The New Orleans Pelicans are prepared to name Ryan Pannone as the head coach of their new G League team, the Erie BayHawks, multiple league sources tell 2 Ways & 10 Days.

Pannone most recently served as an assistant coach for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. Previous coaching stints include the Foshan Long Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association (2012), and the German ProA league for WhiteWings Hanau.

Pannone is familiar with the G League and the BayHawks, previously serving as an assistant coach under Bill Peterson during the 2014–15 season.

The BayHawks are entering the 2019–20 season as an expansion franchise after the previous team was purchased by the Atlanta Hawks in 2017 and will play out of College Park, GA next season. It will be the second time in three years the BayHawks will be an expansion franchise.

The 2019–20 NBA G League season will tip-off with a record 28 teams.