New Orleans Pelicans: 3 Reasons to Consider Will Hardy for Head Coach
By Nick Alvarez
New Orleans Pelicans 1st Reason to Consider Will Hardy
The Popovich Tree
The first reason the New Orleans Pelicans should consider Will Hardy for the franchise’s head coach opening is that he comes from the infamous Gregg Popovich coaching tree. He basically attends the NBA’s head coaching university down in San Antonio.
This reason may be a testament to Gregg Popovich more than anything but nearly every coach who’s left the Spurs organization for a head coaching job has had relative success (minus Jim Boylen).
Look at how Mike Budenholzer lead two Eastern Conference teams in the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks to 60-win seasons. Meanwhile, new Phoniex Suns head coach Monty Williams installed the Spurs offense and led the Suns on an 8-0 run in the NBA’s restart bubble.
That’s before even mentioning Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr who played under Popovich and took what he learned to lead his team to three NBA Championships.
To put it simply, if the New Orleans Pelicans want to pick a first-time head coach that can win, the Spurs organization is the best place to do so.
All the lessons Will Hardy has learned about scheme usage, relationship building, and player development down in the alamo would certainly help him improve the Pelicans if he came to the bayou.