The New Orleans Pelicans should consider these three assistants if Alvin Gentry is fired.
The New Orleans Pelicans bombed in the bubble and it may cost Alvin Gentry his job.
Gentry has been on and off the hot seat for most of the season after the team started 6-22 but then turned it around.
If they hadn’t turned it around, Gentry may have been fired already, as he is just 175-224 as coach of the Pels, hardly an inspiring record.
Not all of this is his fault of course, the roster was imbalanced and he had to deal with the Zion Williamson injuries, pandemic and NBA restart, which couldn’t have been easy with such a young team.
But when other young teams like the Spurs and Suns thrived in the bubble, people are wondering what happened to the New Orleans Pelicans?
The Pelicans are arguably the most talented team of those chasing the 8th and 9th seed, but they sure didn’t play like it, getting effectively wiped out in nearly every game and playing little defense along the way.
It looks like Gentry may have lost the team, which is why rumors are swirling that he will be the next NBA coach to get the ax.
There are a lot of things to consider with a new coach, as the Pelicans need to get someone who works with their roster, who fits the timeline of Zion, Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram, and who can get something out of this team defensively.
They need someone who can develop young talent, who has the gravitas to earn the team’s respect and someone who has a solid background in teaching X’s and O’s, as the Pelicans looked disorganized and unprepared in the bubble games.
There are already rumors that they will go with a retread like Jason Kidd or Tyronn Lue, but I’d like to see the Pelicans consider some fresh blood.
Here are three current NBA assistants who the Pelicans should consider as their next head coach.