The New Orleans Pelicans were likely the biggest disappointment inside the bubble for the NBA’s restart in Orlando. Coming in as one of the favorites to force a play-in game if not make the playoffs outright, New Orleans finished with just two wins in their eight games and were the first team, along with the Kings, eliminated from the playoffs in the Western Conference.
That underwhelming performance served as the straw that broke camel’s back when it came to Alvin Gentry’s job as head coach. On Saturday, the team officially announced they had parted ways with Gentry after five seasons.
Hours later, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations spoke to the media about Gentry’s firing and noted the decision did not come as a result of the team’s performance in the bubble.
“I don’t think it’s safe to say (making the playoffs) would have changed about this decision ultimately,” Griffin said. “I think if you look at my history as a general manager, the immediacy of what’s happening in a given situation in terms of results is less important than the process to us. This was a process that we looked at the totality of what almost felt like multiple seasons this year and felt like it was the right thing to do.
“It was absolutely not a function of solely the bubble results and, frankly, if we had been more successful in the bubble, this could have still been the decision we made.”
It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which the Pelicans did make the playoffs and Gentry was still fired given how young the team is and how many injuries New Orleans dealt with. The counterpoint, though, is that the team had many of the same frustrating habits, a word Griffin used repeatedly, in the bubble that plagued them during the regular season.
The what-if scenarios are largely meaningless to discuss as Gentry’s fate is already sealed and the Pelicans will move forward into a search for a new head coach.