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Willie Green expected to remain Pelicans coach
The prevailing expectation is that Willie Green will remain Pelicans head coach, league sources told HoopsHype. Green was in the war room with the New Orleans Saints during the NFL Draft. HoopsHype previously reported on April 16th that Green was expected to be retained.
“First and foremost, I want to thank Mrs. Benson for giving me the honor and privilege to lead the Pelicans basketball operations group,” said Dumars. “As a Louisiana native, this is truly a full circle moment. I grew up as a Saints fan and the first AAU basketball team I played on at 16 years old was based in New Orleans, so this opportunity is very special to me on a personal level. I look forward to being a part of the Pelicans organization, and building a team that proudly represents our fans on the court and in our community.” Dumars added, “There is a lot of talent on this roster. My vision is to build a disciplined team that is built on toughness, smart decision-making and a no-excuses mindset. I am proud to have grown up in Louisiana and know how passionate, resilient and tough we are as a community. Our fans deserve a team that represents that spirit, and those characteristics will be the foundation of our team’s culture.”
Fletcher Mackel: For perspective, Joe Dumars has deep ties to Pelicans/Saints. I’ve reported on these connections for years. During shaky Dell Demps tenure, right after Benson ownership took over the NBA team, Dumars almost joined franchise. Now he’s in charge. I’m told he’s “our guy, one of us.”
DeMarcus Cousins on his time with the Pelicans: We were always the stepkid to the New Orleans Saints
DeMarcus Cousins on the Pelicans: Well, I can say from my experience, we were always the stepkid to the New Orleans Saints. It's an ownership group that owns both. But New Orleans is real cool. They're very prideful about their Saints. I've experienced that, I've seen that growing up in that region. So, I know how much love they have for their Saints. And being a young organization, and you're trying to compete with a team like the Saints, it's hard for the public to do. I think they're always the team like a stepkid.
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Austin Rivers on Zion Williamson: New Orleans' food doesn’t help him, everything down there is buttered and greasy
Austin Rivers on Zion Williamson: New Orleans is not a basketball city, it's a football city. Let's be clear, when you get there it's the Saints brother, when you land in right now in 2025, when you land in the New Orleans airport they have five stores with a replay video of them winning the title in 2008, it's still playing. They have banner shirts like they won last year. It's remarkable bro. It's still a thing, it'd be like landing in Boston. (…) Maybe Zion just has to get out of New Orleans, I don't even think the food type helps him either. Everything down there is buttered and greasy and gumbo and goddamn buttered biscuit and lobster and crawfish like get them out of there!
The New Orleans Pelicans and New Orleans Saints are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred on Bourbon Street early on New Year’s Day. Our hearts go out to all victims and their families during this difficult time, and express our deepest gratitude to the first responders who acted swiftly and bravely on the scene.
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta wants to buy the New Orleans Saints
Tilman Fertitta told the Houston Business Journal that he is still interested in acquiring an NFL team if one becomes available. In particular, Fertitta said he would like to purchase the team he grew up rooting for: the New Orleans Saints. “I’ve always loved the New Orleans Saints, but (owner Gayle Benson) won’t sell them right now,” Fertitta said in a one-on-one interview.
Allen was a guest on Grind City Media in Memphis this week. The conversation touched on his final year in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Allen only played 22 games with the franchise, but he got to know everything good and bad about the organization. He spilled it all in a hilarious segment that had the rest of the crew unable to control their laughter. The segment starts with Allen calling former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry “one of the worst coaches in the world,” and completely goes off the rails from there. Allen roasted ownership after he finished making fun of the coaching staff. He said “Whatever the Saints didn’t eat we got the leftovers.”
The most damning stuff here is about ownership. Gayle Benson owns the Pelicans and the NFL’s Saints, but everyone knows the football team is the real jewel. Allen said the Pelicans would “practice on the football field” and would be “shooting baskets in the goal posts.” He also said the organization would make the players take Uber pools to games. I can’t tell if that was a joke.
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The New Orleans Saints and Pelicans organizations are raising concerns about the “constant” car break-ins in parking lots around the Caesar’s Superdome and the Smoothie King Center during sporting events. A spokesman for the teams, Greg Bensel, says the organizations are “very concerned” and have spoken with tourism officials, Sugar Bowl organizers, and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation about the rampant car burglaries. Bensel’s statement comes the morning after a number of cars were broken into during the Pelicans’ 119-108 win over the Houston Rockets Wednesday (Jan. 4) night.
For example, Jones still drives the same 2018 Dodge Charger he drove at the University of Alabama. He says the speedometer is at about 60,000 miles. Most of his Pelicans’ teammates drive expensive luxury cars. Pelicans and New Orleans Saints owner Gayle Benson, owner of Mercedes-Benz of New Orleans, parks her Maybach sedan in the arena during games. Jones is in no hurry to buy one of Benson’s cars or one from any other dealership. “I’m not going to change it until it breaks down,” Jones said of his Charger. “I’m going to keep using it until it breaks or stops working on me. Then, I will get another one. As long as it gets me to the gym, I’m cool.”
Christian Green works with New Orleans Saints defensive end Marcus Davenport. In March, he began a partnership with New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson. Green — who is a contestant on Fox’s "MasterChef: Back to Win" — spoke to The Times-Picayune | The Advocate about his Louisiana roots, his football background and what it’s like to work with Williamson.
Pelicans currently not willing to offer Zion Williamson a fully guaranteed five-year deal
Zion Williamson said he’d sign a contract extension if the Pelicans offer this offseason: “Of course, I couldn’t sign it fast enough.” Pelicans lead executive David Griffin said not so fast. Brian Windhorst of ESPN: From what I have been told, the Pelicans, at this point, are not willing to offer a full five-year guaranteed deal. And a lot of it is flowing down from ownership. Gayle Benson, the owner, is also the owner of the New Orleans Saints. And I have been told they’re going to take a football-style, Saints-style mentality with this contract negotiation. They will offer him a huge contract but will not guarantee all of it.
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