Willie Green arrived in New Orleans in the summer of 2021, to take over from Stan Van Gundy whose transplant had not taken hold in the bayou. Retired for barely five years, the former fullback had worked on the benches of the Warriors and the Suns before being very quickly promoted to “head coach” of the Pelicans.
Very quickly, the coach's speech was built around the need to create a ” program “a culture “.
A speech that turns into reality. Because after a first season completed at 36 wins for 46 losses (for an elimination in the first round of the playoffs against the Suns), then a second season at 42 wins for 40 losses (but a play-in exit), the Pelicans are still progressing this season (44 wins – 27 losses).
“A sustainable culture that wins”, Willie Green repeats today on its objectives. “And I feel like we’re on the right track right now.” »
“Franchises going from few wins to 60 wins is not sustainable. We are building a franchise, a workforce, a team that succeeds by progressing regularly”
In March, the Pelicans (44-27) won 9 of their 11 outings to tickle the Clippers (44-26) and hope to enter the Top 4 of the Western Conference. And thus give yourself home field advantage in the playoffs…
“We try to build from the foundations”explains Willie Green. “It starts from the people we recruit. This contributes to the good health of the program. People of character who bring energy, who work hard. Hard workers. This is what we want to build.”
Even Brandon Ingram's injury does not seem to slow down the group, which relies on a very fit Zion Williamson and an army of energetic role players. For CJ McCollum, the Pelicans have absolutely “the best bench in the NBA”. Against Detroit, Naji Marshall or Jose Alvarado were in any case once again decisive.
“This is how you build a winning franchise”summarizes Larry Nance Jr, another valuable substitute for the club. “Franchises going from few wins to 60 wins is not sustainable. We build a franchise, a squad, a team that succeeds by progressing regularly. By improving regularly. By retaining the hard core. And by having the willingness and ability to play with each other. That’s what Denver did. That’s what Milwaukee did. Golden State. We are building. We go slowly and build. »
