The New Orleans Pelicans surprised the NBA world by parting ways with Stan Van Gundy after only one season in the Crescent City.
I don’t think anyone is shocked that it didn’t work out, but the timing was a bit surprising, as most felt SVG would be given a little more time to turn things around.
Even more surprising was Rick Carlisle leaving the Dallas Mavericks after 13 seasons as the head coach.
Carlisle has been one of the faces of the franchise but announced he wouldn’t be back amidst some front office turmoil in Dallas.
The Pelicans could look to promote an internal option or go with one of the hot assistant names, someone like Charles Lee or Ime Udoka.
Carlisle is certainly going to get mentioned as well, but in my opinion, this is a choice the New Orleans Pelicans should avoid.
Like Stan Van Gundy, Rick Carlisle is not the right choice for the New Orleans Pelicans head coaching job.
David Griffin hasn’t talked too much about why things didn’t work with Stan Van Gundy, but rumor has it that he had some personality conflicts with the players and clashed with Griffin on personnel decisions.
This isn’t surprising, as Van Gundy is an old school coach who is not afraid to speak his mind, something the young stars on the Pelicans probably aren’t used to.
There was nothing specific said about Zion Williamson or Brandon Ingram, but it is likely that one of them got the ball rolling when it came to Van Gundy’s departure.
Carlisle, like Van Gundy, is an older coach with a no-nonsense style that has occasionally grated on his players. But Carlisle is a championship coach and his teams have been a mainstay in the playoffs, which is exactly what the Pelicans are hoping for.
But the Pels need to find a person who can relate to this generation of stars, and like Van Gundy, Carlisle is probably not the guy.
I would much rather see the Pelicans take a chance on a younger coach who can relate to the players and grow with them.
The NBA loves to recycle old coaches and I am sure Carlisle will end up coaching somewhere next season but he is more suited to a team like the Bucks, who are ready to win a title now.
Carlisle shouldn’t be put in charge of the Pelicans’ youth movement or we might be doing this again next offseason.