The New Orleans Pelicans have their head coach.
Now what?
That’s the question Joe Dumars will have to answer as he enters his second season as the team's executive vice president of basketball operations.
Dumars hired Jamahl Mosley last week. The task now is to find the right mix of players for Mosley to coach.
Dumars has shown he isn’t afraid to make drastic changes. As soon as the season ended, he had a spring cleaning of sorts, parting ways with everybody from assistant coaches to equipment managers. Many of the decisions weren't popular among the fan base.
Dumars’ goal is to reset the culture for a franchise with a long history of losing. The Pelicans finished 26-56 this season, the third-worst record in an 82-game season in franchise history. It was a season that included him firing head coach Willie Green after just 12 games before turning the team over to James Borrego as interim coach.
Now the team . Mosley, saying what you’d expect a coach to say during his first day on the job, had this to say about the roster he’s inheriting:
“The roster is big time,” Mosley said. “I think it has such versatility and such depth and guys that are able to do so many things.”
But it’s the things this current roster can’t do that will need to be addressed.
• Rebound.
• Protect the paint.
• Shoot 3-pointers.
• Defend.
Oh, and don't forget the one other thing Dumars said the team needs.
“I would add more toughness to this team,” Dumars said. “We have to be able to compete every night. We cannot get banged around, pushed around. We have to be physical and compete every night. There were some nights we did it, but too many nights we didn’t compete at a high enough level for me. You can’t get past that in this league.
"We have talent. But if you think you’re just going to roll talent out on an NBA court and that’s all you need to do to win, that’s not going to happen.”
The hiring of Mosley, who was known for his defense in his five seasons as head coach of the Orlando Magic, should solve things on that end of the court. Especially if he can get players not known for their defensive prowess to buy in. But defense alone won’t solve the other things that have held the Pels back.
Dumars spent his first season in New Orleans assessing the team and knows there is work to do. Running it back with the same team isn’t an option for a franchise that hasn’t reached 30 wins the past two seasons.
“Unless you’re a championship team, you might tweak one or two things,” Dumars said. “When you’re where we are, you have to be open to everything. And that’s where I am. I am open to whatever comes across my desk. Whatever phone calls I get, I’m open to it to listen and see if this is the right thing for us at this moment. I don’t think you can close off anything where we are right now.”
One player who seems to be off limits is Zion Williamson. When Dumars took over last year, he made it clear that Williamson is the cornerstone of the franchise. Dumars’ thoughts on that a year later are the same.
“We haven’t changed our opinion on Zion,” Dumars said. “I’d love to see Jamahl coach Zion. I’d love to see him get Zion to defend and do all the things that he said. Let’s see what we have here.”
Williamson helped his case by playing in 62 games this season, the second-most games he’s played in during his seven NBA seasons.
While Williamson will continue to be the centerpiece, it’s the pieces around him that will be key. Those pieces have to fit.
The Pelicans’ only draft pick is late in the second round at 58th overall. Dumars didn’t rule out making a move to get into the first round of the June 24 draft.
“We definitely have a chance to do so,” Dumars said in April.
Whether it’s via the draft or free agency or trade, some much-needed changes almost certainly are on the way.
The Pelicans ranked 25th in defensive rating this season and 21st in offensive rating. Mosley will count on assistants Dale Osbourne (defensive coordinator) and Bret Brielmaier (offensive coordinator) to improve those numbers. They are two of the first four assistants he’s hired. They were with him in Orlando and are making the move to New Orleans, along with God Shammgod and Randy Gregory. More of his staff from Orlando could be on the way as well.
“When you’ve done something as a staff that has worked, you want those same people with you to say ‘Here’s how it worked,’ ” . “They know the ins and outs and the things you’re going to bump into. You’ve been through hard times together. You go from 22 (wins) to 34 to 47 to 41 to 45 wins with a group, so you’ve seen it (work).”
Mosley and his coaching staff are already on the same page. Mosley and Dumars are too, which is why he took the job after just getting fired by the Magic three weeks ago.
“We see things so similarly when it comes to accountability and holding people’s feet to the fire,” Mosley said. “That’s so important to grow and build a championship organization.”
The Pelicans are a long way away from being a championship team. But can Mosley at least get them trending in the right direction as a consistent playoff team like he did with the Magic?
What Dumars does the rest of this offseason will go a long way in determining that.