Grading the Pelicans' Jamahl Mosley Hire: A Low-Risk, Low-Upside Decision

Jamahl Mosley is your newest head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. News of the hire came on Monday morning that the former Orlando Magic head coach would be signing a five-year deal to be the new lead man in New Orleans.

Mosley spent his previous five seasons in Orlando, leading the Magic to three consecutive playoff berths before the team dismissed him after their first-round loss to the Detroit Pistons. The hiring comes after the Pelicans fired former head coach Willie Green after just 12 games and promoted James Borrego to interim head coach.

While this isn’t a splashy hire with unlimited ceiling potential, Mosley’s hiring can be viewed by some in the organization as upwards stabilization that keeps the team closer to the second floor than to the basement.

Mosley’s hiring mimics some of the circumstances he found himself in when he took the Orlando job back in 2021. The Magic, the previous season, won 21 games and were devastated by a rash of injuries to key starters. Over the next 3 seasons, Mosley increased the team’s win total by 1, 12, and then 13 games.

Orlando’s best years under him coincided with their best defensive years, something the Pelicans could attest to under Green. The Magic ranked 11th, 2nd, and 3rd defensively over the last three seasons. New Orleans was in the bottom eight in overall defense over the last two seasons.

The #Pelicans have named Jamahl Mosley as the team’s new head coach, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars announced today 👏 pic.twitter.com/RRIhoR5lfd
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) May 18, 2026

Jamahl Mosley Brings a Proven Track Record of Development to New Orleans

Mosley also has a track record of developing young players, which should be intriguing to New Orleans, given they had the fourth-youngest roster in the NBA this season. Players like Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Anthony Black have all developed and grown significantly since joining the league.

Wagner is a career 20-point scorer, while Suggs made an All-NBA Defensive team, and Black averaged 15 points per game this season.

The Pelicans have a young roster full of players whose further development is necessary for them to ultimately get to where they want to be. Their rookie class of Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears showed some upside, but their next level of growth is to remain consistent on a nightly basis to be most effective.

A major positive in Mosley’s onboarding is his ability to coach stars in the league. Before becoming the Magic's head coach, he spent seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. During that time, he coached superstar Luka Doncic since he entered the league in 2018. Doncic was highly complimentary of Mosley back then, publicly saying he thought he had the right skill set to surely be a coach in this league.

"He can be the head coach, for sure”, Doncic said following a 2021 game where Mosley filled in for Rick Carlisle. He continued, "He's got the things that are needed for a head coach.” Doncic and Mosley have continued their strong relationship despite being on different paths and teams in their career. Mosley should be able to reach Pelicans star Zion Williamson to help him reach his full potential, especially on defense.

Luka Doncic x Jamahl Mosley 💙

(via @dallasmavs) pic.twitter.com/DkntC0f5dc
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) November 4, 2024

Mosley's Feud With Paolo Banchero May Be a Red Flag

Despite the way things may have ended in Orlando with Magic star Paolo Banchero, one thing is evident: Banchero got better defensively over his time in the league under Mosley. His teammate and fellow frontcourt mate, Wendell Carter Jr., revealed that Banchero has the potential to be a standout two-way player in this league.

“He has the potential to be one of the best two-way players to ever play this game,” Carter Jr. said after a late-season game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Banchero recorded multiple two-steal and two-block games this season.

Williamson, like Banchero, was a number one overall pick from Duke and had question marks about his defense when coming into the league. If Mosley can unlock Williamson on the defensive end, it would help tremendously with some of the Pelicans issues in the interior.

Mosley has also been able to overcome injuries to key players on his roster, something the Pelicans have struggled with over the years. Banchero missed 40 games last season, and Wagner missed 48 games this year, yet the Magic still made the playoffs both years. That’s a testament to Mosley’s teams stepping up and filling key roles with their reserve players until the starters return to action.

That doesn’t mean everything will be all rosy for the Pelicans. Mosley has failed to get past the first round in the past three seasons, casting doubt on whether he’s a championship-level coach. While his teams have been stellar defensively, their offense has looked stagnant, lacking the modern-day creativity and movement of today’s NBA.

Also, the way things ended between him and Banchero was not ideal, with barbs flying through the media and reports that they were not on speaking terms at one point. This appears to be a comfortable hire, not a radical movement to jumpstart life in a spiraling organization, but rather one meant to keep the machine on life support.

Time will tell whether Mosley is the right man for the job. The Pelicans have a mix of talent, and now they officially have a leader. We’ll have to see how far Mosley will lead them.

Grade: C

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