Pelicans owner: Joe Dumars will decide Willie Green’s future

Pelicans owner Gayle Benson wants to make one thing clear. If a coaching change happens in New Orleans, it won’t be because she pushed the button.

Amid reports that the Pelicans are having “serious” internal discussions about Willie Green’s future, Benson told NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan that any call on Green’s job status belongs solely to executive VP of basketball operations Joe Dumars, and not her.

“I really like Willie Green, but I hired Joe Dumars to assess our basketball operation,” Benson said. “He is assessing Willie and all the players. When he makes a decision, that’s up to him. That’s why I hired him.”

Rumors around Green picked up last spring when Dumars replaced David Griffin and inherited a team coming off a 21-61 season. Dumars kept Green then, but a 2-9 start has reignited questions, with some wondering if Benson’s loyalty was the reason for Green’s continued stay.

Benson rejected that idea flatly, adding that Dumars has known Green since childhood and understands the situation better than anyone.

Injuries haven’t helped. Zion Williamson has played in just 35 of the Pelicans’ last 93 games, and cornerstones Trey Murphy III and Herbert Jones have missed time, too.

But even when healthy, the results haven’t been promising. As The Athletic’s William Guillory recently noted, the Williamson/Murphy/Jones trio has posted a net rating of -11.3 in 75 minutes together this season.

Benson also made it emphatically clear to Duncan that neither the Pelicans nor the Saints are for sale.

“The teams are not for sale. That’s in capital letters,” she said. “People need to calm down about the team moving.”

She closed with a message for frustrated fans.

“I’m doing everything I can — other than throwing the ball and catching it,” Benson said. “I give them the money. I’m in the locker room, win or lose. I don’t know what else I can do except support them.”