Jamahl Mosley said he brought former staffers to New Orleans in part because they are comfortable criticizing him.
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Jamahl Mosley sat comfortably at the end of a conference table at New Orleans Pelicans headquarters Tuesday and suggested that his recent downfall in Orlando stemmed in no small part from how he handled success.
Mosley proved in five years with the Magic that he can take a collection of young players in a relatively small market and mold them into a playoff team. As New Orleans’ new coach, he’ll be expected to do that — and more.
“As the team rises and expectations rise, that communication level needs to rise with it. And that accountability has to rise,” the 47-year-old Mosley said shortly after his introduction at team headquarters. “When you grow, you have to be willing to have the harder conversations as you get better and better and be OK with it.”
While Orlando made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, it never won a series. This season, the Magic not only lost a 3-1, first-round playoff series lead to Detroit, but they could not hold a 24-point, second-half lead at home in Game 6.
Joe Dumars, now entering his second year as Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, said he needed to discuss that collapse with Mosley.