Jamahl Mosley sees a New Orleans Pelicans roster loaded with "big-time" versatility, led by a star in Zion Williamson who hasn't begun to realize his vast potential.
At his introductory news conference Tuesday as the Pelicans' new coach, Mosley said he wants to unlock Williamson's tantalizing talents.
"He hasn't even scratched the surface of things he can do," Mosley told reporters. "I really do believe that. And I think being able to open the floor up more for him, attacking, being able to play him in different positions, because he's an excellent basketball player with a high IQ for playmaking, for making guys around him better, knowing when to make plays and the right passes to make."
Mosley coached the Magic to three straight playoff appearances but did not get out of the first round, and was fired earlier this month after Orlando lost in the first round to Detroit in seven games. He takes over a New Orleans team that has won just 26 and 21 games, respectively, in each of the past two seasons.
Williamson averaged 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds and 60% shooting in 62 games last season. Keeping him healthy will be paramount, since the 2019 No. 1 pick has played 30 games or less in three of his seven seasons while also missing the entire 2021-22 season due to injuries.
"I think just opening the floor up a lot more for him to attack the basket, giving space, being able to live at the free throw line consistently," Mosley said of how he wants to capitalize on Williamson's skill set. "Some of the things he's done here have been obviously spectacular -- and so just making sure that we continue that along with us being healthy."
Mosley is also tasked with developing young talent like Trey Murphy III, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen. Add on vets like Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey and Herb Jones, and Mosley sees a lot of defensive versatility.
"We spent hours and hours and hours talking to Jamal," said Joe Dumars, the Pelicans' executive vice president of basketball operations. "Jamal is the person that aligned with us and our vision more than anybody else. ... I'd also like to thank [team owner Gayle] Benson for allowing me and the staff to have the resources to go out and hire someone like Jamal and his staff to bring them here to New Orleans. Oftentimes that question comes up when you're interviewing people. Are you going to have the resources to be great?
"And it's a good feeling when you can say 'yes' ... she's provided that. We feel like we've gotten a guy that's the right fit for us, think alike, we look at the game alike, our approach is going to be the same."
Mosley's calling card is his defense, and he said the Pelicans will be "unapologetically physical."
"I think it's on the cusp," Mosley said of the Pelicans. "But I think it goes back to not skipping steps. I think there's habits and daily routines that you have to hit to get to that level.
"No matter where we are on the scale of rebuild or on the cusp, we're going to work every single day as though we're developing to be the best players on and off the court that we can be."