Pelicans' Willie Green Approach Makes No Sense

The New Orleans Pelicans find themselves at the bottom of the Western Conference after 11 games. While they can point to injuries to Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole, and Zion Williamson as the reason for their struggles, the truth is that their future is bleak. They are headed to the lottery for a second-straight season, but since they owe their 2026 first-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks, Pelicans fans can't even be too excited when looking ahead.

Amid all the organizational problems. Willie Green may not be the most to blame, but he has certainly not covered himself in glory. This team should be more competitive than their -12.8 net rating suggests, and has given up on games, leading Green to criticize the effort. Naturally, a lot of Pelicans fans have been demanding the firing of Green, but so far, the leadership has ignored these demands.

Pelicans Fans Are Right to Be Frustrated With Decision to Stick With Willie Green

On Friday, Pelicans owner Gayle Benson made it clear that the decision to move on from Green is solely on Joe Dumars. Benson told NOLA.com's Jeff Duncan that she "really likes Willie Green," but she "hired Joe Dumars to assess our basketball operation. He is assessing Willie and all the players. When he makes a decision, that’s up to him.”

On one hand, the ownership leaving any major decisions to the front office is a good move. When that front office is led by Dumars, however, it is less ideal. Dumars, alongside GM Troy Weaver, made a series of ill-advised moves over the summer, including the disastrous trade to give the Atlanta Hawks their unprotected first-round pick. Giving Kevon Looney a multi-year deal and bringing Jordan Poole in are arguably more damaging decisions than anything Green himself has done so far this season.

Benson, Dumars, and Weaver all doing terrible jobs in their respective positions shouldn't take away from Green's underperformance. But that is the frustrating part of it all. Dumars didn't hire Green, so he has no reason to be loyal to him. But, Dumars did help build this roster, and this roster is currently 2-9. If he willingly gave up his 2026 unprotected first-round pick, then he must think that this team is ready to compete now. But they are clearly not, which should suggest in Dumars' mind that it is Green's fault.

Even though everyone with a basketball mind disagreed with it, Dumars clearly had a vision for the team when they aggressively made deals this offseason. Green is clearly not executing this vision. Why are the Pelicans delaying the inevitable?

More New Orleans Pelicans Content: