Draymond GreenForward, Golden State Warriors

Pelicans Didn't Give Willie Green A Chance To Be A Good NBA Head Coach

18 Nov 2025 · 1 min

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In this brief commentary, Draymond Green reflects on the New Orleans Pelicans' decision to fire head coach Willie Green. He notes a common pattern where new general managers replace existing coaches with those aligning with their own philosophy, creating high expectations for the incumbent. Green argues that Willie Green never received a fair chance to demonstrate his coaching abilities, especially after a period when the team was healthy and performing well. He expresses sympathy for Green, describing the situation as a 'shitty feeling' and suggesting the firing left the potential of the team unfulfilled.

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most importantly about the Pelicans is the firing of Willie Green. Usually when you get new general managers coming in, they usually wanna bring their own coaching that they believe in, that they feel like fits their philosophy more. And so it needed to be great to start this year for Willie. And obviously that just hasn't happened. You never quite got a chance to see it through. And that's one of those shitty feelings. Like I feel a little shitty for Willie Green. He's never gotten the opportunity to truly show who he is as a coach. And when they were healthy for a period of time, they actually was rolling a couple years ago. And, you know, if you look at the record and all of those things, yes, it'll all be validated. But when you look under the hood, it's just one of them ones that don't quite feel like it was fulfilled. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]