The New Orleans Pelicans are losing another member of their staff to the Detroit Pistons.Fred Vinson, a long-time assistant coach in New Orleans, is leaving to go work for his old boss, Monty Williams, in Detroit.
In May, the Pistons hired Trajan Langdon, who was second-in-command in the Pelicans’ front office for five years, as their lead basketball executive. Langdon took with him salary cap and negotiations expert Michael Blackstone, and he has now poached Vinson.
Vinson is highly esteemed as one of the NBA’s top shooting coaches. Following the significant Anthony Davis trade in 2019, which brought Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball to New Orleans, Vinson closely collaborated with both players. Ingram’s three-point shooting dramatically improved during his first season with the Pelicans, nearly matching the total number of three-pointers he made in his previous three seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. This improvement played a pivotal role in his recognition as the Most Improved Player in 2020.
During the past three seasons, Vinson dedicated considerable effort to refining Herb Jones’s jump shot. Jones, who shot 28.8% from beyond the arc during his college career at Alabama, has notably boosted his three-point shooting in the NBA, now hitting 37.3% of his attempts.
Vinson has spent the past 13 seasons in New Orleans. Vinson was hired in 2010-11 and remained with the organization after Williams was fired as head coach in 2015.
“Squaring his base up was the biggest thing,” Vinson told The Times-Picayune in 2022. “When we first started working, he would turn his body and bring the ball up on the inside of his face.”
The Pelicans are dealing with significant turnover within their front office and on their coaching staff. They are expected to promote Bryson Graham to general manager but need to hire below him. Assistant coaches Ryan Frazier and Vinson have left for other teams, and it’s possible associate head coach James Borrego does too. Borrego is a finalist for the Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers head coaching jobs.
