Pelicans fire Alvin Gentry
Adrian Wojnarowski: New Orleans has dismissed coach Alvin Gentry, sources tell @_andrew_lopez and me.
NBA Rumor: Alvin Gentry Hot Seat?
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If it happens, though, here’s one scenario worth remembering: Mike D’Antoni, the Houston Rockets coach who will be a free agent this summer and who worked with Griffin during those Seven-Seconds-or-Less Phoenix Suns days of old, comes to usher Zion Williamson into Year No. 2 of his career while the Pelicans look to upgrade their offense (they were 16th in offensive rating this season; D’Antoni is an offensive mastermind).
As for Gentry, I’d be very surprised at this point if he’s back. There are very strong signs that Griffin would prefer a change here, but you’re right about the serious financial factor — we’re talking more than $5 million for the right to put someone new in that seat.
Alvin Gentry about to be fired?
The worst-kept secret in the NBA is that Gentry’s time with the Pelicans won’t last much longer. Names of potential replacements have already been floated in the media, and the season isn’t even over yet.
The most obvious area where a drastic change could be made immediately is in the coaching ranks. Gentry has been on the hot seat practically since the day he arrived in New Orleans, and when a team hires a new executive, it’s usually a matter of time before the boss gets antsy and decides to make a change. The worst-kept secret in the NBA is that Gentry’s time with the Pelicans won’t last much longer. Names of potential replacements have already been floated in the media, and the season isn’t even over yet.
Tyronn Lue, Jason Kidd options for Pelicans?
How about Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans Pelicans? 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.
How about “what is Alvin Gentry’s future?” Despite the fact that Gentry and GM David Griffin go way back to their days together in Phoenix, all season long we’ve heard mutterings that the Pels’ new front office thinks they might be able to do better. The rumblings were particularly strong during the 6-22 start, but even during the playoff push, it hasn’t abated. Gentry is one of the most well-liked people in the entire NBA and is popular locally and with ownership, so a change would be a considerable expenditure of Griffin’s political capital. The COVID-19 situation adds another layer as well — can they absorb eating the final year on Gentry’s contract and paying two coaches next season, in a year when the team is already likely to lose money?
It would be unfair to place all the blame for the team’s early-season struggles on Gentry’s shoulders, but the fanbase hasn’t been shy about sharing its frustrations with some of his decisions along the way. Gentry is a beloved figure in the locker room and throughout the organization, but again, Griffin will have to face a crucial point in this rebuilding process over the summer. Making a move without a clear upgrade available wouldn’t make much sense, but there’s no question coaches will be lining up for an opportunity to lead this talented roster.
It would be unfair to place all the blame for the team’s early-season struggles on Gentry’s shoulders, but the fanbase hasn’t been shy about sharing its frustrations with some of his decisions along the way. Gentry is a beloved figure in the locker room and throughout the organization, but again, Griffin will have to face a crucial point in this rebuilding process over the summer. Making a move without a clear upgrade available wouldn’t make much sense, but there’s no question coaches will be lining up for an opportunity to lead this talented roster.
Will Guillory: Alvin Gentry said he isn’t concerned about his job status after a franchise-record 12th straight loss. Said his focus in on controlling what he can control.
A source with knowledge of the Pelicans’ front office thinking made it clear that the rash of injuries is seen as a significant reason to give Gentry and his staff some cover and, eventually, a chance to coach this team once it gets healthy. And while sources say the Pelicans coaches are concerned about their fate here, there are three factors beyond the injury situation that are working in their favor:
The money will always play a part, of course, and that Gentry had his team option for 2020-21 picked up in mid-June means it would not be cheap to let him go. A source tells The Athletic that he’s owed more than $5 million for that season.
I understand the fans who don’t want to hear that when they see their team losing by almost 50. It isn’t wrong to feel that way. But from what I understand — and things could change drastically after the worst regular-season loss in franchise history — Gentry still has a great relationship with ownership and with executive vice president David Griffin.
I don’t think this loss is enough to convince Griffin and owner Gayle Benson that it’s time for a coaching change, but if things don’t change, and soon, Gentry’s days could be quickly numbered. “We control our own destiny. We’ve got to be the ones that compete. We’ve got to be the ones that play hard,” Gentry said. “Obviously, we’re struggling right now. And to be honest with you, Zion is not coming in as the cavalry. We’ve got to play good basketball. … It’s unacceptable the way we’re playing right now. It’s just unacceptable.
Andrew Lopez: Griffin: Keeping Alvin Gentry was a no-brainer after we talked.
Former Cleveland Cavaliers and Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry, a consultant for the Pelicans, and assistant GM David Booth are candidates to become interim GM, league sources said. For now, coach Alvin Gentry and his staff are safe, sources said. The organization has been pleased how he’s navigated the team under difficult circumstances this season, and he’s expected to finish out the season, sources said.
Was it important to get a statement from ownership this summer knowing where you stand? What’s been their message to you? Alvin Gentry: It’s really, in all honesty, one of those things I never worry about. I go on about my day every day like I’m going to be here long-term, because it’s a decision that I don’t have any bearing on. So I don’t spend any time on it. I spend my time trying to figure out the best way to coach the team and figure out how can we be better and how can we improve. That’s where all my energy is. I’ve never been a guy that worried about things I didn’t have any control over.
The following is a statement from New Orleans Pelicans Owner Tom Benson and Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Mickey Loomis: “After careful and thorough review of basketball operations, we have made the determination that the best course of action as we move forward into the 2017-18 season is to continue under the leadership of General Manager Dell Demps and Head Coach Alvin Gentry.”
“We will continue to evaluate important roles on both the administrative and coaching staffs which will be resolved at the appropriate time. Our organizational expectations and goals have not changed and all of our efforts are focused on putting together a playoff caliber roster entering training camp and ultimately into the season,” said Benson. “The end result as we move forward – playoffs and winning a championship for our fans.”
Scott Kushner: Alvin Gentry told Woj: “I feel like I’ll be back” with #Pelicans next season. Full quote: pic.twitter.com/XkS8lrInCC
Gentry, Demps and various league sources have all said it’s a “day-to-day” situation, indicating there’s no pressure from the calendar to choose when the team will make a firm decision about whether to keep the Pelicans’ structure in place or move in a new direction for 2017-18.
So, the overarching question remains what Loomis, Benson and Pelicans’ upper management believe is the highest priority and if they see a path to success with the current power structure in place, even if that structure stays in place for the short term. There are those within the organization who have offered a positive stance for stability at this critical juncture. And at this point, there’s no telling when the decision will be released.
“I walk in here every day excited about my job,” Demps said on April 14. “I don’t ever feel the pressure or anything like that. “Right now, we’re in evaluation mode. We’re going to sit back and meet with Alvin. We’re going to sit back and go over the whole season. I think we’ve had a lot of challenges this year. But I do like the direction and path that we’re headed (on).”
But with just a 34-48 record to show for it, most of the discussion centered on which of the principals will be back for the third consecutive bid to reclaim the heights of 2014-15’s playoff run, starting with the two fielding the questions. “I walk in here every day excited about my job,” Demps said, echoing what he said after last season’s 30-52 campaign when faced with a similar line of questioning. “I don’t ever feel the pressure, or anything like that. “Right now, we’re in evaluation mode. We’re going to sit back and meet with Alvin. We’re going to sit back and go over the whole season. I think we’ve had a lot of challenges this year. But I do like the direction and path that we’re headed [on].”
“It’s not something I spend a lot of time worrying about,” Gentry said about his status. “I’m at the office and I’m working and I’m preparing for the summer and everything else like I would normally do. When the time comes, that decision will be made.”
It is also probable that current head coach Alvin Gentry, who signed a four-year deal in 2015, is let go, as well. Gentry has just one more fully-guaranteed year left on his contract, with the fourth year being at the team’s option.
Justin Verrier: Solomon Hill says he “most definitely” wants the Pelicans coaching staff to return next season.
Alvin Gentry appears to be in a fight to save his job with league sources confirming that he has been told by management that they expect for the team to show signs of progress over the final stretch of the season because the talent issue on the roster has been addressed with the addition of DeMarcus Cousins. According to the Sporting News, no definite decision has made on the future of General Manager Dell Demps either, despite pulling off the blockbuster trade last month to acquire Cousins from the Sacramento Kings.
In the larger sense, though, this might be a crucial week for Gentry’s tenure in New Orleans. A league source told Sporting News that though no definite decision has been made on the future of the tandem of Gentry and general manager Dell Demps with the Pelicans, failure to secure that playoff spot (which has been all but lost) or at least to show “significant progress with this roster as it stands” likely will move the Pelicans to oust Gentry. Demps is more likely to stay, but that’s not a certainty, either.
“There’s some feeling in the front office the record being what it is, the writing is on the wall,” the source said. “Might as well make a change in April and start searching. But is that really fair? Can’t you give Dell an offseason to get some shooters, give Alvin some time to remake the offense? They’ve at least got to give this playoff spot a run and that might buy more time. That’s sort of where it stands.”
One issue in replacing Gentry could be the lack of top candidates on the coaching market now. Gentry has one more year on this contract, worth around $3.3 million, and hasn’t really gotten a chance to coach a full, healthy Pelicans team. If the Pelicans were to make a change, speculation is that the team would prefer to bring in a combination team president/coach. There are few coaches on the market who would warrant a dual job, though.
Shaqtin’ A Fool: A Pelicans fan handcuffed himself to the Smoothie King Center to let it be known he wants Alvin Gentry fired. #Shaqtin ⛓🗝 pic.twitter.com/uEQkPS76lM
“I really don’t give a s— about my job status,” Gentry told reporters. “I’m gonna work hard, and I’m gonna coach until the day they tell me I’m not the coach here anymore. It doesn’t matter. I don’t ever worry about that. That is not anything that I spend five seconds worrying about. My worry is that, ‘How do I get the guys in the locker room to play at the level that I want ’em to?’ That’s where all my effort goes. It doesn’t go anywhere else.”
Scott Kushner: Gentry: I don’t give a shit about my job status.
John Reid: Alvin Gentry said he’s happy working with Dell Demps.
Scott Kushner: Dell Demps: My confidence in Alvin Gentry has not wavered.
Scott Kushner: Dell Demps: I feel like we are tied at the hip and we are in this thing together. #Pelicans
Pelicans GM Dell Demps has expressed reservations on numerous occasions this season about last year’s decision to hire Alvin Gentry as coach, making his doubts known to some of the team’s players and staff, and to opponents as well, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical for a video report. It was Demps who originally chose Gentry for the job, as Wojnarowski casts it, though confusion exists over whether Demps or executive vice president of basketball operations Mickey Loomis is in control of the front office, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com touched on in a trade deadline report.
The possibility of the Pelicans dumping Gentry exists, though it is slim. He will most likely be back in New Orleans to start next year. But if things don’t turn around then, his teenager will hardly be the only one criticizing him.
January 18, 2021 | 11:11 am EST Update
Rockets want three second-round picks for PJ Tucker?
People around the league wonder what Rockets general manager Rafael Stone will do next following the Harden blockbuster. As I reported last week, Victor Oladipo, an impending free agent, has eyes for Miami. Could the Heat, or another team looking to contend—such as the Nuggets or Celtics—try to acquire him? And how about P.J. Tucker? Numerous teams have already inquired about the stout versatile defender, and league sources say Houston is currently demanding three second-round draft picks for the upcoming unrestricted free agent.
But don’t be surprised if there are more trades on the horizon for the Nets. According to Brian Windhorst, one such player who could be on the move is 23-year-old combo guard Landry Shamet (via ESPN): “I don’t know what sort of trade value that they have left on their roster. I talked to two different teams that the Nets offered Landry Shamet to in the last week, attempting to get a first-round pick. They were trying to keep Jarrett Allen, as you can imagine. So to get the fourth first-round pick, they were trying to find a team that would give them anything and so they shopped Landry Shamet pretty hard, from what I understand.”
Brooklyn acquired Shamet from the Clippers as part of a three-teamtrade that occurred on the night of the 2020 NBA draft. The sharpshooter projected as an ideal fit for the Nets considering how many open looks he would get on the floor alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Shamet is a shooting specialist who does not provide a ton of extra value as a playmaker or on defense. But he is currently averaging a career-worst 5.4 points per game. Similarly, his three-pointers per game (1.1) and three-point percentage (30.6 percent) are both the lowest marks of his career. Meanwhile, he is down from 27.4 minutes per game last season to just 17.6 minutes per game so far in 2020-21.
The Sixers missed out on Harden. There’s no other way around it. Harden would have given them what they lack in a superstar perimeter shot-creator. But the price was undeniably high. League sources say the Rockets demanded Ben Simmons, Tyrese Maxey, and three first-round picks from the Sixers in return for Harden. You can’t blame Morey for refusing to go all in when there’s long-term risk in adding a 31-year-old who has only two guaranteed seasons left on his deal. There also could be other options available eventually from losing teams, such as Washington’s Bradley Beal or Chicago’s Zach LaVine.
However, Houston’s demand says something more about the value of Simmons around the league. And that could impact Philadelphia’s hopes of acquiring a player who can fill its void. Every team executive recognizes Simmons is one of the league’s best defenders and a dynamic open-floor playmaker. Perhaps in a different situation, he could fill a role resembling Giannis Antetokounmpo’s. But Simmons also has plenty of skeptics who see his inability to shoot as a fatal flaw.
They were completely unprepared for the news Raman delivered — that she was joining the Grizzlies as an assistant coach. “At first we were like, ‘Grizzlies? What college is that?’” Kylie Gallagher, a senior forward, recalled. Raman quickly clarified that she was headed to the N.B.A.’s Memphis Grizzlies, then worked off prepared notes — she knew she would be emotional — as she thanked her players and her staff, and offered more details about the unexpected opportunity that had come her way. “Oh, they were shocked,” Raman, 46, said in a recent interview. “But those players are a part of me, and my experiences with them has made me the coach I am now.”
Maybe, if everything breaks right, sports leagues somehow muddle through this bleak winter, hanging on tight until players—and the rest of us—are finally all vaccinated. Until we reach the end of that tunnel. “Obviously we want sports, and we want activities that provide leisure and fun,” says Vespignani. “And I understand that for professional players—especially to play in an arena where there is no audience, to stay in a bubble aside from the family—it’s difficult. But these are difficulties we’re all facing in different ways. Children do not go to school. We work from home. So we all need to cope with that for a few more months and be very strict with the rules.
