The New Orleans Pelicans are making a massive splash, hiring former Magic HC Jamahl Mosley. Can he get Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and rookie Derik Queen back into the playoff hunt next season? Yankee Scores has the breaking NBA coaching breakdown.
The New Orleans Pelicans have hired former Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley as their new head coach, handing him a five-year contract.
From a Game 7 Heartbreak to the Big Easy
Mosley, after five years with Orlando, coached the Magic into making the playoffs for three consecutive years despite injury-filled seasons.
Orlando fired Mosley on May 4, the day following an elimination from the first round via a Game 7 loss to the Detroit Pistons despite being up 3-1 in the series, thus entering the wider market of head coaches. This created an opportunity for the Pelicans to zero-in on him.
Sources say that the top executives of the Pelicans stayed in constant touch with Mosley and his agent, Bret Just of WME Basketball, following his departure from the Magic, and had a face-to-face meeting last week during the NBA draft combine in Chicago.
Executive vice president of the Pelicans, Joe Dumars, conducted a comprehensive search and talked to Milwaukee Bucks assistant coaches, Darvin Ham and Rajon Rondo, Brooklyn Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, and interim New Orleans coach James Borrego.
The Blueprint of a Program Builder
Hiring Mosley is viewed as a pivotal moment in the same way when he took over a rebuilding Magic following a season where the team won only 21 games. Mosley’s leadership and plan for the development of the players resulted in annual improvement and consecutive playoff appearances.
At 47, Mosley is second in Coach of the Year voting for the 2023-24 season and third all-time in regular-season wins by a Magic coach (189). Prior to his coming to Orlando, the Magic failed to make the playoffs for three consecutive years since 2009-12.
Mosley developed defensively oriented teams, which finished 3rd in 2023-24, 2nd in 2024-25, and 11th this season.
The Roster Ahead
In New Orleans, Mosley is expected to work with a roster made up of young talents – Derik Queen, Jeremiah Fears, Yves Missi – along with veterans such as Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, and Herbert Jones.
The Pelicans ended the season with a record of 26-56 and have only one draft pick in June, the 58th overall, after trading their first-round selection in a draft day trade a year ago, which helped them draft Queen.
