The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the more fascinating teams in the NBA. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball comprise arguably the best young core in the NBA but JJ Redick and Jrue Holiday represent two of the best veteran players in the league.
With that combination of players, the Pelicans made a run at the playoffs in their first year together as a group this season. After firing head coach Alvin Gentry, New Orleans presents itself as an intriguing job opening in the league.
Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin went a step further than calling it intriguing, referring to it as the “most attractive job in the NBA” during his press conference following Saturday’s firing of Gentry.
It’s obviously a bit of an exaggeration to call it the most attractive job in the league, but it’s certainly in the top half of the league at a minimum. Assuming the Pelicans lock up Ingram long-term this summer, New Orleans would have two young franchise talents to build around.
On top of having that talent, the team also has flexibility moving forward. The team’s salary cap is not over-strapped, the roster is full of tradeable young talent and the franchise has a wealth of draft capital moving forward. Only a handful of jobs in the league offer immediate talent and flexibility moving forward.
All of it makes the team’s situation particularly appealing and also makes the decision on the head coach an important one for the franchise this off-season.