The New Orleans Pelicans have hired head coach Jamahl Mosley to a five-year contract after he was recently fired by the Orlando Magic.
ESPN’s Shams Charania first broke the news on social media that Mosley has been hired as the team’s new head coach. He takes over for interim head coach James Borrego, who was in the running to get the job but ultimately fell short. Former NBA All-Star Rajon Rondo was reportedly also in the mix for the role, but in the end, the Pelicans decided to go with the veteran Mosley.
Pelicans Hire Jamahl Mosley
Charania added more context in a social media post about Mosley’s hiring.
“BREAKING: The New Orleans Pelicans are hiring Jamahl Mosley as the franchise’s new head coach on a five-year contract, sources tell ESPN. Mosley accepts the Pelicans job after five seasons in Orlando where he guided the Magic to three consecutive playoff berths,” Charania wrote on X.
“Sources said top Pelicans officials maintained consistent communication with Mosley since he was dismissed by the Magic on May 4 and the sides formally met in person last week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago. The Pelicans believe the franchise is at a point similar to Mosley’s leadership and development plan when he took over the rebuilding Magic in 2021 after a 21-win season. It led to season-by-season improvement, then playoff appearances. In Orlando, Mosley built teams anchored by strong defenses, with the Magic ranked No. 3 overall in 2023-24 and No. 2 overall in 2024-25,” Charania added.
As Charania noted in his post, the Magic recently let go of Mosley after the team failed to advance in the NBA playoffs despite a 3-1 series lead against the Detroit Pistons. Following their blowing a big series lead there, the team decided to move on, and now Mosley lands in New Orleans, instead, where he will try to lead the team back to the playoffs after they missed it for the last tw seasons.
New Orleans Pelicans May Make Other Changes
In addition to bringing in Mosley to be the team’s new head coach, the Pelicans may make other changes this offseason.
There have been some rumblings that the team may opt to move swingman Trey Murphy III, who is one of the Pelicans’ best players. But he also carries solid trade value, and for a Pelicans team that does not have their first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft, they could potentially look to move Murphy and get back some draft picks in a trade.
The team could also explore moving their star power forward, Zion Williamson. Although he had a solid season for New Orleans, he has dealt with a lot of injury issues in his career and has been difficult to count on by the team. The Pelicans could decide to shop Williamson around the league and gauge trade interest from other teams, though Pelicans head of basketball operations Joe Dumars recently told the media that the team plans on keeping him in the fold, as they look to get back to the playoffs.
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