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Shamit Dua: There really hasn't been any updates for the Pelicans search at the moment. The team is still evaluating and to my understanding the 5 names under consideration at this moment in time are: Borrego Ham Hetzel Mosley Rondo
According to sources close to the search, Borrego is one of the four candidates who have emerged as the front runners to land the job. He joins a list that includes Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and Darvin Ham. The best guess here is Rondo and Hetzel are at the top of the list.
With so many experienced coaches around him, Rondo was given a spectacular opportunity in Milwaukee to observe how to do the job, but he also asked questions. “He has a trait that every aspiring, currently active or former coach should have, and that’s being inquisitive,” Darvin Ham told The Athletic. “He’s very curious to learn the process of things, what triggers certain actions, what triggers certain reactions on both sides of the ball. “He knows the game, but the art of trying to teach it so the players can comprehend it, that’s the part he’s picking up. The preparation process, how it goes from paper to film to actual on-court methods to after game time, and then, boom, rinse and repeat, so to speak. He’s been great, man. He’s just very intuitive, really asking questions.”
The New Orleans Pelicans interviewed three coaches last week for their head coaching position, a source confirmed to The Times-Picayune Monday afternoon. The three candidates who were interviewed last week were Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and Darvin Ham.
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The Stein Line has learned that the Pelicans have begun formal outreach to candidates they plan to pursue in addition to interim coach James Borrego. Sources say names of strong interest from the league's assistant ranks include San Antonio's Sean Sweeney, Milwaukee's Darvin Ham and Brooklyn's Steve Hetzel. As mentioned from the jump, Borrego remains very much under consideration for the position, sources say.
No wonder, then, that we're hearing Milwaukee plans to a cast a wide net in search of its successor to Rivers. Sources reaffirm what The Stein Line has already written — former Bucks assistant coach Taylor Jenkins and current Bucks assistant Darvin Ham -- are certain candidates for the post, yet I've also been told that Horst has been assembling a candidates list that features a varied cross-section of names, archetypes and experience levels.
The growing expectation within league circles is that Doc Rivers won’t be Milwaukee's head coach next season. Instead, there’s a belief that Rivers could pivot to an undetermined role in Milwaukee’s front office. As for potential coaching candidates, the Bucks have an internal candidate in Darvin Ham who will also be sought after by the Pelicans, according to league sources, this summer. Taylor Jenkins will almost assuredly draw interest from Milwaukee if their head coaching job becomes available. Jenkins will arguably be the most sought-after coach on the market and was previously an assistant coach under Mike Budenholzer when the Bucks advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2019. Another name to potentially consider is Pelicans interim head coach James Borrego, who previously interviewed for Milwaukee’s head coaching job when Adrian Griffin was hired, and will also be available this summer.
James Borrego will be a candidate to retain the job going forward, but others are also expected to be in the mix, including Darvin Ham and Kevin Ollie, league sources told HoopsHype. In addition, league sources say current Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley has several admirers in New Orleans. Should Mosley not be retained by Orlando after the season, he would also be towards the top of the coaching candidate list for New Orleans.
Jamahl Mosley, though, still has many fans around the league after Orlando posted a top-three defense in both 2023-24 and 2024-25 and thanks to both his ability to relate to players and also still get out on the floor with them. He has USA Basketball experience on his resume, too, and has been mentioned for some time as a likely candidate in New Orleans — if available — should the Pelicans find themselves in the market for a new coach after the regular season concludes this week. New Pelicans lead decision-maker Joe Dumars is said to hold Mosley interest and could opt to hire his own head coach after installing associate head coach James Borrego as Green’s interim replacement after a 2-10 start. As Stein reported in November, sources say former Lakers coach Darvin Ham is another likely Pelicans target if Borrego doesn’t land the full-time post.
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Shamit Dua: For the Pelicans, Malone was never an option. If it's not Borrego, the two names constantly tied with them have been Mosely or Ham. I have not heard credible reports of any others. Now Mosely or Ham have to want to come to New Orleans and there's many jobs that are about to open
Dennis Schroeder: In my second year, I was close to going into the GM’s office and telling them they should trade me, because I wasn’t satisfied with my playing time and with the fact that they had me sitting on the bench. The year before that—or rather, the summer before that—I really wasn’t in Germany at all and had only been grinding, to show people that I really wanted to play and was ready to play. And then I got angry. Darvin Ham took me into his office. He had actually ordered soup for himself, then split the soup, put it down, and then sat down and said, ‘Hey, what’s going on with you, actually?’ And then he gave me a quote—and we’d probably have to bleep it, because I don’t want kids seeing that I’m cursing and using swear words—but he said, ‘You have to go through the shit to get to the good.’
Dennis Schroeder: And for me, no matter what—highs, lows, whatever—you go through things, then you get back up, and afterward you learn from those things, and then something good comes at the end of the tunnel. And that’s how I live my whole life. No matter what happens, I always stay level. Whether the whole world is talking about me and saying, ‘Ah, you should have done this or that,’ I just keep my head down and keep doing my thing, working, working, and then eventually success comes. Things like the bronze medal, then the World Championship, the European Championship, 13 years in the NBA—those are all things I took with me from him in that second year. And every time I see him, he reminds me. He says, ‘You know what I told you, right?’ And then I know exactly what he means, and of course I smile. And yeah, I definitely owe him that, and I would recommend that approach to every single person, even if it’s not basketball—whether it’s soccer or your regular job—that’s the way you should approach it.”
Milwaukee Bucks: Doc Rivers is attending a funeral and will not be in Oklahoma City for tonight's game. Darvin Ham will serve as head coach vs. the Thunder.