Shameka Nixon The Who Dat Daily.Com/Pelicans Contributor
New Orleans,LA – The New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach Alvin Gentry is close to being fired according to several reports circulating around the league. This shouldn’t come as a major surprise based on the teams play this season and years past. The heat has been on Gentry this entire season as the team continue to miss the mark. NBA Sources said early on that Gentry needed to make the playoffs to secure his position and of course they didn’t.
The really frustrating part is the teams lack of defense which continued to break down in close contests. New Orleans has a versatile roster and was talented enough to make the playoffs at the very least. The questions continued to mount around how Gentry’s bench rotations were used especially the head scratching restrictions on star Zion Williamson.
NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski said “Executive VP David Griffin and Pelicans ownership have a decision to make with a year left on Gentry’s contract, sources said. Consider two relationships Griffin has back to his front-office days in Cleveland and Phoenix, respectively, if there’s a change in New Orleans: LA Clippers assistant Ty Lue and Los Angeles Lakers assistant Jason Kidd, sources said.”
Alvin Gentry survived the teams overhaul after new VP of Basketball Ops David Griffin arrived. Many including myself wondered why and how this was the case as he produced only one winning season in five years. The Pelicans then compounded the problem by granting Gentry a two year extension on the back of a losing season. In fact Gentry record with the Pelicans is 175-223 with one playoff appearance.
I think now is the time to find a head coach who can inspire this team to win with a balanced approach towards offense and defense. My personal favorite would be basketball commentator Mark Jackson, who helped turn the Golden State Warriors from a laughing stock to a champion.
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