New Orleans Pelicans: 2 key assistants the new head coach should keep

The New Orleans Pelicans appear on the verge of signing a new head coach. What could that mean for some current staffers?

Somehow it’s been two months since the New Orleans Pelicans decided it was time to let go of Alvin Gentry, but it seems like a year ago at this point.

We all expected New Orleans to have announced a new head coach already but David Griffin and the rest of the front office chose to bide their time until they finally came to a decision.

With Tyronn Lue taking the Clippers job yesterday, one of the four finalists for the Pelicans’ job is out of contention. The remaining three Stan Van Gundy, Jamahl Mosley, and Will Weaver are still available though and it seems like SVG is the top option right now.

I feel every coach has the right to build their staff around them as they see fit but occasionally teams will force a coach to keep certain members of the old coaching staff around.

There’s one assistant from last season who already seems unlikely to return and for a good reason; Chris Finch, an Associate Head Coach in charge of the offense from last season looks to be favored to get the big job with Indiana (that could be a bad thing for New Orleans). Finch may not be the only one who leaves and a couple of coaches from last season will likely be heavily sought after.

New Orleans Pelicans: Two assistant coaches the team should keep.

Jeff Bzdelik, the Associate Head Coach in charge of the defense, is a defensive guru who’s been credited with turning the Rockets from an awful defense (21st) to a middle of the pack defense (16th) after he was hired in 2016. While it may not seem like he did a great job because they weren’t a top-five defense, that change was enough to turn Houston into a title contender.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ defense last season left much to be desired, as they finished 21st in the league, but many of the players on this roster were new to the team so it wouldn’t be reasonable to expect a huge improvement right away.

If the next head coach is a defense-first coach, Bzdelik may be viewed as a luxury and not retained, instead opting to go with an up-and-comer who can grow into the role beside a coach who’s been in the league for a while. On the flip-side, if the New Orleans Pelicans go with a first-time coach or an offensive-minded coach Bzdelik may be the top assistant and given much more responsibility.

Another coach who will likely be much wanted if he’s not retained is Fred Vinson. The shooting coach has been credited with improving Brandon Ingram‘s jumper and completely changing Lonzo Ball’s into a shot that actually goes in.

Vinson has been with New Orleans since the team was still called the Hornets, making it highly likely whoever the new coach is will choose to keep him on staff. The work that Vinson puts in with the players has earned him a strong reputation around the league, so much so that I took a look at some players with shaky jumpers that New Orleans could look to sign this offseason.

When looking at the potential candidates, it seems to me that if the Pelicans go with Mosley or Weaver as the head coach those key assistants would be kept on staff with the exception of Finch.

If Finch is indeed being seriously looked at by Indiana that might indicate he knows the Pelicans are likely leaning towards a veteran head coach. That means SVG should be considered as the favorite to land the job with New Orleans.

SVG only kept the coaching staff of the former head coach when he was in Miami and SVG was an assistant with that team before getting promoted to the big chair. When he joined the Magic and Pistons, he cleaned house and brought in his own choices to fill out the staff.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with these key staff members once a new coach is hired but I’m hoping whoever the next New Orleans Pelicans head coach is will retain those key staffers.