New Orleans Pelicans Hire Assistant Coach with Multiple Years of Experience

The New Orleans Pelicans have added more experience to their coaching staff around head coach Willie Green after this most recent hire.

Apr 24, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green yells to his team on a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half of game two of the first round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

After the NBA Finals finished, the New Orleans Pelicans wasted no time in upgrading their roster by making a trade for Dejounte Murray.

The guard was once considered a rising star during his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, but after things went sour with the Atlanta Hawks, those sentiments have cooled a bit.

Still, Murray has immense talent with career averages of 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Even with all the negativity surrounding his two years with the Hawks, he did take the next step and has averaged over 20 points a contest during that time.

The Pelicans are hoping he brings a different element to their team, turning over the primary ball handling responsibilities to the 27-year-old which will allow CJ McCollum to go back to his normal role of working off the ball.

Ideally, this move helps get New Orleans to that next level.

Since Willie Green took over as head coach ahead of the 2021-22 season, they've made the playoffs two times but have lost in the first round during those years.

While the offseason is normally used to upgrade the roster, the Pelicans have decided to bring in some more experience to their coaching staff.

According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, they hired Dan Geriot to be an assistant coach. He spent the last nine years as part of the Cleveland Cavaliers organization, starting out as a video coordinator before being promoted to an assistant coach in 2019-20. He was then made the head coach of the Cavaliers' G League team, the Canton Charge at that time, before returning to Cleveland's bench in 2022-23.

Geriot and current New Orleans executive vice president of basketball operations, David Griffin, are familiar with each other from Griffin's time with the Cavaliers.

When J.B. Bickerstaff was fired after the season, there was some thought Geriot might not be a holdover under new head coach Kenny Atkinson.

Now, it's official, as Geriot will join the staff under Green and try to help the Pelicans take the next step in their progression.