The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves in an extremely tough place: a 2-12 record to start this season, an interim head coach, no 2026 first-round pick, and their star player, Zion Williamson…well, he’s still injured. It’s safe to say that the start to this season has been less than ideal, and it may be trending in an even worse direction if the latest rumors reported by NBA insider Jake Fischer are true.
Fischer reported that he has also heard, as SNY's Ian Begley did, that Kevin Ollie is a contender to be the Pelicans' next head coach. If you need a reminder, Ollie was believed to be Troy Weaver’s preferred head coaching hire when he was still running the Detroit Pistons, before that fell through and the team hired Monty Williams instead.
Ollie is a former national title-winning head coach at the University of Connecticut and served as the interim head coach of the Brooklyn Nets during the 2023-24 season after they fired Jacque Vaughn. Although he isn’t my preferred choice, the issue isn’t that Ollie would be the wrong coach for this team—it's that Weaver is trying to repeat the same mistakes that sank the Pistons.
It’s no coincidence that last season, after Weaver was sacked, the Pistons became the Eastern Conference's most fun young team and made a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Even looking at them now, Detroit, as I’m writing this, is the one seed out East and has an impressive 12-2 record.
Weaver is great at identifying talent. His drafting track record includes guys like Russell Westbrook, Isaiah Stewart (mid-first round), Jalen Duren, and Cade Cunningham. Even the guys the Pels drafted this year, in Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, both look like studs.
It’s not the drafting—it’s the poor GM side of things that he struggles with, the constant overpaying in trades, and the poor decision-making when hiring people of importance.
Dumars must take control.
Although Joe Dumars has been at the forefront of most of the criticism the Pelicans faced during the offseason and to this point, Fischer also reported that it’s believed Weaver was behind these moves. He allegedly pushed for the addition of Jordan Poole, who was with Weaver in Washington last season. He also pushed for the oft-criticized draft-night trade that saw New Orleans trade its 2026 unprotected first-round pick to acquire Derik Queen.
Dumars was brought in to be the decision-maker and make the Pelicans' basketball great. But it’s clear that Weaver is taking control and is on his way to turning this franchise into what the Pistons were under him: a complete failure.
If this franchise wants any glimmer at a bright future, it starts with Joe Dumars taking control of the team in its current situation and having Weaver take a back seat.