After a tumultuous run in the NBA’s bubble, the New Orleans Pelicans may be exploring the idea moving on from head coach Alvin Gentry. With just one year left on his current contract, the Pelicans front office has reportedly begun looking at candidates to step into the head coaching role.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin could lean on former relationships to sign new head coaches.
Executive VP David Griffin and Pelicans ownership have a decision to make with a year left on Gentry’s contract, sources said. Consider two relationships Griffin has back to his front-office days in Cleveland and Phoenix, respectively, if there’s a change in New Orleans: LA Clippers assistant Ty Lue and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd, sources said.
Griffin’s front office career started in Phoenix in the 1990s spanning into the early 2000s. During his time with the team, Jason Kidd spent over four seasons with the Suns from 1997 until 2001.
His connection with Ty Lue is more recent and more well-known. Lue served as the head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers during Griffin’s time as vice president of basketball operations. The two won an NBA title together along with LeBron James in 2016.
Currently, Kidd is an assistant for the Los Angeles Lakers while Lue serves as an assistant on the Clippers coaching staff.
Gentry has served as head coach with the Pelicans since the 2015-16 season. In five seasons, Gentry has made the playoffs just once and currently has a 175-222 record. Inside the bubble, though, the Pelicans have struggled, going just 2-3 despite having the easiest schedule entering the restart.
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