Hiring of Willie Green, Bucks’ title should be encouraging for Pelicans

The New Orleans Pelicans officially hired Willie Green as their new head coach Thursday.

The hiring of Green had been expected for several days since word of an imminent contract agreement leaked through numerous media reports. He will be formally introduced at a news conference next Tuesday.

It remains to be seen if the hiring of Green to replace Stan Van Gundy one year after Van Gundy was hired to replace Alvin Gentry is a turning point for a franchise spinning its wheels.

But the official hiring of Green, who played one season with the New Orleans Hornets as part of his 12-year NBA career, should represent a turning point in the off-season mood surrounding the organization.

The NBA Finals provided constant reminders of what could have been with the Pelicans.

Former Pelicans head coach Monty Williams – with Green at his side – and former point guard Chris Paul helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the Western Conference championship and a 2-0 lead in the Finals.

Former Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday helped lead a Milwaukee comeback as the Bucks won four straight games to claim their first NBA championship in 50 years Tuesday night.

It was difficult for followers of the Pelicans to not dwell on the fact that Holiday was the second former Pelican in as many seasons to win his first NBA title in his first season away from New Orleans.

Holiday was traded to Milwaukee before the season began, one year after forward Anthony Davis was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and helped lead them to the 2019-20 NBA title.

But as the smoke clears from the Bucks’ title, it’s only the future of the Pelicans that matters.

Davis demanded a trade so the Pelicans traded him while they could get a return for their disgruntled All-Star.

Holiday, who turned 31 last month, wasn’t disruptive, but would have had an opportunity to opt out after this season so executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin moved to get compensation to aid a young team while he still had an opportunity to move Holiday.

The trades have been a mixed bag. Davis brought Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Josh Hart and multiple No. 1 draft choices. Ingram is a very good and still-developing player and Ball and Hart are both about to become restricted free agents so their long-term value to the Pelicans remains to be determined.

Adams brought Steven Adams, Eric Bledsoe and multiple No. 1 draft choices. Bledsoe didn’t live up to expectations last season, Adams did but both figure to be shopped around during this off-season.

So their long-time value to the Pelicans also remains to be determined as does the value of all those draft choices.

In the moments after the Bucks won the championship, social media postings chided the Pelicans for essentially being a farm club for the two most recent NBA champions.

But that’s not fair to Griffin and the organization.

The necessity of moving Holiday and especially Davis cannot be denied. Griffin’s acuity in choosing the deals he chose cannot be fully evaluated at this point.

But the significance of Milwaukee’s championship – at least as it relates to New Orleans – has far less to do with the Pelicans’ past than it does with the Pelicans’ future.

The Bucks showed that nowadays a small-market team can win an NBA championship. They can do so if they keep their MVP – such as Giannis Antetokounmpo – and surround him with important complementary players such as Holiday, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, then throw in a good if not great coach such as Mike Budenholzer.

The Pelicans couldn’t keep Paul or Davis or Holiday. They have another chance at keeping an elite player with Zion Williamson.

They let a very good coach in Monty Williams go, and Green is their third crack at adequately replacing Williams.

The point as Griffin enters the heart of the most crucial off-season of his brief tenure is not the failures of the past, but the opportunity Green presents and the encouragement the Bucks’ success provides.