5:44 pm: Ham also interviewed for the head coaching position last week, Rod Walker writes for NOLA.com.
12:34 pm: Hetzel has also been interviewed for the Pelicans’ head coaching job, Will Guillory of The Athletic tweets.
11:00 am: Rajon Rondo is among the candidates the Pelicans are considering as they look for their next head coach, with league sources telling Jake Fischer and Marc Stein of The Stein Line (Substack link) that he has already interviewed for the position.
The former All-Star guard was hired in 2024 as a special assistant on Doc Rivers’ staff in Milwaukee. Fischer and Stein note that he first expressed interest in coaching when he was with Boston early in his career, and Brad Stevens brought Rondo into some staff meetings while he was recovering from a torn ACL. Rondo spent 16 seasons in the NBA before his career ended in 2022.
Fischer and Stein hear that the Pelicans have reached out to several candidates, including Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney, Bucks associate head coach Darvin Ham and Nets assistant Steve Hetzel. Ham has also been mentioned as a potential replacement for the Magic if they decide to fire Jamahl Mosley.
In addition, the Pelicans have requested permission to interview Pistons assistant Jarrett Jack, according to Fischer and Stein’s sources. Jack played in New Orleans for three seasons of his career and moved on to coaching after his retirement in 2021. He spent two years on the staff in Phoenix before being hired by Detroit.
James Borrego, who took over as the Pelicans’ interim coach when Willie Green was fired in mid-November, remains “very much under consideration” to get the job on a permanent basis, sources tell Fischer and Stein. Borrego, who joined the organization as associate head coach in 2024, guided the team to a 24-46 record after replacing Green.
Always thought Rondo got the most out of his talent. He always was a team guy playing. Imo he will make a good coach. NO is a good place for him to get his chance. They have a great young PG.
Just trade Zion please
I’m not confident in any of these options to be honest. Darvin Ham is way overrated, like this generation’s Fizdale. Maybe Sweeney would be good, i still would like a team to take a look at Rex Kalamian for Head Coach. Taylor Jenkins is still available too.
Taylor Jenkins signed in Milwaukee
How is ham over rated he went to the west finals. That can’t make you an overrated coach. In two years he went to West finals. JJ has to get out the 2nd round or keep that same energy.
Darvin Ham is what made that Lakers team successful? Your receipts are damning btw, not sure you want to add this to the list.
Ham is overrated precisely because he went to the West Finals. They didn’t get there because of his coaching.
So when JJ is beating a lower seed it’s coaching, but ham going to the west finals is the players. Hmmm make that make sense.
Perhaps you should explain how Ham’s coaching made a positive difference and ELEVATED his team. Give specific examples.
Allow me to start:
Hey Google, is Darvin Ham a good coach?
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Darvin Ham is generally considered a strong motivational leader and defensive-minded coach with good initial game plans, but he struggled with in-game adjustments, rotation consistency, and offensive structure during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers (2022-2024).
While leading the team to a Western Conference Finals appearance and an In-Season Tournament title, his tenure was marked by inconsistent regular-season performance and perceived tactical shortcomings in high-stakes moments.
Key Aspects of Darvin Ham’s Coaching:
Player Relations & Motivation: Often praised as a “player’s coach” who excels at building rapport and fostering a resilient, “next-play” mentality.
Successes: Led the Lakers to the 2023 Western Conference Finals as a 7th seed and won the inaugural 2023 NBA Cup (In-Season Tournament).
Weaknesses: Heavily criticized for inconsistent rotations, slow in-game adjustments, and a lack of, or ineffective, time-outs to stop opponent runs.
Offense/Defense: Focused heavily on defense, but his teams often struggled to produce efficient, organized offense.
Accountability: Reports suggested he deflected blame for losses, citing external factors like injuries and player age rather than addressing tactical errors
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TLDR he was a worse version of Ime Udoka
Not pointing fingers at you Real2K, but whenever someone uses Google or hey Siri to answer a question I’m like, anyone can do that for an opinion.
I wanna know what you think.
Who cares what a consensus of reporters thinks because it’s not necessarily the truth.
It’s a conglomerate of opinions found online by a Google search and not every single opinion is sourced.. Good comment but I really don’t put stock in it.
The AI summary is Ham’s coaching record for good and ill. It is a collection of sourced reports, and is significantly more detailed than anything OP wrote about Ham’s coaching acumen.
The Udoka part is my take.
If he can coach the way he played, he’ll have a chance to be very good. Dumars might just let him. Similar mindset.
How bad is Sam Cassell at interviews that he’s still on the outside looking in for a HC job? Has more than put in his dues
He must not want it because you never hear him even as a finalist. Might be very content with a steady job not worried a lot about still being employed year to year, stuff like that.
Gary- exactly.
why be a HC for a lousy team when he can hitch his wagon to one of the best organizations in the NBA?! seems like a no brainer to me.
Rondo/Queen & Kidd/Coop rivalry would be perfect… but don’t we need this guy to quarterback our inaugural Olympic flag football team in LA in a couple yrs?
link to youtube.com
Didn’t Rondo’s career basically end when he threatened his partner with a gun? I could have sworn he pretty much washed out of the league after the legal stuff from this. I am a little shocked that he would get a HC deal with his history of rolling strapped and threatening women with said piece…
Yup,kinda …. 17 months later he got arrested agein on gun charges with a kid in the car as he wasn’t allowed to have a gun bc of said 2022 incident with the lady – he was also speeding , had drugs and paraphernalia in the car with the kid in the last incident as well
* First one didn’t end his career tho he retired 2024 , the lady incident was 2022
He filed his papers in ’24 his last season was 21-22.
Sweet , nice catch , I was drawing blanks on where he played his last 2 years when I posted so I guess that answers it !
Give Borrego another year.
I’m not sure Rondo is the right guy, but he’s probably worth a go ahead of a number of retreads on the market.
Borrego or bust
Rondo has had character issues his whole career. Insane choice for a head coach. But still better than Doc Rivers probably.