Willie Green Zion Williamson
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Willie Green and Zion Williamson planning a play for the New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green this past weekend as a response to their terrible start to the season. A controversial decision of trading their unprotected first round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to acquire Derik Queen means they have no incentive to lose this season.
New Orleans getting off to a 2-11 start meant that some sort of change was needed to send a message. However, even more information has come out about the firing, outside of just losing games. Green had little to no chance of making this team work while Zion Williamson is injured and Dejounte Murray remains inactive due to his own injury rehab until mid-season.
Hoops Hype reported that Williamson’s overall lack of progression was the biggest problem. New Orleans management believed that Green didn’t hold the young star accountable enough to remain consistent and take his off-court training more seriously. Williamson did enter this season looking in better shape than past years, but he’s already hurt with the season quickly falling apart.
Does Green Deserve Blame For Zion?
The Pelicans find themselves in a terrible position of having a young star they still don’t believe they can trust. Williamson puts up incredible numbers whenever he’s on the court and playing at full health. New Orleans has never seen Williamson averaging fewer than 22 points per game and he has contributed to winning in the past.
The issue is Zion ends up injured far too often. Williamson has only played five of the team’s fourteen games so far this season. Pelicans attendance numbers have dropped, and the team holds little relevance around the league today. All these factors kept adding more negative points against Green’s case for being the long-term coach.
New Orleans felt a change was needed to try to turn this season around and to figure out the long-term plan moving forward. Williamson’s status as the face of the franchise is clearly in doubt. This move means the next coach must hold Zion accountable and see true progress if both parties remain part of the franchise’s future.
Other Players Clashed With Willie Green
More stories from the report featured Green losing the team even more after Williamson’s injury caused new issues. The report claims that guard Jordan Poole was upset at Green and felt disrespected at being removed from the starting lineup. Poole got pulled from the starters at the end of October just two weeks into the season starting.
Trey Murphy is the second-best player on the team, and he felt similar issues with Green’s offense. The term “stale” was used to describe how Murphy and others felt about the coaching style as they continued losing games. Too many things working against Green caused him to be the first head coach fired this season.
Williamson remains the biggest issue due to New Orleans management hoping he’d be in a better spot after learning from a respected coach like Green. The playing career of Green featured him having the respect of his peers for being tough and intelligent. Unfortunately, losing the players’ confidence and not holding Zion accountable cost him his job.