The New Orleans Pelicans hired WNBA legend and Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon as a two-way player development coach, the team announced Thursday.
Weatherspoon, 53, most recently served as director of player and franchise development for the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Her main focus at New Orleans will be to work with players on two-way contracts such as Josh Gray and Zylan Cheatham. Such contracts allow teams to shuttle the players between the NBA roster and the club’s G League affiliate.
AJ Diggs was also hired in a similar role, according to the Pelicans. Weatherspoon and Diggs will also work closely with the club’s G League team, the Erie BayHawks.
“I am thrilled to welcome and AJ and Teresa to our coaching staff here in New Orleans,” Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said in a statement. “As we continue to put an increased emphasis on player development, AJ and Teresa will play an integral role with our younger players and will be a huge asset to our players and staff both here in New Orleans and Erie.”
Also this offseason, the Pelicans hired former WNBA standout Swin Cash as vice president of basketball operations and team development.
Weatherspoon, who was a five-time All-Star with the Liberty and played eight seasons for the Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks, was also head coach at Louisiana Tech. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in September.
She won a national championship at Louisiana Tech in 1988 and was also a member of the United States’ gold-medal team at the Olympics that same year.
Diggs has been on three G League coaching staffs — the Maine Red Claws, Austin Spurs and Raptors 905.