The New Orleans Pelicans ended the 2025-26 season in disappointing fashion, finishing 11th in the West and missing out on the play-in tournament by a significant margin. Though a long offseason with several changes awaits the team, the franchise has already started making moves.
In a recent report by The Times-Picayune’s Rod Walker, the Pelicans have reportedly been conducting interviews for the vacant head coaching role. Among these, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham and two-time NBA champion Rajon Rondo, along with Brooklyn Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel, have been identified as viable candidates.
The link between the Lakers and the Pelicans has been an interesting one, especially since the Anthony Davis trade. However, the mention of two individuals with connections to the Purple and Gold among the talks for the Pelicans’ head coaching role is quite intriguing.
Darvin Ham spent a large portion of his coaching career working as an assistant coach. The only time Ham actually operated as a head coach was during his two-year tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ham’s brief stint as the Lakers’ head coach from 2022 to 2024 was quite interesting. While posting a 90-47 record in the regular season, the Purple and Gold made the postseason both times. The team’s playoff run in the 2022-23 season, Ham’s first, was particularly noteworthy, as the Lakers reached the Western Conference Finals before falling to the eventual NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets.
After the Lakers were beaten in the first round in the 2023-24 season, Darvin Ham was promptly fired, harming his reputation, before returning to the Milwaukee Bucks as an assistant coach. Since then, he has been working alongside Doc Rivers, though the Bucks’ performance hasn’t been very noteworthy.
Apart from Darvin Ham, former Lakers guard Rajon Rondo also emerges as an intriguing pick for the Pelicans. Rondo doesn’t have experience as a head coach in the NBA. Still, many have attested to the two-time champion’s elite basketball IQ and veteran experience.
During his playing career, Rondo was considered an elite playmaker and defender. Aside from his two rings with the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, Rondo also spent the 2017-18 season playing for the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 8.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game that year.
The 2017-18 season was notably one of two times in the franchise’s history that the team made it past the first round of the playoffs. Given the impact he had during his one-year stint with the Pelicans, there is reason to believe he could help develop the culture moving forward.
Along with the two former Lakers’ members, Nets assistant coach Steve Hetzel also deserves some attention as a potential candidate for the job. He began his career as an assistant video coordinator under Gregg Popovich with the San Antonio Spurs and also worked as a player development coach with the Detroit Pistons during the 2002-03 season.
After parting with Willie Green only 12 games into the 2025-26 season, the Pelicans named James Borrego as the team’s head coach. It is worth noting that Borrego is also a candidate for the role, alongside Sean Sweeney, Chris Jent, and former Lakers champion Jared Dudley. Unfortunately, Borrego’s 24-46 record last season isn’t very inspiring.
New Orleans is a franchise that will undergo a rebuild this offseason. With significant changes on the horizon, the Pelicans would be advised to embrace a long-term approach and focus on establishing a culture that nurtures the talented young players on their roster.
