Pelicans: Highlights from Stan Van Gundy’s introductory press conference

Highlighting some key moments from Stan Van Gundy’s introductory press conference with the New Orleans Pelicans

Right when New Orleans Pelicans fans could use some information to get excited, the team provided it. Today, the entire Pelicans fanbase got their first taste of what life will be like with Stan Van Gundy leading the way in his introductory press conference.

For those of you out there who either didn’t get to watch the press conference or don’t have time to read through the full transcript, do not worry we got you covered. Here are the biggest takeaways from Stan Van Gundy’s introduction as the next head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Kicking off the presser, David Griffin was quick to note that hiring Stan Van Gundy was a move to win-now while also building for sustainable success in the future:

"“In the interview process, we discovered that Coach Van Gundy gave us the best optionality. He’s proven he’s going to win an awful lot of regular-season games, winning almost 66 percent of his games in Orlando, better than 60 percent of his games in Miami and for his career, he has a winning percentage above .500 in the playoffs, which is really, really rare. This is a proven winner who can win right now. But more importantly to us, he’s a coach that is a teacher and a very sincere authentic human being, who’s going to build long-lasting relationships with our team. Because we look at this team as just scratching the surface of what we hope is a very long, sustainable run, Coach Van Gundy was obviously the best selection for us.”- Pelicans VP David Griffin"

When Van Gundy first spoke, he expressed his love for the team’s roster construction and the core that Griffin and general manager Trajan Langdon built:

"“The thing that’s most exciting to me is that when they started putting together this roster…there’s a great mix. A lot of really exciting young talent, with the potential to grow into something great. But alongside them, you’ve got some very productive, high-character veterans with great experience” – Stan Van Gundy"

One of the biggest declarations from Van Gundy was that he plans on holding the team’s young players more accountable this season:

"“One thing I’ve already talked to our players about is I don’t want them certainly, or us (as coaches), to ever use youth as an excuse. Sometimes you can start with, ‘Oh we were young, and that’s why we turned the ball over three times in the last two minutes of a tied game.’ Many NBA players came into this league young because of their talent. Now it’s time to play and compete. So I don’t want to use that as an excuse.” – Stan Van Gundy"

And of course, Van Gundy finally clarified his previous comments about not using Lonzo Ball as a traditional point guard with this statement:

"“My intial thoughts on Lonzo Ball are this, on the offensive end of the floor. Number one, I don’t think there is anyone better in the NBA of advancing the ball up the floor for your team quickly to allow you to go on the attack before the defense is set…that is very unique in the NBA…the biggest step that Lonzo took last year was his three-point shooting, he improved that greatly and the space it creates on the floor is great for the other creators on your basketball team.” – Stan Van Gundy"

There it is, some of the biggest talking points from Stan Van Gundy’s introduction all wrapped up in one digestible spot. Certainly, it feels like this new era of New Orleans Pelicans basketball will be a bright one highlighted by culture and winning. We can only imagine what’ll happen next!