The New Orleans Pelicans are hiring Jamahl Mosley as their new head coach on a five-year contract, turning to the former Orlando Magic coach after a search that stretched through the draft combine in Chicago. Mosley reached an agreement with New Orleans after five seasons in Orlando and is expected to take over a team that finished 26-56.
For the Pelicans, the move gives Joe Dumars a coach with recent playoff experience and a clear defensive calling card. Mosley led Orlando to three consecutive playoff berths, was second in coach of the year voting in 2023-24 and guided the Magic to 189 regular-season wins, the third-most in franchise history.
That run mattered in Orlando because it ended a long stretch of near misses. The Magic made the playoffs for three straight years under Mosley for the first time since 2009-12, and the club ranked No. 3 overall in defense in 2023-24, No. 2 overall in 2024-25 and 11th this season. He took over in 2021 after a 21-win season and helped turn the franchise into a regular postseason team.
New Orleans kept in contact with Mosley and his agent, Bret Just of WME Basketball, after Orlando fired him on May 4. The sides then met in person last week at the NBA draft combine in Chicago, where Pelicans officials continued a search that also included conversations with Darvin Ham, Rajon Rondo, Steve Hetzel and James Borrego.
The fit also reflects the reality of the Pelicans' roster and draft position. New Orleans owns only the No. 58 overall pick in June's draft after trading away its first-round pick in a draft-day deal a year ago, even as the club moved up to select Derik Queen in that swap. The current roster already includes Queen, Jeremiah Fears, Yves Missi, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray and Herb Jones.
Mosley arrives with a résumé built on stability and defense, and New Orleans is betting that those traits can help steady a team that has yet to find its footing. After the way his Orlando tenure ended, with a Game 7 loss to the Detroit Pistons after the Magic had led the series 3-1, both sides move on with a clean break and a high-stakes next chapter.
