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Alvin Gentry was fired as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday after failing to make the playoffs following a 30-42 record this season.
Gentry, who had one season remaining on his contract, guided the Pelicans to a 175-225 record in five seasons. The Pelicans went 2-6 during the season restart at the Walt Disney World Resort and were essentially out of contention after their fourth game.
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said the search to replace Gentry will not be quick and declined to offer potential candidate names. However, Tyronn Lue and Jason Kidd are potential options, according to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports.
We have a job that we believe is going to be the most attractive in the NBA, quite frankly. For the most part, all of the candidates that you may want to talk to are still with teams in many circumstances. The virus itself is going to dictate some of our timeline. This isn’t going to be done solely via Zoom so depending upon when we are going to be able to sit down and really get to know one another we’ll have more updates.
Prior to the Gentry dismissal, the Chicago Bulls on Friday fired Jim Boylen while the Brooklyn Nets are also in the market for a coach. Additional teams could look to make changes depending on how the playoffs pan out, including the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets.
Headlined by Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have a talented roster full of young players and proven veterans. The team dealt with injuries throughout the year and started off very slowly but showed flashes at times of their potential.
The group didn’t play particularly well during the season restart and Williamson didn’t look completely healthy but Griffin believes the roster and future draft assets make the job the best on the market.
I think if you look at the roster and the talent we have and the potential talent that we could add utilizing the draft picks that we have, this is an opportunity that I think most people anecdotally would tell you is in a good position to succeed for any coach that comes in.
Griffin said the organization will look at candidates that share their long-term plan for the team while continuing to develop the players on the roster. The Pelicans will be diligent in their search but the right candidate could be what elevates the team to the next level.
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