many, including myself, expected a coaching change to happen with Dumars' arrival, but Willie Green and his staff will be back.
A key part of this staff over the past couple of seasons has been James Borrego, who was brought in during the 2023-24 season to bring something new to the Pelicans' offense.
With the moves Dumars made this summer, the Pelicans personnel is a lot more talented offensively than defensively. With head coach Willie Green being a defensive-minded guy, this could be problematic, as for the Pelicans to have a winning season, they have to rely more heavily on their offense 9ithan their defense.
Thankfully for Green, he has one of the league's best offensive minds on his staff in Borrego.
Can the Pelicans be a top offense under Borrego's leadership?
In his first year with the Pelicans, Borrego helped their offensive rating jump from 21st in the league to 11th. That is no easy task, especially considering New Orleans didn't make any significant roster moves between the 2022-23 season and the 2023-24 season.
Also, during his time as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, he somehow, despite working with a lackluster roster, led them to the 12th-best offensive rating during the 2018-19 season. I promise you, if you looked at that roster, you'd be shocked that Borrego was able to get them to where they were.
His ability to get the absolute most out of teams offensively makes it obvious why he was a top candidate to fill the Knicks' head coach vacancy before they landed on Mike Brown.
With the additions of Fears, Poole, and Queen, the Pelicans have more talent on the offensive end than they ever have had during the Zion Williamson era. I cannot wait to see what Borrego cooks up coming into the 2025-26 season, as he has more weapons than ever before.