Stan Van Gundy’s appointment as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday came largely as a surprise considering he was a name never mentioned in the immediate aftermath of Alvin Gentry’s firing. Bleacher Report’s Sean Highkin spoke with Van Gundy on Wednesday afternoon about taking the position and that, in fact, he was not a person initially involved in the search process.
Van Gundy revealed that Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin only reached out to him after Van Gundy returned home from the bubble following the second round of the playoffs. The two sides met three times in the coming weeks before Van Gundy accepted the job.
Not one to openly campaign or search out jobs in the league, Van Gundy felt that New Orleans presented a unique opportunity to succeed.
“I always knew that I had a desire to coach [again] if the situation was right. I wasn’t trying to get my name in on every job. I wasn’t calling my agent about every job. This one was one that I thought was a good fit on both sides, so I was very interested in it. I loved broadcasting. I was having a great time with it. A lot of people were helping me learn and try to get better, and I would have been fine and very, very happy if I had done that for the rest of my working life. But I guess deep down, I’m always a coach. When the right situation came, I was happy to be involved in it.”
With the Pelicans, Van Gundy steps into a situation where he’ll lead a team full of young players. Jrue Holiday and JJ Redick are the lone veterans currently on the roster for next season as the team will certainly have internal debates of which direction to head as a franchise moving forward.
Those young players available have Van Gundy both excited about the future and aware of the challenges that will come.
“They’ve got nine guys that are under the age of 25. So a lot of young talent, and a lot of veteran guys who are still very productive and high-character guys. Jrue Holiday, JJ Redick, Derrick Favors, E’Twaun Moore. They have a good balance, but a lot of young talent that has a chance to grow. It’s an exciting team to think about. Obviously a long way to go. They ended up 13th in the West, so it’s not like you were right there knocking on the door, but the talent is there.”
Van Gundy’s pace-and-space style in Orlando and focus on defense both should serve as boosters for a team that struggled on both ends of the court for long stretches of last season. The excitement Van Gundy is bringing to the franchise, though, should lead to plenty of optimism.