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Why Pelicans’ Willie Green firing left Skip Bayless ‘stunned’

Originally posted on NBA on ClutchPoints | Last updated Nov 15, 2025 1:28 PM ET

With the news of the New Orleans Pelicans firing head coach Willie Green after a frustrating start to the season, there’s no doubt that the basketball world had a multitude of different opinions on the matter. As fans predict who the Pelicans will hire to replace Green, one person who was shocked by the news is sports analyst Skip Bayless.

Posting to X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday afternoon, Bayless would express how shocked he was to see New Orleans let go of Green, especially due to the injuries to Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and Jordan Poole. Bayless would even go as far as to say that he would “not be surprised” in the slightest if Green goes on to win a championship as a coach on another team.

“Stunned Willie Green was fired with Zion/Dejounte/Poole hurt,” Bayless wrote. “I will not be surprised if he becomes a championship coach elsewhere – he’s that good. Maybe he just needed a fresh start. Joe Dumars has taken over as GM – much respect for him, too. Joe needs His Guy. Maybe [James] Borrego.”

Pelicans’ Joe Dumars on the firing of Willie Green

As Green’s fate was in the hands of Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, he would eventually decide to move on, as James Borrego is expected to be the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Speaking about the move, Dumars would say that the 2-10 start to the season was not the “ultimate determining factor.”

“That was not it,” Dumars said, according to ESPN. “I was very clear from the very beginning, there was no mandate that you have to win a certain amount of games.”

“There wasn’t even a mandate that, ‘Oh, you have to make the play-in or the playoffs.’ We have to establish who we’re going to be here in New Orleans going forward, and I just did not see that happening,” Dumas continued. “And that was more than anything else what’s the determining factor here.”

Now, New Orleans begins the process of looking for their next head coach, but first, the team looks to salvage its season as the next game is on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors.

This article first appeared on NBA on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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