The New Orleans Pelicans are currently 19-52. That record is the second-worst mark in the Western Conference, only behind the Utah Jazz at 16-55. It's fourth from the bottom in the entire league, and they're just a half-game above the Charlotte Hornets for 28th-place.
They're one of only three teams who have been officially eliminated from postseason contention with a little over two weeks left in the campaign. This is certainly a farcry from where they thought they'd be at this point in the year heading into the season. After getting the healthiest showing of Zion Williamson's career in 2023-24 when he played 70 games and trading for All-Star point guard Dejounte Murray at the top of the summer, the Pelicans were hoping to be jostling for playoff positioning at this time. Instead, they're trying to lose as many games as possible before season's end to maximize their lottery odds ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft.
While this season has been a bleak affair filled with dreadful injuries, the future is surprisingly bright in New Orleans. They've accumulated an impressive cache of talent including several high-end players like Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, CJ McCollum, and newly ascended star Trey Murphy III and will likely be adding a top-tier rookie to their roster this summer. They may have plenty to look forward to next year, but, after a season as miserable as this one, the Pelicans might need a palate cleanser. That's not good news for Head Coach Willie Green.
The Pelicans would be making a mistake firing Willie Green after this season
Coming into this season, Willie Green had done an impressive job helming the New Orleans Pelicans. Before this year, he had a record of 127-119 as head coach of the Pels. More importantly, his team and its players showed meaningful improvements in each season he was on the sidelines.
He went from 36 wins in his first season to 42 to 49 last year. Expectations were high for the Pelicans coming into this season partly because of how Green was able to raise New Orleans's ceiling year in and year out. His players also took strides under his tenure. For example, Zion Williamson has improved starkly as a ball-handler and playmaker, Brandon Ingram became a legitimate point forward in his time playing for Willie Green, and CJ McCollum became a legitimate floor general and one of the deadliest outside shooters in the NBA after arriving in New Orleans. This season, he oversaw Trey Murphy III's growth into a legitimate star, coaxing him into a lethal self-creator and slasher.
Despite all of that, Green won't be able to erase this pitiful year from his resume. Of course, the myriad injuries he and the Pelicans had to endure played a strong hand in dragging New Orleans down to their current standing. He's not blameless though. For much of the early season, the Pelicans still had enough talent to at least stay afloat while waiting for some of their core members to return, but they were never able to find any solid footing and quickly sank to the bottom of the West and never recovered.
Still, it'd be a shame if we never get to see what Willie Green can do with this squad at full strength and with a real healthy point guard in Dejounte Murray. With his record as a developmental coach, he'd be an instrumental piece in ensuring whatever rookie the Pelicans get out of this season progresses accordingly into a real franchise cornerstone. Hopefully, New Orleans bucks the trend and affords Green at least one more season to see if he can lead a real playoff threat with this roster.