Pelicans coach Willie Green‘s strong leadership traits were molded by people during his upbringing in Detroit, William Guillory of The Athletic examines.
Green, who was hired by New Orleans earlier this month, most recently spent time as an assistant with the Suns. He also played 12 seasons in the NBA, his final of which coming in 2014-15 with Orlando.
“He’ll be the most humble, prepared coach you’ve ever seen in your life,” Suns star Chris Paul said of Green. “I can’t even imagine right now playing and him being a coach, but I’m unbelievably happy for the opportunity that he may get.”
That potential opportunity, of course, is now a reality. Green will have the task of leading a young core featuring Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson next season and beyond. New Orleans finished with just a 31-41 record last season, missing the play-in tournament.
Here are some other notes out of the Western Conference tonight:
- Kyle Castlin will play summer league with the Jazz, sources told Hoops Rumors. Castlin, a Columbia and Xavier product, played 11 games with Utah’s G League affiliate during the 2019-20 season. The NBA’s summer league is set to be held in Las Vegas from August 8-17. Utah will also play in its own league, the Salt Lake City Summer League, on August 3, 4 and 6.
- Mike Singer of the Denver Post examines the Nuggets‘ upcoming free agency period. Singer also poses five questions that will help shape the team’s offseason. “Certainly we have a handful of free agents that we’re hopeful we can retain,” president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said in June. “We won’t have real certainty about what our roster might look like until post-draft. We really enjoyed this group. The more guys we can keep the better.”
Leave a Reply