New Orleans Pelicans Coach Given Middling Chance to Win Coveted Award

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green has been given a middling chance to win his first Coach of the Year award.

Apr 29, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green looks on against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of game four of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA season is less than three months away as the NBA Summer League just ended last week. Various sportsbooks have revealed many opening odds for the upcoming year, one of which is the Coach of the Year market.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, New Orleans Pelicans head coach Wille Green opens up with +2500 odds to capture his first coaching award.

Green enters his fourth season in charge of the Pelicans with tremendous expectations to get this team to the next level. Since being hired in 2021, he has orchestrated three straight seasons where New Orleans has won more games than the previous year. Last season the Pelicans won 49 games, the second-most in franchise history, but were swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Green's stoic demeanor doesn't make waves with the media, but the former 12-year NBA player does possess an internal fiery competitive spirit. The Detroit native spent four years as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors, winning two championships as a member of Steve Kerr's staff.

There have been ups and downs during his tenure in New Orleans, especially considering the injuries some of his star players like Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram have endured.

Williamson missed the entire season dealing with a foot injury during Green's first year with the Pelicans. The next year, he played in just 29 after injuring his hamstring in early January that season. Ingram missed a combined 64 games over that same two-year span.

Still, Green navigated his team to a playoff appearance in his first season and a winning record the next year.

This past campaign, after winning 49 games and having Zion Williamson play the most games in a season of his career (70), New Orleans added to their talent pool with the acquisition of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray this summer.

The addition of Murray should bolster an offense that struggled mightily in clutch situations last year. Green's calling card is on the defensive end, with his teams finishing Top 6 in overall defense two seasons in a row.

If the Pelicans remain healthy and play to their capability, many see this team as a dark horse contender in the brutal Western Conference.

The collective talents of Williamson, Ingram, Murray, CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy III, and Herb Jones rival some of the top rosters in the league based on a pure talent perspective. They need that talent to translate to wins on a nightly basis to put themselves in a position to compete in the playoffs.

If that's the case, it would make the Coach of the Year voters look hard at the job Green did. The last three winners have been first-time winners, giving him a good chance to take home the coveted award.