Former NBA Sharpshooter Joining New Orleans Pelicans Coaching Staff, Per Report

The Pelicans look to replace legendary shooting coach Fred Vinson with a former NBA three-point specialist.

Feb 1, 2018; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Jodie Meeks (20) reacts after making a three point basket against the Toronto Raptors in the third quarter at Capital One Arena. The Wizards won 122-119. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans are adding to their coaching staff for the 2024-2025 season. Reports surfaced on Friday that former NBA player Jodie Meeks will sit on Willie Green's bench after being a member of the team's G League Birmingham Squadron for the past two seasons. Meeks played for seven franchises throughout ten years in the NBA, specializing in his three-point shooting.

The former Kentucky Wildcat guard averaged 37% shooting from downtown over his career and won an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors. Meeks played in 539 regular season games throughout his career.

Bringing Meeks in makes sense for the Pelicans, who lost shooting guru Fred Vinson this summer after he took an assistant coaching job with the Detroit Pistons. Vinson followed former Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon to the 'Motor City' when he accepted the Pistons President of Basketball Operations position.

Vinson was instrumental in developing the shooting prowess of the players throughout his 15 years in New Orleans. He improved the shot percentages of Lonzo Ball, Herb Jones, and Naji Marshall. Meeks will be brought in, presumably to have a similar impact on the Pelicans.

New Orleans finished No. 7 in three-point shooting percentage last season (37.6%), but the Pelicans were not a high-volume three-point shooting team. They ranked 24th out of 30 NBA teams for attempted three-pointers per game. That number figures to increase this season with an offensive philosophy change.

The Pelicans traded away Jonas Valanciunas, Larry Nance, Jr., Cody Zeller, and E.J. Liddell this summer. Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said that the team will play smaller and faster this summer. This ideology starkly contrasts Pelicans' teams of the past, which always had a bonafide center in the paint.

Now, New Orleans will look to generate more three-point attempts this year, which head coach Willie Green has wanted to implement for some time. Green envisioned the team attempting at least 40 3-pointers per contest instead of the 32 from last year. With the acquisition of Dejounte Murray from the Hawks, the team has plenty of three-point shooters on the roster.

Murray made a career-high 205 three-pointers last season. Pelicans guard CJ McCollum set a franchise record for three-pointers made in a season with 239. Trey Murphy III made 202 shots from beyond the arc the previous season, becoming just the fourth Pelicans player to make at least 200 threes in a year.

Coach Meeks will have all these shooters to train and further develop. The team starts training camp in less than two weeks, with the regular season beginning on October 23rd against the Chicago Bulls.