Alvin Gentry will take the fall for the New Orleans Pelicans
Despite the encouraging signs during the pre-hiatus regular season, the 2019-20 New Orleans Pelicans will likely be remembered for being an absolute flop in the NBA’s restart bubble. For a team that many thought would take full advantage of the restart, the Pelicans are 2-4 through six games and have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
While there are many possible reasons for this team falling short of expectations in the bubble, it seems like there is one person that will take the fall for the team’s underperformance in the eight seeding games – head coach Alvin Gentry.
Fair or not, this is what generally happens in the NBA. When a team full of talent falls short of expectations, it’s usually the head coach that gets axed first.
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According to a report from The Athletic (subscription required), it seems like the Pelicans are ready to move on from Gentry. In defense of the organization, Gentry has been the head coach of the Pelicans for five seasons and has only made the playoffs once. Between Anthony Davis and the start of Zion Williamson‘s career, that’s not great.
Is it the right decision for the New Orleans Pelicans?
There are two sides to this, of course. The side that suggests Gentry got his opportunity to prove his worth to the organization and the side that suggests he never got a fair shake with Zion on the team. When you remember that executive vice president David Griffin, who was hired in 2019, didn’t hire Gentry it begins to make more sense.
If Griffin wants to bring in his own man for the job, this would be the perfect time to do it. The Pelicans are fresh off falling short of expectations and Zion is still getting his feet wet in the NBA. During the offseason, the team could continue to the road down rebuilding by trading veteran players Jrue Holiday and/or JJ Redick.
If the Pelicans were looking for a transition offseason, even after giving Gentry a one year shot with Zion, this offseason would be the one to make the move. Even though this won’t be a traditional offseason, if the Pelicans are going to move in a different direction, it’d be best to bring in a new voice and leader sooner rather than later.
The last thing the Pelicans want to do is shuffle through coaches during the first few years of Zion’s career. That’s never a great thing for any young player, much less one with the magnitude of Zion.
It’s understandable to believe that Alvin Gentry never got a fair chance to succeed with Zion, whether that be due to the injuries he had to fight through, the shortened season, or even the unfair expectations placed on the team during the hiatus. Nevertheless, this is the ugly side of the current NBA.
Time will tell whether this is a bad, rash move by the New Orleans Pelicans or one that is warranted and one that will help this team take another step in their progression.