As the Orlando Magic expectedly parts ways with Jamahl Mosley, the New Orleans Pelicans gain a golden opportunity to pursue a long-coveted candidate to lead their promising young roster.
The New Orleans Pelicans are in the midst of a coaching search and just got a new option that has long been rumored to be a potential target of theirs as the Orlando Magic fired Jamahl Mosley on Monday morning, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Mosley has been connected to the Pelicans for a long time, with the first report coming from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Now, if New Orleans really is interested, nothing is stopping them from going after their guy.
So far, the Pelicans have interviewed three external candidates for the job (not counting James Borregos' consideration): former New Orleans point guard Rajon Rondo, Brooklyn Nets assistant Steve Hetzel and Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham.
Even though Mosley just got fired, most fans would probably be more receptive to that hire than that of Ham or Hetzel. Rondo is the clear fan-favorite, which is not surprising given that he spent a year on the team already and many have been watching him for years.
Mosley has been coaching in the NBA since 2005 when he started out as a player development coach in 2005. He's had stops with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks as well.
Over his five seasons with the Magic, Mosley went 189-221. That is heavily weighted down by the first two years of rebuild, but he's gotten them to at least 40 wins for the last three. He did a great job of getting Orlando to the playoffs for three years in a row, after they got there just two of the nine years before he was hired.
It was a weirdly constructed roster that had been pushed to its limits, seemingly. Now they will try something else to get them over the hump, and Mosley likely won't be unemployed for long.