The New Orleans Pelicans have put together an excellent shortlist of head coaching candidates
Finally! After what was shaping up to be a never-ending search for the franchise’s next head coach, it appears that the New Orleans Pelicans now have their shortlist of coaching finalists.
This news is relieving for Pelicans fans who considered every potential coaching name and watched as those names were swooped up by openings in Brooklyn, Chicago, and Philadelphia. This information came from the NBA’s oracle, Ardian Wojnarowski.
Simple and direct, Wojnarowski tweeted this out last night:
Stan Van Gundy is meeting with New Orleans Pelicans officials today, emerging as one of four expected finalists for the franchise’s coaching job, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 13, 2020
Four finalists, huh? Yup, that’s what the New Orleans Pelicans have planned, and further information from Wojnarowski and other sources have given us the names of all four of those candidates.
From information around Pelicans circles, the team’s four finalists are Stan Van Gundy, Tyronn Lue, Jahmahl Mosley, and Will Weaver. These four are joined by coaches on the outside looking in that include Jason Kidd and Kenny Atkinson. Let’s just stick to the big four though.
If you’re asking me, I like what the shortlist the New Orleans Pelicans have put together. After being extremely critical of how the team’s front office handled this search, I’d say this is exactly the group the team needed to put together.
It’s clear that the biggest finalists for the job are Van Gundy and Lue but the consideration for Mosley and Weaver is well merited. Overall, this is a diverse group of coaches who will each bring different key strengths to the New Orleans Pelicans if they get the job. Let’s take a look at each of these guys one by one to get a feel for how exceptional these candidates are.