The New Orleans Pelicans hired a first-time head coach in Willie Green, but his staff will include one of the longest-tenured NBA names in the game.
Mike D'Antoni was hired by the Pelicans to be a coaching consultant on Green's staff, according to a report from ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Last season D'Antoni served as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets, and he's been a head coach for five different teams throughout his three-decade coaching career. Like Green, he has ties to the Phoenix Suns and Chris Paul, whom D'Antoni coached with the Houston Rockets.
Pelicans Executive Vice President David Griffin crossed paths with D'Antoni previously during their mutual time with the Suns. Griffin began front office career with the Suns and spent 17 years within the organization, crossing over D'Antoni's head coaching tenure from 2003-'08. D'Antoni, 70, led those Suns to the Western Conference Finals three times with their breakneck offense, but never broke through to the NBA Finals.
The hire comes after a pair of trades reformed the Pelicans roster with the additions of center Jonas Valanciunas and point guard Devonte Graham, along with the draft picks of Virginia wing Trey Murphy III and Alabama's Herbert Jones. The moves sent center Steven Adams and guard Eric Bledsoe to Memphis, and Lonzo Ball went to the Bulls in a sign-and-trade, while the Pelicans also forked over a pair of lottery-protected first-round picks.