Tag: Fred Vinson

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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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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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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Lonzo Ball excited to have assistant coach Fred Vinson returning to New Orleans

After playing a big part in their breakout seasons in 2019-20, assistant coach Fred Vinson’s return has Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball excited.

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Lonzo Ball’s turnaround as a shooter last season was a huge catalyst for his breakout season overall. After shooting just 31.5% from three in his two seasons in Los Angeles, Ball’s percentage jumped to 37.5% in New Orleans, including a stretch of 45 games in the middle of the season where he shot 39.2%.

Ball has credited assistant coach Fred Vinson for the changes made to his jumper. Vinson developed a bond with not only Ball but Brandon Ingram as well as the trio had a ritual on the road last season that included workouts the night before games.

Vinson’s future with the franchise was up in the air this off-season after the firing of head coach Alvin Gentry. However, Vinson was one of the few coaches from Gentry’s staff retained by new coach Stan Van Gundy.

Naturally, when Ball spoke to the media last week about Vinson, happiness was his reaction to Vinson returning.

“I was very excited,” he said. “I know (Ingram) was, too, seeing that Fred was back on the staff. We were with him all year, not only me but (Ingram) as well. He’s definitely helped us both a lot so just to have him back is definitely a big confidence boost and we’re just happy he’s here.”

“He got my mechanics right,” Ball continued. “We’re just in the gym all the time so whenever you’re working on your craft, you’re obviously going to get better at it.”

Vinson also received credit for his work with Ingram, helping him also improve as a jump shooter. While Ball’s changes came at the top of his jumper with his hands and release point, Ingram’s came at the bottom of his jumper with his feet and positioning.

Still, the results were the same for Ingram as they were Ball as his three-point percentage lept to 39.1% last season after three seasons at 32.9% in Los Angeles.

If Vinson can continue to provide the type of coaching and instruction that led to a pair of breakout seasons with Ball and Ingram, it could spell good things moving forward with a young Pelicans side.

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Alvin Gentry credits Lonzo Ball’s health for breakout season

Lonzo Ball has been healthy for the majority of this season, something that Alvin Gentry noted as a reason for his breakout play.

A lot of factors have gone into Lonzo Ball’s breakout season with the New Orleans Pelicans, but perhaps nothing has been as important as him being at full health for a long period of time. Ball has noted multiple times this season that his health has been the single biggest factor in his success this season.

Ball isn’t the only one who has noticed the importance of his health to him being successful this season. During his media availability on Saturday, Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry talked about the improvement of Ball and Brandon Ingram this season.

“Well, when we traded for these guys we thought that they had a ton of potential. We were excited about having them on our team. I think Lonzo finally got himself healthy. When he got himself healthy, he played at a real, real high level for us and he shot the ball extremely well. I think a lot of that credit goes to Fred (Vinson). A lot of it goes to Lonzo because he’s put in the work. He’s really put in the work.”

Assistant coach Fred Vinson has been credited for helping Ball reshape his shot. Both he and Ball have spent countless hours in the gym together further perfecting his shot, leading to his career-best shooting figures from three-point range.

But Ball has also already set a career-high mark in games played as well this season despite the league’s season first being halted before agreeing on an abbreviated finish. No matter how many games the Pelicans and Ball play in the NBA’s restart bubble in Orlando, it will build on a career-best mark for the third-year guard.

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Lonzo Ball details process of changing his jumper after arriving in New Orleans

Lonzo Ball’s new shooting form has produced positive results this season in New Orleans. Recently, he detailed the process of changing it.

While the Los Angeles Lakers remained adamant during Lonzo Ball’s time with the franchise that his jumper need not be changed, the New Orleans Pelicans took the complete opposite approach from day one of acquiring Ball. And though the changes were never drastic, it has produced improved results this season as Ball is shooting a career-best 38.3% three-point percentage.

Pelicans assistant coach Fred Vinson began working with Ball from the first day he stepped back into the gym after recovering from his ankle injury. The changes came day-by-day as Vinson focused on moving Ball’s shot from the left side of his face to a more centralized spot.

On JJ Redick’s podcast this week, Ball talked about the process he and Vinson went through to change Ball’s jumper during the preseason.

“It was a lot of work and I’m still working on it today. Fred (Vinson) got me basically from the first day I came into the gym. It’s funny how he changed my shot. He did it day-by-day. He made me shoot on the left the first day and he slowly moved it over. He’s like ‘Keep your hand up, bend your knees more.’ I mean, it’s still a work in progress. It’s tough to change a shot and get it perfect as the season’s going on so some games it feels good and some games it doesn’t feel as good. Credit to the coaches though and you guys, especially you. You gave me a lot of confidence telling me to shoot. You always tell me to shoot even when it’s not a good night for me.”

The changes did not reap immediate dividends as Ball shot just 34.3% from behind the arc in his 11 games in October and November. However, Ball has seen progressive improvement each month of the season, culminating in a March in which he hit 22 of his 43 three-point attempts.

Redick asked Ball if his new form was on his mind during the beginning of the season and how his mental approach to his jumper has changed as the season has progressed.

“For sure. All the work I’ve put in to get where it is today. Now I’m feeling like this is how I used to shoot, hitting six threes a night, when you’re open take it. Obviously, in the beginning it was a little tough because it just didn’t feel right, like it’s not how I shoot. But now it’s definitely how I shoot so I’m happy with it.” “In high school and in UCLA, I used to always (drive) going left and do the step back just because it was right there. But now it’s like I can go right now but my stepback isn’t as good as it used to be. I feel like over time it’ll balance out but obviously it was a big change just because at one time I was shooting on the left (side of my face) and now I’m shooting on the right.”

Ball has taken significantly fewer step-back jumpers this season and has turned those into more attempts at the rim. Ball has taken 144 attempts at the rim and though it is not a season-high, it was on pace to be such. Ball has also driven to his left more this season than in last season, though by just a marginal amount.

No matter how it’s sliced, though, Ball is having a career-best season shooting the ball with his new form.

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Ball as an actual shooting threat is a …

Ball as an actual shooting threat is a compound benefit, because if defenses respect his shot it allows him to stay on the floor in fourth quarters – and thus allows Holiday to play his more natural off-guard spot. The common thread with both Ingram and Ball is Pelicans shooting coach Fred Vinson, and this isn’t his first rodeo in transforming shooters. Vinson’s work with two players we eventually had in Memphis – Quincy Pondexter and Tyreke Evans – helped transform both from perimeter non-entities to plus 3-point threats. Obviously the players’ work plays a huge role in this – Quincy in particular was an absolute gym rat, and Ball has by all indications put a lot of sweat equity into his shot. But in a league where shot fixes historically have been more easily said than done, Vinson continues to add to a pretty impressive catalog. One can’t help wonder if Williamson will be his next transformation.