The New Orleans Pelicans coaching search just lost another candidate, so is Stan Van Gundy the choice?
The New Orleans Pelicans fired Alvin Gentry in August and have been pretty quiet about their coaching search since.
They have reportedly interviewed nine different candidates and reduced it to a final four that included Tyronn Lue, Jamahl Mosley, Will Weaver and Stan Van Gundy.
That list has been reduced, as Adrian Wojnarowski announced Lue has accepted a job with the Los Angeles Clippers:
Ty Lue is finalizing a five-year deal to become the next coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2020
That leaves three alleged candidates, all with different resumes and backgrounds.
Will Weaver is the current coach of the Sydney Kings and has connections to Trajan Langdon. Jamahl Mosley is a long-time assistant at Dallas who is one of the hottest names in coaching and Stan Van Gundy is familiar to most basketball fans.
New Orleans Pelicans: With Tyronn Lue out, is Stan Van Gundy up?
It seems like Tyronn Lue was the New Orleans Pelicans’ first choice, otherwise, it doesn’t really make sense that they waited this long. They were clearly waiting to see how things shook out in Los Angeles after Doc Rivers was abruptly fired.
But if the Pelicans are looking for an established coach to reboot their culture, they could do worse than Stan Van Gundy, who is a respected name around the league.
Not only is he a favorite of players like J.J. Redick, but he has been very outspoken about issues that are important to most of the young guys in the NBA.
Van Gundy would have the respect and ear of a team that needs more accountability and he does have a history of building an offense around a talented big man.
The Pelicans may very well go with a first-time coach like Weaver or Mosley, but it’s more likely they hand over the keys to an experienced coach who has a history of winning and developing young talent.