Category: Pelicans

Stan Van Gundy says he, David Griffin had different priorities with Pelicans

Stan Van Gundy once again sounded off on the Pelicans front office, saying he and David Griffin had different priorities last season.

Stan Van Gundy’s post-firing media tour continued on Tuesday with a stop on Dan LeBatard’s show. After appearing on the “STUpodity” podcast last week to discuss his departure from the Pelicans as head coach, Van Gundy joined the LeBatard show to further talk about the subject.

For the second time in as many interviews, Van Gundy vocalized that his time with and departure from the Pelicans was not harmonious. After indicating his firing was not a mutual decision last week, Van Gundy elaborated on some of the differences between him and Pelicans Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin.

Any fired coach would have some bitterness or not entirely pleasant parting thoughts of his employer. However, Van Gundy is not alone in his complaints about the front office and the communication with Griffin.

After being dealt midseason to the Mavericks, J.J. Redick voiced his displeasure with how the front office treated him and the broken promises that came from Griffin.

Pair Van Gundy’s comments with Redick’s and the reported unhappiness of Zion Williamson, and the pressure on New Orleans’ front office is quickly rising.

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Report: Charles Lee, Willie Green finalists for Pelicans head coach job

The Pelicans are reportedly circling in on Suns assistant Willie Green and Bucks assistant Charles Lee as finalists for head coach.

The New Orleans Pelicans are still circling in on a head coach but appear to be targeting a new finalist as they wrap up the interview process. After Jacque Vaughn pulled out of consideration for the Pelicans and other franchises last week, Phoenix Suns assistant Willie Green has taken his spot as the new finalist for New Orleans, per Marc Stein.

The mainstay throughout the search is Milwaukee’s Charles Lee. Also according to Stein, Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson completed his interview for the position as well. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer first reported that Vinson would be interviewed for the position last week.

In a podcast appearance last week, Stan Van Gundy endorsed Vinson as the Pelicans’ next head coach. With interviews seemingly finished or wrapping up, it’s likely the Pelicans will announce a head coach in the coming days or week, particularly considering the NBA draft and free agency are fast approaching.

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Report: Pelicans interested in trading for Cavs big man Kevin Love

The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly one of a number of suitors for Kevin Love this offseason.

The New Orleans Pelicans figure to be one of the teams to be heavily involved in rumors this offseason. Needing to shake up an underperforming roster, the franchise has two large contracts they’ll likely need to get off of and a plethora of draft picks to sweeten any deal.

One of the prominent names that will also likely feature in the trade market will be Kevin Love. The Cavaliers forward is as disgruntled as they come in Cleveland – highlighted by his late-season “Shaqtin’ a Fool” moment – and could be on his way out of the franchise.

Hoops Wire reporter and longtime NBA journalist Sam Amico reported on Wednesday that the Pelicans were one of a number of teams interested in trading for Love.

Per sources, potential Love suitors include the Pelicans, 76ers, Heat, Clippers and Trail Blazers. It is believed Love is hoping to move on from the Cavs, but no trade requests have been made and sources say there’s no reason to believe a request is forthcoming.

Love is set to make $31.2 million next season and $28.9 million in 2022-23. Comparatively for New Orleans, Steven Adams is due $35 million over the next two seasons while Eric Bledsoe is guaranteed $22 million the next two seasons and potentially $37.4 million if his contract is guaranteed.

In theory, Love would provide the Pelicans with multiple things they lacked last season in terms of shooting and a floor-spacing big man to pair with Zion Williamson. However, it would present new problems as well as neither Love nor Williamson are great defenders and would struggle greatly to stay on the floor together on that end of the court.

As a result, it’s uncertain if the Pelicans would be willing to commit so much money to a player that would likely be relegated to the bench to close games. While it would provide small cap relief if the Pelicans dealt both Adams and Bledsoe in the trade, it likely wouldn’t be enough to make the trade worthwhile.

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Stan Van Gundy backs Fred Vinson as next Pelicans head coach

Stan Van Gundy revealed that he would back current Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson to be New Orleans’ next head coach.

While his input will carry no weight in the matter, Stan Van Gundy shared his thoughts on who the Pelicans should next hire as the team’s head coach. In his first interview since being fired as head coach in New Orleans, Van Gundy spoke to Stutgotz on the Le Batard & Friends – STUpodity podcast.

After discussing his departure from the franchise, which he called a surprise, while also defending Zion Williamson, Van Gundy discussed who he thought should take over as the next head coach.

“I think, quite honestly, if it were me,” Van Gundy said, “I’d stay in-house and go with, like, Fred Vinson because I worry about these young guys who are now on their third coach in three years. For guys like Ingram, who came from L.A., his fourth coach in four years. I think that’s hard for anybody if the system and everything, the terminology, is changing a lot but especially for young guys.

“If you stick with a guy like Fred Vinson, he’s been here even before Alvin Gentry. He was with me so he knows what the players went through then. He doesn’t have to re-do everything. He can stay with some stuff that is familiar to guys to ease the transition while at the same time putting his own imprint on the team.”

Vinson is not only one of the longest-tenured staff members with the Pelicans, he’s also one of the most respected amongst the players. His work with Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball’s jump shots led to both publicly acknowledging him. He also spent time working with Vinson last season, which Van Gundy discussed during the podcast as well.

While Vinson was reportedly going to receive an interview for the position, he was not mentioned as one of the finalists for the job in the latest reports.

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Stan Van Gundy surprised by firing, doesn’t blame Zion Williamson

In his first media appearance since his firing, Stan Van Gundy revealed his surprise to his departure from New Orleans while insisting Zion Williamson wasn’t to blame.

Stan Van Gundy’s departure from the Pelicans came as a surprise to everyone…himself included. In his first media appearance since his firing in mid-June, Van Gundy joined the ‎Le Batard & Friends – STUpodity podcast on Friday and discussed his firing for the first time.

“Yeah, I was pretty surprised because not only after one year but it was four weeks after the end of the season,” Van Gundy told host Stugotz. “Normally, if that stuff’s going to happen, it’s going to happen quickly at the end of the year and it didn’t. I was surprised on the day it happened. I was sort of taken aback.”

At the time of Van Gundy’s firing, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin called it a mutual decision. On Friday, Van Gundy pushed back on that notion.

“I would say it was joint in this sense – I don’t want to be somewhere where they don’t want me and they want me and so I wasn’t, at that point, going to fight to try to stay there,” Van Gundy said. “It wasn’t a mutual decision. It was funny when I left Detroit, my owner there who I really liked, Tom Gores, also said it was a mutual decision and I said ‘Yeah, Tom asked me to leave and I left. I guess that’s mutual.’ This is the same thing. 

“But it was clear, I think, in our postseason meetings here in New Orleans that it’s fair to say…we just weren’t on the same page at all about what coaching is all about and how coaches should be judged. We just look at coaching totally differently and that became clear probably a little bit during the season but certainly after the season. We’re just on two totally different pages. Who’s right, who’s wrong would be up to anybody’s individual perspective but we certainly did not see things the same way.”

Van Gundy went just 31-41 in his lone season with the Pelicans and never truly threatened for the playoffs, only briefly flirting with a play-in berth. Unlike many teams, injuries weren’t as big a factor in their disappointing season, though at year’s end the Pelicans were down a number of bodies including Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, among others.

Thus, then, is why it came as a shock, then, that Van Gundy was let go. Even as disappointing as the year was, the Pelicans made strides. In the second half of the season, the team ranked seventh in defensive rating, a drastic change from ranking 29th prior to the break.

A report from The Athletic suggested Williamson had a role in Van Gundy’s firing as part of a growing unhappiness with the franchise. Again, though, Van Gundy did his best to push back against that narrative as well on Friday.

“I don’t know anything about that,” he said. “In my mind, I liked coaching Zion. I had a good relationship with him. I had no problem. I think we elevated his platform that we gave him. We put him in different situations, had him handling the ball a lot, playing a lot of point guard. I thought we did some good things with him. If they were unhappy, I didn’t hear about it.

“I mean, Zion was unhappy with us not winning more games but Zion never expressed to me any of that. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t unhappy and I don’t know. It’s possible that they were unhappy with me and that was part of what led to the change. I hate it when it gets put on players that players are getting coaches fired and things like that. I think that makes players look bad and I don’t think it’s fair. Players certainly have the right to express their opinion to people and things like that but front offices and owners make decisions and they’re the ones that decide to fire people and that shouldn’t ever, ever, ever be placed on players.

“And I know this, regardless of what happened in that regard, Zion’s no coach killer,” Van Gundy added. “He’s a guy that’s going to help you win a lot of games. He plays the game the right way. I’m happy with what we did with Zion. I think we helped him. How anybody else felt about that is up to them.”

It’s an overall messy look for a Pelicans front office already facing lots of questions this offseason. The truth of how things played out sits somewhere between Griffin’s side of the story and Van Gundy’s, but it’s hard to envision many scenarios in which New Orleans doesn’t come out looking poor as a franchise as, at the very least, they spent a month searching for a coach last offseason only to fire him less than 12 months later.

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ESPN proposes three-team trade with Cavs, Pacers, Pelicans involving Brandon Ingram

In a deal that would drastically shake up the Pelicans, ESPN projected a three-team trade that would send Brandon Ingram to Cleveland and land New Orleans a package highlighted by Collin Sexton and Kevin Love.

The New Orleans Pelicans roster needs a shakeup. After back-to-back disappointing conclusions to regular seasons the last two years, the franchise was delivered a warning shot of sorts by the report of Zion Williamson’s unhappiness.

The likelihood of the pieces around Williamson changing this offseason, then, appears likely, though the degree to which the pieces are rotated remains to be seen. While shipping away ancillary pieces attached with draft picks to bring in impact players has been discussed, changing the entirety of the core around Williamson could be another move.

In a recent article, ESPN’s Tim Bontemps predicted a franchise-altering three-team trade. In a piece about six big projected trades this offseason, Bontemps included the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers in a deal. The Pelicans would land Myles Turner, Larry Nance Jr., Collin Sexton and Kevin Love while Indiana would net the No. 10 pick and Steven Adams and Cleveland would get Brandon Ingram and Eric Bledsoe.

Financially, the deal would work but would see the Pelicans add just over one million dollars in salary. However, it would drastically change how the team looks and would put Williamson front and center.  Here’s what Bontemps noted about the Cleveland portion of the deal:

“The cost of the 10th pick would be painful — but would be mitigated, in part, by the other part of this deal. The Pelicans would get Nance, a versatile forward who would allow them to either play big or small in the frontcourt, depending on if he’s at small or power forward; Sexton, whom they could plug into the sixth man role he seems perfectly suited for; and Love, who would give them another stretch option, and who could give New Orleans another offensive option off the bench. Moving on from Bledsoe is also a win for the Pelicans, who would still have some money to spend to further improve the team.”

Turner, Love and Nance are intriguing pieces in a vacuum to put next to Williamson for different reasons, but acquiring all three would be redundant. Only one of those players could play next to Williamson, crowding the front court.

While Ingram and Williamson haven’t clicked yet in New Orleans, Ingram is still a 23-year-old former All-Star with multiple years under contract still. While a package of Sexton, Love and Nance is nice, it creates new issues for the Pelicans.

In reality, there’s little chance the Pelicans trade Ingram, and if they do, it would almost certainly be to land a bona fide superstar such as Damian Lillard, not for multiple pieces.

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Bleacher Report proposes Eric Bledsoe-Collin Sexton trade for New Orleans Pelicans

In a proposed trade by Bleacher Report, the Pelicans would part with Eric Bledsoe and this year’s No. 10 pick for Cavs guard Collin Sexton.

The New Orleans Pelicans offseason is a vital one for multiple reasons. On top of being in a salary cap crunch that could see them lose one or both of their restricted free agent guards in Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, the team also is on a balancing act of dealing with a potentially upset Zion Williamson.

The result could mean the Pelicans may begin using some of the assets acquired through trades of Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday to begin shaping a more competitive roster. Bleacher Report suggested one trade the team could make that would accomplish both sending away a player that struggled last season as well as bringing in a talented one in his place.

The trade suggested by Greg Swartz would see the Pelicans trade Eric Bledsoe, the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and the Lakers’ 2022 first round draft pick to Cleveland for Collin Sexton and Taurean Prince.

In theory, there are a couple of reasons why this deal could work. First, reports surfaced recently that the Pelicans were open to trading the No. 10 pick in search of a win-now upgrades. Bledsoe’s season in New Orleans went about as poorly as possible as it became clear he was not a good fit next to Williamson and Brandon Ingram.

For Cleveland, Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated reported that the Cavs had begun exploring trade options for the 22-year-old guard. Entering the final year of his rookie deal before heading into restricted free agency, Sexton’s future is in question as well after Cleveland landed the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NBA draft.

Sexton would provide the Pelicans a lead ballhandler, which could potentially allow them to part ways with Lonzo Ball this summer as well. At 37.1% last season, Sexton was a better 3-point shooter than Bledsoe but still only right at league average. However, his ability to create offense would be a huge improvement in the backcourt for New Orleans.

While it may not be exactly this deal, the Pelicans could look to package the 10th pick with Bledsoe for an improvement and a salary dump both.

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Woj: Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn opts to stay in Brooklyn

The Pelicans must now cross a coaching candidate off their list as Jacque Vaughn opts to return to Brooklyn.

It may be back to the drawing board for David Griffin, Trajan Langdon, and company.

Reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski , Brooklyn Nets assistant Jacque Vaughn has decided to withdraw his name from all head coaching vacancies to return to Brooklyn next season.

Per Woj, Vaughn cited family reasons and the desire to spend time with his two teenage sons.

Just days ago, Vaughn was among the top candidates for the Pelicans head coaching job along with Bucks assistant Charles Lee. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst cited Vaughn’s close relationship with Pelicans GM Trajan Langdon as a strong case for Vaughn.

For now, it looks like it may be Charles Lee’s job to lose unless the Pelicans opt to continue the interview process.

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Report: Pelicans open to trading No. 10 pick in 2021 NBA draft

In looking to add more win-now pieces, the New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly open to trading the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

The reported unhappiness of Zion Williamson will likely shape, at least in some capacity, how the New Orleans Pelicans operate this offseason. So, while the team has a treasure trove of draft picks in the coming years, including five picks in this year’s draft highlighted by the No. 10 pick, adding that many rookies to a team looking to win in the short-term is not a compatible strategy.

With that in mind, it’s not too surprising that ESPN’s Jonathan Givony reported the Pelicans are more than open to dealing the No. 10 pick in the upcoming draft in his latest mock draft released on Tuesday.

On paper, the Pelicans need to continue to add shooting to maximize the playmaking and slashing ability of Zion Williamson. In reality, the last thing the team needs is another rookie, and the No. 10 pick is believed to be one of the most available of any in the lottery, simply due to the team’s expedited timeline. (Josh) Giddey has a number of fans around the NBA, is getting looks much higher than this slot and could be a definite target for a team looking to move up in the draft.

This raises a lot of interesting possibilities for New Orleans. The obvious first guess is to try to predict what players could be had with the No. 10 pick. In a draft that has a clear top five players then a drop to a larger next tier of players, the 10th pick has value but not demonstrably greater value than the picks around it.

Another potential outcome is that the 10th pick could be used to offload a contract like Eric Bledsoe’s. In a straight salary dump, the 10th pick would be an overpay, but if the Pelicans bringing back another asset whether in a pick or a player in the trade, it could make sense.

By unloading Bledsoe’s contract, the Pelicans could then potentially retain either or both of Lonzo Ball and Josh Hart, each of whom had a far greater impact than Bledsoe. It all opens a set of interesting scenarios that could play out over the next month.

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Report: Fred Vinson to be interviewed for New Orleans Pelicans head coaching position

New Orleans Pelicans assistant coach Fred Vinson will reportedly receive an interview for the team’s head coaching position.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ coaching search this offseason looks to be a far less extensive one than last offseason. While the team spent months searching before landing on Stan Van Gundy last fall, this offseason, the search appears likely to only last a few weeks, ending with an interview of current Pelicans assistant Fred Vinson.

Per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report:

A former Magic play-caller, Jacque Vaughn, has seemingly emerged as the most likely candidate in New Orleans’ head coaching search, sources told B/R. The Pelicans’ interview process will likely stretch into later this week, culminating with New Orleans assistant Fred Vinson, but Vaughn’s name, even more so than Bucks assistant Charles Lee, is continually mentioned as the Pelicans’ leader.

A couple of things of note from that report. First, it corroborates reports from ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and from NOLA.com’s Christian Clark that Vaughn is at least one of the leading candidates for the position. Second, it creates the first timeline for the Pelicans’ search that has been reported.

Most interestingly, though, is the mention of Vinson as a candidate. One of the team’s most valuable assistant, interviewing Vinson could be a move on two fronts: vetting a potential candidate while also showing a level of respect that could help keep him around should the team hire a different candidate.

Vinson has close relationships with Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram after helping both remake their jumpers and also worked with Zion Williamson on his free throw shooting. He’s been a valuable commodity to a rebuilding franchise and his hard work has been rewarded with a coaching interview.

However, by nearly all accounts, it appears to be Vaughn’s job to lose, which will again set up another interesting situation to see if Vinson stays with yet another new staff.

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