Former UConn head coach Kevin Ollie, who was interim coach of the Nets at the end of the 2023/24 season, is among the candidates for the Pelicans‘ head coaching job, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
A journeyman guard who played for 11 different teams in his 13 NBA seasons, Ollie began his coaching career after retiring as a player in 2010. He was the head coach at UConn from 2012-18 and won a national title with the Huskies in 2014 but lost his job after the NCAA opened an investigation into UConn and its coaches for recruiting violations.
Ollie was also the head coach of the Overtime Elite program from 2021-23 and was a finalist for the Pistons’ top coaching job in the 2023 offseason.
James Borrego, who is expected to remain interim coach of the Pelicans for the rest of the season in the wake of Willie Green‘s dismissal, will also be considered for the full-time role, Begley adds.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- While Borrego is respected by the new front office led by executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars, Chris Dodson of ClutchPoints hears there’s skepticism the former Hornets coach will replace Green on a permanent basis. Citing a source, Dodson says Dumars is “quietly” looking for a new head coach who could “completely shake up the organization and reset the culture.” Dodson lists the six external candidates he views as the best fits for the position, including Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins.
- On a conference call with the media, Dumars explained his rationale for firing Green, as Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com relays. “I was looking for the team to compete hard every night,” Dumars said Saturday, reiterating a message he delivered at his introductory press conference in April. “If we start losing the same way over and over again, that’s not improvement. That was really the one thing I talked to the coaching staff about, ‘Guys, we have to establish that we’re going to play hard every night.’ Before you can become anything in this league, you have to establish that first as a team. It was that judgment (that led to a change) more than identity, more than the offense or defense, or the won-loss record.”
- When asked if he was concerned about trading the team’s 2026 first-round pick in a draft-day deal with Atlanta (to acquire Derik Queen), Dumars said he hasn’t been thinking about it, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). “I’m not sitting here worried about the pick that we don’t have,” Dumars said.