The New Orleans Pelicans have fired head coach Willie Green after a 2-10 start to the NBA season.
Assistant James Borrego, a former Charlotte Hornets head coach, has been placed in interim charge.
Joe Dumars, the Pelicans’ vice-president of basketball operations, said: “It really wasn’t the won and lost record as the ultimate determining factor.
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“We have to establish who is going to be here in New Orleans going forward and I just did not see that happening.”
Dumars said he saw a side “losing the same way, over and over again”, adding: “We have to establish that we’re going to play hard every night.
“Before you can become anything in this league, you have to establish that first. That’s still what I’m looking for right now.”
Pelicans forward Zion Williamson has only played five games this season due to injury
The Pelicans made a 0-6 start to the season, including three 30-plus-point losses, and are on a four-game losing streak following Friday’s defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Their only wins came back-to-back, against the Hornets and the Dallas Mavericks, earlier this month.
Green – who has seen key player Zion Williamson play only five games so far this season due to hamstring and foot injuries – was in his fifth year as Pelicans coach and leaves with a 150-190 record, including playoff appearances in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
Borrego was head coach of the Hornets from 2018 to 2022, going 138-163, including 43-39 in his final season.
Dumars expects Borrego to stay in charge for the rest of this campaign but did not guarantee that.