Following the Orlando Magic’s first-round exit, the front office has decided to part ways with head coach Jamahl Mosley after five seasons.
Entering the year, expectations were high for the young Magic, who made a big swing in the 2025 offseason to acquire Desmond Bane. While Orlando's season started to slip away, they did start to put things together in round one, and for a bit it seemed like Mosley had saved his job with Orlando leading them to a 3-1 lead over the No. 1-seeded Pistons. But after losing three straight games and being blown out in the second half of Game 7, 56–45, Orlando decided to make a change.
Even before being fired by the Magic, Mosley was linked to the New Orleans Pelicans by several sources. HoopsHype's Mike Scotto reiterated that the Pelicans are expected to remain interested in Mosley now that he is officially on the market.
While the majority of the Pelicans fan base has its heart set on the franchise hiring Rajon Rondo as its next head coach, the front office should still conduct due diligence on Mosley. Even if they decide Mosley isn't someone they are interested in as the team's head coach, he could be a valuable addition to the team's coaching staff.
Jamahl Mosley could be the culture-setter the Pelicans have been missing
To many, the idea of Mosley as a head coach is unappealing, but to me, that is just an extreme case of recency bias. Do I think he has the capabilities or the offensive mind to be a championship-winning coach? No, not really. Does he struggle to make in-game adjustments? Yes.
However, prior to this season, he laid the groundwork and helped turn a Magic team that was stuck in the NBA’s basement into one of the league’s best young defensive teams. By his third season in Orlando, he had them as a 47-win team, a season in which many predicted that making the play-in tournament was their ceiling.
When I look at Mosley, I view him in the same light as Ime Udoka. Both are great defensive minds, culture builders, and master motivators. Now those types of coaches often have a ceiling that sees them peak out as a round one or round two playoff team, but they also lay a strong foundation for the next coach.
Are they more suited to being top-ranking assistants? 100 percent. But ignoring their ability to establish culture and identity is very short-sighted.
The Pelicans are coming off back-to-back sub-30 win seasons and have been lacking culture for arguably the entire Zion Williamson era. So while fans may not love the idea of bringing in Mosley, he could help bring something this team has lacked. Ideally, that presence would take the form of Mosley as an assistant coach, but ruling him out as a potential head coaching candidate would be premature.
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