Tag: Willie Green

Sixers coach Doc Rivers has confidence in Willie Green for Pelicans

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers expresses his confidence in Willie Green for the New Orleans Pelicans.

The New Orleans Pelicans were one of the teams this offseason looking for a new coach after letting Stan Van Gundy go after just one season on the job. They decided to make Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green their new coach to lead a young and talented group in the bayou.

Green has a lot of connections to the Philadelphia 76ers where he played seven seasons to begin his career. Along with that obvious connection, he also played for coach Doc Rivers during their time together with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Green played one more season with the Orlando Magic before retiring in 2015. Although Green did not play much for the Clippers, he demanded a lot of respect in the locker room and that is why Rivers has confidence that he will do well as coach in New Orleans.

Rivers told nola.com:

“It was not a great locker room,” Rivers said. “Just had some personalities that didn’t get along. But the one guy that the whole group did listen to was Willie. He wasn’t the best player. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t even playing much by then. But he had a way about himself.”

“There are just certain people who have a way of telling you a thing you need to hear, and instead of you reacting to it, you’re accepting,” Rivers said. “And Willie is in that group.”

Time will tell if Rivers is right about Green’s ability to be a coach in this league, but as a guy who spent 12 seasons in the league, he has that kind of respect and he will definitely be a help for the younger guys in New Orleans. They have a lot of talent and now they need to put it all together.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Report: Pelicans, Willie Green nearing completion on deal to become head coach

The New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns assistant coach Willie Green are reportedly nearing an agreement for Green to become the franchise’s next head coach.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns assistant coach Willie Green are reportedly nearing an agreement for Green to become the franchise’s next head coach, ESPN’s Andrew Lopez and Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday evening.

Green was reported as the frontrunner for the position earlier in the week by Wojnarowski with Wednesday’s news moving the process one step closer to completion. At the time of the report, Green was on the sidelines with the Suns in Game 4 of the NBA Finals where Phoenix led 2-1 in the series.

The Pelicans’ search process was a lengthy one, but still nearly twice as fast as last season. Stan Van Gundy parted ways with the franchise on June 16, which will be almost exactly a month before Green being hired. Last year, the wait between Alvin Gentry’s firing and Van Gundy’s hiring was 67 days.

Green would likely not join the team until the completion of the Finals.

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Report: Suns assistant Willie Green emerging as frontrunner for Pelicans head coach vacancy

The New Orleans Pelicans appear to be closing in on a new head coach in Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The New Orleans Pelicans appear to be closing in on a new head coach in Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green, according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday.

After Monty Williams was hired in 2019 by the Suns, Green left Golden State’s staff to join Williams’ and has spent the last two seasons with the franchise. Green spent three seasons on the Warriors’ staff, winning titles in 2017 and 2018 under Steve Kerr.

Prior to becoming a head coach, Williams played in the NBA for 13 years with five different franchises, including a one-year stint with the then New Orleans Hornets in 2010-11.

At 39 years old, Green would be significantly younger than each of the previous two Pelicans coaches. Stan Van Gundy was 61 years old when hired last fall while Alvin Gentry 64 years old when fired last year.

Green emerged as a finalist after Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn removed himself from coaching consideration. Alongside Green, Bucks assistant Charles Lee has been considered a frontrunner as well throughout the process.

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There are 8 total connections to the Sixers in the 2021 NBA finals

There will be plenty of former Philadelphia 76ers in the 2021 NBA finals.

The 2021 NBA finals get underway on Tuesday as the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks get set to do battle for the Larry O’Brien trophy. While the Philadelphia 76ers came up short of their goal of a title, there are plenty of connections to the Sixers in these finals.

For the Suns, they have seven former Sixers on their roster and coaching staff. They are led by coach Monty Williams who was an assistant with Philadelphia for one season and on his coaching staff is former Sixers guard Willie Green, former head coach Randy Ayers, and former Sixers assistants Kevin Young and Mark Bryant.

The Suns also have a former Process champion in the form of Dario Saric who played for Philadelphia for a little over two seasons with the team. He was a big part of their team making the playoffs in 2018 and he was involved in the Jimmy Butler trade early in the 2018-19 season.

Then, there’s Mikal Bridges who Philadelphia selected in the 2018 draft before flipping him to the Suns for Zhaire Smith. Bridges has turned into a nice 3-and-D option for Phoenix next to Chris Paul.

On the Bucks, there is the former Sixer All-Star Jrue Holiday. The veteran out of UCLA played his first four seasons in Philadelphia and he was named an All-Star in his final season in 2013. He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal that brought them Nerlens Noel.

The Suns and the Bucks begin the NBA finals on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT from Phoenix Arena.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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There are 8 total connections to the Sixers in the 2021 NBA finals

There will be plenty of former Philadelphia 76ers in the 2021 NBA finals.

The 2021 NBA finals get underway on Tuesday as the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks get set to do battle for the Larry O’Brien trophy. While the Philadelphia 76ers came up short of their goal of a title, there are plenty of connections to the Sixers in these finals.

For the Suns, they have seven former Sixers on their roster and coaching staff. They are led by coach Monty Williams who was an assistant with Philadelphia for one season and on his coaching staff is former Sixers guard Willie Green, former head coach Randy Ayers, and former Sixers assistants Kevin Young and Mark Bryant.

The Suns also have a former Process champion in the form of Dario Saric who played for Philadelphia for a little over two seasons with the team. He was a big part of their team making the playoffs in 2018 and he was involved in the Jimmy Butler trade early in the 2018-19 season.

Then, there’s Mikal Bridges who Philadelphia selected in the 2018 draft before flipping him to the Suns for Zhaire Smith. Bridges has turned into a nice 3-and-D option for Phoenix next to Chris Paul.

On the Bucks, there is the former Sixer All-Star Jrue Holiday. The veteran out of UCLA played his first four seasons in Philadelphia and he was named an All-Star in his final season in 2013. He was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in a deal that brought them Nerlens Noel.

The Suns and the Bucks begin the NBA finals on Tuesday at 9 p.m. EDT from Phoenix Arena.

This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Report: Charles Lee, Willie Green finalists for Pelicans head coach job

The Pelicans are reportedly circling in on Suns assistant Willie Green and Bucks assistant Charles Lee as finalists for head coach.

The New Orleans Pelicans are still circling in on a head coach but appear to be targeting a new finalist as they wrap up the interview process. After Jacque Vaughn pulled out of consideration for the Pelicans and other franchises last week, Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green has taken his spot as the new finalist for New Orleans, per Marc Stein.

The mainstay throughout the search is Milwaukee’s Charles Lee. Also according to Stein, Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson completed his interview for the position as well. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer first reported that Vinson would be interviewed for the position last week.

In a podcast appearance last week, Stan Van Gundy endorsed Vinson as the Pelicans’ next head coach. With interviews seemingly finished or wrapping up, it’s likely the Pelicans will announce a head coach in the coming days or week, particularly considering the NBA draft and free agency are fast approaching.

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