This Is Getting HARDER To Ignore By The Day… | Daily Pelicans News & Rumors

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]Hey there, my Pelicans fans. It's so good to be with you today on our episode of Pelicans Daily brought to you by Fan Art. I'm your host, Chrissy Smith. Happy to have you along here as we have got some great stuff to talk about. First of all, leading into the Pelicans have hired their new head coach. So, the wait is over and they decided to hire former Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley as the Pelicans new coach, taking over starting immediately. Signed him to a 5-year deal, which was really interesting that they signed someone for that amount of time. It might have been part of what got the deal done.

[00:00:42]And so, of course, you've got an array of reactions from Pelicans fans in New Orleans and just all over the place.

[00:00:51]Uh and there's there's a a general consensus of okay, not excited, but glad that it wasn't some of the other guys that they were talking to. I think that the only hire that would have been an exciting hire would have been Rajon Rondo. Um otherwise, you're getting somebody with a track record of making the playoffs, somebody that uh understands how to win, defensively is solid, and has been a head coach before. And I really think that might have been a big factor in the Pelicans with who they hired and it not being Rajon Rondo. What I think would be amazing to see is if Rondo came to New Orleans as an assistant coach because I think that he he's still I think most teams are still going to want him to get some more experience. I mean, he's really just been like a guest assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks last year. So, they probably Teams are probably going to want to see somebody with more experience as an actual assistant. I think he could be amazing as an assistant coach to come here, but I think that Jamal Mosley is a solid pick.

[00:02:02]I don't It's not exciting, and I'll tell you why. So, when you look at his background and and where he's been, he did take the Magic to the playoffs three seasons in a row. Last three seasons they made the playoffs. And I think Pelicans fans would be thrilled if that was the case for the team here. The problem is that they never they they got eliminated in the first round every time they made the playoffs. They never went anywhere further than that.

[00:02:30]And they did this in the Eastern Conference. So, we know how competitive the Western Conference, uh, you know, is in the NBA, and the Pelicans are in the Western Conference finals. So, for example, this last season the Magic finished with a 45 and 37 record. Not amazing record, certainly better than the Pelicans, almost 20 wins better than the Pelicans. That sounds a lot more fun to me. So, when you look at that, they made they finished in eighth place. So, you know, made the playoffs.

[00:03:00]But when you look at the Western Conference finals, I mean, same final standings, the eighth place team only had 45 wins. So, even though, you know, people always say Western Conference is is a much tougher, I it is when you get to the top four of the teams in the league. But those bottom teams that are trying to make a spot in, that is where the Pelicans, you know, uh, 47 wins, actually, if that was in the Western Conference side of things, they would have finished in seventh place. So, even better than the Eastern Conference finals. So, there's just talk of, okay, well, do we want to just be a eighth place team? And my What I would say to that is, I just want to get in. So, get me in there at any point. I don't care if it's eighth place. It's At this point, get me to the play-in. Get me somewhere in there, and let's go to work and see what can happen. I would gladly take 20 more wins next season than a repeat of what the Pelicans did last season. For sure I would gladly take that. Uh so I don't know where Pelicans fans are really uh getting off complaining at this point about who the hire is because they hired somebody with a track record of more wins than the Pelicans have had and somebody that has done something with an NBA team that you don't see that often and that is defensively doing a really good job. He got the Magic from the number three defensive team 2 years ago to being the number two defensive team last year and that's a feat in itself.

[00:04:35]You don't see a lot of strong defense in the league. The Pelicans did not have a strong defensive team last year. I mean you had a Herb Jones and everybody else is pretty mid when it look comes to actual defensive play there. So at least he's got head coaching experience, proven track record and one thing I want to look at with what he had to work with compared to the Pelicans roster is when you look at the Orlando Magic's roster from last year you've got um not a lot of I mean if you try to compare the two rosters, okay? So you've got Banchero, obviously Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Jamal Cain.

[00:05:19]You've got these guys on the team, okay?

[00:05:22]When you look at the rest of the team, it's not a very deep team for the Magic and I would say that the Pelicans roster is much more deep than the Magic's roster and yet he was able to get the Magic for three seasons in a row to the playoffs. At this point I'll take making it to the playoffs and losing in the first round. I will happily take that. And it did seem like the reason why the process dragged out a little bit for the Pelicans and who they were going to name as their head coach was because Mosley did get fired on May 4th from the Orlando Magic after they exited from the first round of the playoffs in the NBA.

[00:06:01]So, he gets let go and then the Pelicans are in talks with him and they basically have kept the communication going from May 4th until they apparently met last week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. Um and and I think what he's done with Orlando is what they're hoping that he can do with the Pelicans. I mean, they think it seems like they think that what Mosley did in Orlando where he he really did like a rebuild of the Magic in 2021 after they only won 21 games that season. I mean, we can relate to that and steadily they improved year after year after year with more and more wins and at least, you know, move this team in the right direction. You you really realistically can't expect a team that won 21 games to go to a conference finals, you know, and it would be unrealistic for Pelicans fans to think that after winning 26 games last year, that's where the Pelicans are headed next year. But if you could add 20 wins to their season, get them to 46 wins and get them into the playoffs, that is a huge improvement from what has been seen with the Pelicans the last two years. Um and then like I said, defensively, he really was able Mosley was able to move this team this Orlando Magic team in a really solid direction.

[00:07:24]And so, without them having a ton of offense, defensively is where they really shined and they were able to you know, get themselves into the post season by what they were able to do there. So, I would argue that if he can get the Pelicans, the thing about defense for them a lot of it, it's just effort. It's simply effort. It's simply just The fun part on about playing basketball is offensively. Who doesn't want to knock down a three? Who wants to throw an alley? Who wants to get a big dunk? Yes, that's the easy part of playing in the NBA.

[00:07:56]There's a lot of skill around that, but I'm saying that's the fun part of the game, offense. Defense isn't fun. It's It's just a lot of work. You are You're, you know, getting in low defensive stance. Your legs are burning. You're having to work the whole time. None of it is fun.

[00:08:11]But Mosley clearly was able to take a team and say, "We're going to make defense a priority. So, whether you think it's fun or not, this is going to happen." And so, you got all these athletic guys in the NBA who could be a lot better defensively, but whether they're just lazy, they just they're not interested in it, I don't know what it is, but defense has to be a part if you want to be a really good team, especially if you don't have the strongest offensive team. And we saw that the Pelicans struggled offensively and defensively in the center role. And then, the three-point shooting was 23rd worst in NBA. So, really, really struggled there. So, you have all of these, um, you know, offensive issues, and you can't have defensive issues on top of that, or else you're going to guess what? You're going to win 26 games in a season, and you're going to be one of the worst teams in the NBA.

[00:09:00]So, if Mosley can come in and get get the athletic ability to perform at its highest level that it can because these guys are professional athletes and can play solid defense.

[00:09:12]Um, if he can do that and then use the offensive weapons that the Pelicans have, which I think is stronger than what the Magic had on their roster last year. If they can do that, then the team can win a lot more games, just like Mosley was able to do the past three seasons with the Magic. I mean, if we could see just a steady increase and improvement from a win-loss perspective, get in the playoff zone. I mean, we all want to see that. But, if you give me the current Pelicans roster as opposed to the current Magic roster, I feel better about the Pelicans roster, and we've got this coach. And so, from a really a focal point will be the defensive side.

[00:09:53]That is something that Mosley specializes in with the team that he just came from. And I do think that having that head coaching experience was a big factor in who the Pelicans chose.

[00:10:04]They also had interviewed, of course, Rajon Rondo, like we talked about, but also Darvin Ham and Steve Hetzel. And Darvin Ham was the number one I didn't I really wasn't wanting them to pick him. Nothing personal, just I I didn't think his background was that great. I felt like he had more like inside ties to the front office, and I didn't want to pick based on that. So, I'm I'm glad that they didn't go that direction. Then Steve Hetzel, he's got a really good background with the Nets, for sure. Um but I I still think I would have probably picked Mosley over the Hetzel pick.

[00:10:38]There were some rumors about the Pelicans wanting to interview Sean Sweeney, that obviously did not happen.

[00:10:43]But, this communication has been going on with Mosley for a while. And I don't know if you remember, but back when Willie Green was let go early in the season, 12 games into last season, Mosley was rumored to be one of the possible choices to come in and take over the Pelicans team as the new head coach. And that obviously didn't happen, and the Pelicans named James Borrego the interim head coach instead. And I do think Borrego was a really good option for last year. I mean, the Pelicans, you start out the way that the team did 2 and 10, and it's like, are we going to just bring in somebody brand new that doesn't know these guys at all? I think Borrego already having been an assistant coach, and then bringing him in to take over as interim head coach, I think that was the right decision in the moment. But, as we saw, you know, Borrego had 70 games to work with and the team won 24 games under him. So, I I didn't really think he was probably going to be brought back. I also think there are roster issues still with the team that need to be looked at. I think that they will work on that, but what I think is important is that the Pelicans have made this decision, they've named their guy, and now the team can move forward with what is to come, you know, in June with the the draft. Will any moves be made before then to get the Pelicans maybe a first-round pick? What trades will be made to fill the gaps when it comes to the three-point shooting that was lacking, when it comes to a big center that the team really needs there.

[00:12:13]There's so many rumors going around about potential trades.

[00:12:18]And I am curious if, you know, Mosley would want to bring any of his guys in from Orlando. I don't know that he would, but I think that overall, I mean, you've got a guy that has a track record of of improving a team that's in a rebuild, and the Pelicans don't want to say they're in a rebuild, but when you are winning just barely over 20 games a season, you don't you might not want to be in that boat, but you're in that boat to some degree. And so, you need somebody that can help dig you out of that. And and yeah, they settled on Mosley, but I think that James Borrego did a good job for the team. I mean, that was not an easy task to take over as interim head coach, and then the whole season to just have that title. They don't name you the head coach, so you know that in off season, you're either going to be interviewing for that job, you're going to be let go.

[00:13:08]I don't know if they're going to keep Borrego around. I have a feeling that he won't be around. He will hopefully, you know, go get an assistant role somewhere else. I I don't know if his aspirations are to be a head coach in the league, but right now, taking over that team and getting 24 wins last season, I don't think that that's going to help his cause too much just for right now. I still think that he's a really solid coach, but what a tough spot to come in after, you know, like team that starts out 2 and 10 when you were expected to finally have a good season.

[00:13:41]And uh so I I wish the best for him. I think that he really did the best with what he could do last year. But let's just hope that this is finally the solution for the Pelicans. They must really have a lot of faith in him to do a 5-year deal with Mosley. And like I I I'm interested who his assistants are going to be that he's going to bring on.

[00:13:59]You know, they still have Corey Booker as an assistant coach, but everybody else has been uh let go from the front office. So, we will see who Mosley ends up bringing in and uh we'll keep an eye on that, but there's just there's a lot of rumor talks going on right now.

[00:14:15]There's also a lot of trade talks going on and and then the of course the post-season is still going on, so nothing there really can be no action there, but I'm glad that the Pelicans have made a decision. We will keep diving into uh the background of Mosley and kind of our thoughts and and all that on him, and then we will keep you up to date, of course, on what's going on from a playoff and trade perspective as we get closer and closer to the NBA draft actually happening next month. So, make sure you give us a like and subscribe here. It's much appreciated, and you can also find me on X at SportsChrisy. Give me a follow, and I will be happy to follow you back and answer any questions that you might have about this Pelicans team. But moving forward, we've got a new era for the Pelicans going forward. I will catch you guys tomorrow. Have a great day. Bye.