NEW ORLEANS, La. — It didn’t take Jamahl Mosley long to find a new coaching job after he was fired by the Orlando Magic.
The New Orleans Pelicans have hired him as their next coach, ending the candidacy of interim coach James Borrego to retain his job on a permanent basis, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Monday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the hiring hasn’t been officially announced.
Mosley heads to New Orleans after spending the past five seasons with Orlando, which dismissed him on May 4 after the Magic’s seven-game, first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Pistons, as well as a 24-point lead in Game 6 before losing that game that would have clinched the series for them.
Mosley went 189-221 with Orlando. His teams qualified for the NBA playoffs in each of the past three seasons and won the Southeast Division twice but were eliminated in the first round each time.
There has been no news so far on the Magic’s progress looking for Mosley’s replacement in Orlando.
Borrego was the Pelicans’ interim coach for 70 games, taking over a 2-10 team after the firing of Willie Green. He also was a former interim coach for the Magic, taking over when Jacque Vaughn was fired in February 2015.
In what was his second interim job and third chance overall to lead a staff, Borrego went 24-46 with the Pelicans, who missed the postseason for a second straight season.
Borrego also coached the Charlotte Hornets from 2018 to 2022. His teams earned Eastern Conference play-in spots in 2021 and 2022 but did not advance to the NBA playoffs in either of those seasons.
When the 2025-26 regular season ended, Borrego said he wanted to keep the Pelicans’ job on a permanent basis and said he was confident that with a full offseason in charge, he could put a more consistent winner on the court.
Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars said Borrego was indeed a candidate, but that he would also look “outside the building” for his next coach.
Mosley becomes the Pelicans’ third coach since Dumars took over his position before last season.
Dumars’ decision to hire Mosley gives him an experienced hand to coach a team that took two players in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft — guard Jeremiah Fears and forward Derik Queen — to augment a lineup led by forward Zion Williamson, wing Trey Murphy and guard Dejounte Murray.
Mosley got the nod over several other candidates considered by Dumars, including former player Rajon Rondo, Brooklyn Nets assistant Steve Hetzel and former Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham, who is now a top assistant with Milwaukee. San Antonio Spurs assistant Sean Sweeney also was reportedly under consideration.
Before Mosley took his only previous head coaching position with Orlando, he spent seven seasons as one of then-Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle’s top assistants, a stint that overlapped with the development of Luka Doncic, who began his NBA career in Dallas before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Before working in Dallas, Mosley was with the Cleveland Cavaliers for four seasons.
While Mosley, a former standout college player at Colorado, did not play in the NBA, he did play professionally in Australia, Europe and Asia before starting his NBA career in player development and scouting with the Denver Nuggets in 2005.