5 questions that will be left unanswered for New Orleans Pelicans if season is canceled

Would Alvin Gentry have been fired?

No one had a more up and down season for the New Orleans Pelicans than coach Alvin Gentry.

After the Pelicans started the season 6-22, Gentry was the odds-on-favorite to be the first coach fired.

Even though Gentry had recently signed an extension, the 2020-21 season is a team option, so the New Orleans Pelicans could have chosen to go another way if they weren’t happy with how the season turned out.

Though Gentry has to be given some credit for the turnaround, he is in his fifth season with the New Orleans Pelicans and is only 173-219 overall with one playoff appearance in 2017-18, a loss in the conference semi-finals.

It looked like the Pelicans were on their way to being a consistent contender, but then they promptly missed the playoffs the next season and were on the verge of missing them again this year.

Gentry has a proven track record with young players and there is an argument to be made that injuries and bad luck have as much to do with Gentry’s record as his coaching.

But the NBA is a results-driven league and eventually you have to get into the playoffs and win if you want to keep your job.

If the season were to end today, the team would likely exercise their option and keep him, but what if the New Orleans Pelicans had finished the season and not made the playoffs?

Would Gentry be blamed for the lack of defensive scheme? Would he be blamed for his young team losing focus against some of the bottom feeders?

Would the New Orleans Pelicans have confidence that Gentry could lead what has become the best young core in the NBA and that he was the best person for their development?

These are all fair questions, though we may never know the answers if the season is cancelled.