Amidst New Orleans Pelicans coaching changes, four key assistants are reportedly being brought back.
The New Orleans Pelicans have begun an infamous sweep throughout the team offices with a lot of changes going on behind the scenes. Everyone from coaching staffs to analytics has been reworked, but not every employee is being let go.
Justin Napoli of Pro Pels Talk reported four assistant coaches who were sticking around this offseason. Here are those four and a little about them:
Greg Monroe
Monroe is one assistant who doesn't need an introduction for most basketball fans. He was a college basketball star at Georgetown and a top-10 pick in the 2010 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. His NBA career was not as exciting, but he did have a decade in the league and spent a little time overseas.
He brings a valuable veteran presence as someone who has seen a lot of highs and lows throughout basketball. He is also a Louisiana native, from Baton Rouge, so this is a bit of a return home for him. It's good to see him stick around.
Jodie Meeks
Meeks is a former second-round pick who spent a a decade in the league, mostly as a back-up three-point shooting guard. He knows what it takes to survive in the NBA, without needing to be the star. He won an NBA championship for a stint with the Toronto Raptors in 2019, being a bench player/veteran for the most part.
It made sense given his career that he was on to coaching pretty quickly, joining the Birmingham Squadron as an assistant in 2022. In 2024, he was promoted to the NBA coaching staff as an assistant.
Brandon Demas
Demas sticking around is no shock at all. "BGreat" is a very respected member of that staff and around New Orleans. He has been with organization for nearly 14 years where he began as a "team attendant." He is now a player development coach and has been for a while. The Pelicans have had plenty of talent develop over the years, so it makes sense to keep some of that staff around.
Mike Hopkins
Hopkins is the head of player development, a job he took over in 2025. He had just this lone crazy season under his belt, so it appears that Dumars and co. are going to be fair and give him some extra time to prove himself.
Before coming to New Orleans, Hopkins spent 1995 to 2017 as an assistant for the Syracuse Orange. He was the head coach of the Washington Huskies from 2017 to 2024. He has now dipped back into the assistant world, but in the NBA level.