New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Former NBA Coaches to Consider

New Orleans Pelicans coaching candidates: David Fizdale

David Fizdale

His Credentials

At one point Fizdale was pretty much the hottest name in coaching and it seemed like every team wanted him.

Things have cooled since then after a couple of unsuccessful stints, but now may be the time for Fizdale to get his second chance.

Like Stackhouse, Fizdale comes from a solid coaching tree in Miami, where he was an assistant under Erik Spoelstra. Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the league and Miami is a model franchise, so they could do worse than to get someone who learned under Spoelstra and Pat Riley.

Fizdale was head coach of the Grizzlies, where he took them to the playoffs before being fired after a slow star the next season and a highly publicized dust up with franchise legend Marc Gasol.

He was hired and then fired about as quickly by the New York Knicks, which shouldn’t be held against him because it’s the Knicks who are always doing Knick things.

Why He Fits the Pelicans

Fizdale was the wunderkind coach of the league for about five minutes and practically every player who ever played for him loved him.

The Grizzlies were particularly fond of Fizdale, who turned the team around and was often called things like “inspiring” or “relatable.”

He is known as a “player’s coach” which is a cliche of course, but does speak a little about how Fizdale is viewed.

He wants to play a face-paced style that suits the Pelicans and is known as an innovator.

Fizdale is eventually going to get a real chance, though it is troubling that he’s been fired in places so quickly. Part of that is not his fault and some team is going to give him the keys eventually.